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Hiccup and Toothless are back in the sequel to the 2010 animated hit, How to Train Your Dragon- but how does it measure up to the original and more significantly can it stand up on its own?
Hiccup and Toothless are back in the sequel to the 2010 animated hit, How to Train Your Dragon- but how does it measure up to the original and more significantly can it stand up on its own?
Like the first film, How to Train your Dragon 2 has plenty
of heart, humour and great characters, with very sincere relationships. This is
especially true of the relationship between the two lead characters,
Hiccup and Toothless, as their strong bond is one of the highlights of the film.
A lot of time is also given to developing the relationships between the new characters being introduced, as well as the character development of Hiccup, as he grows, changes and learns new (and often difficult) lessons.Speaking of difficult lessons, whilst there are a lot of charming and pleasant moments, the film still dares to be dark and is unafraid of confronting hard topics, despite its mostly younger target audience, which is very commendable.
Another element that makes the movie stand out is the
animation. It is absolutely stunning- this is especially true of the flying
scenes, but the character animation and background designs are beautiful
too. In addition to this, a soaring score adds to the ‘epic’ feel of the film as a whole,
which is also helped by a plot that involves numerous action scenes.
On the other hand, the pacing of the film can be very poor
at times. Whilst the character’s relationships are allowed to develop at a
reasonable pace, moments towards the end of the film that should be key are
over within minutes- without spoiling the ending, the conclusion feels especially
rushed, which is a shame, as the rest of the film is so good. Generally, the
film’s final moments are outstanding, it’s just that certain plot points
probably should have had more time devoted to them, and then they would have
been more effective. Despite this, the pacing for most of the film is fine, so
it does not completely ruin it.
Overall, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is an outstanding film,
with only a few minor pacing problems stopping it from being one of the best of
the year.
