In this sequel to the 2010 adaptation of Cressida Cowell‘s How to Train your Dragon book series, director Dean DeBlois revisits the vibrant land of vikings and dragons, in a tale that has more heart than plot.
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Astrid (America Ferrera) come across the remains of a fort buried underneath what appears to be green ice. These ruins are occupied by Eret (Kit Harington) and his ungainly band of dragon trappers. They are working for the nefarious Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou) who wants to take over the world with a dragon army. Hiccup’s father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), knows about Drago and bids his son to stay away from him. But Hiccup believes that Drago can be reasoned with.
How to Train your Dragon 2 doesn’t have much of a story. It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill take on the hero/coming-of-age yarn, the likes of which we’ve seen and read and listened to a million times. But what Mr DeBlois’s film lacks in narrative boldness, it more than makes up in other departments. The action sequences are well-staged and executed, the colours bright and lustrous without being gaudy and the overall mise-en-scène is, many times, nothing short of breathtaking. All of this however plays second fiddle to an emotional and impassioned core that drives the film forward. Underneath all the aerial twirling, the wisecracks and the Quidditch sheep, it is the story of Hiccup, Stoick and Valka (Cate Blanchett) that takes centre stage. The expressive nuances with which these characters are accoutered is amazing, putting to shame many a live actor.
If you’re not moved, you’re nothing but a cold-bloodied skink.
Related
- This the End (2013) with Jay Baruchel and Jonah Hill
- Blue Jasmine (2013) and The Monuments Men (2014) with Cate Blanchett
- The Watch (2012) with Jonah Hill
- Bad Neighbours (2014) with Christopher Mintz-Plasse
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