Movie review: ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2' a fun ride, but still a letdown
If the first "How to Train Your Dragon" was a raging inferno of emotion, the sequel is more like a warm, cozy campfire. Hardly a ringing endorsement, but don't take it to mean "How to Train Your Dragon 2" is a flameout. In fact, it's actually pretty good. Just not in the same league as it's Oscar-nominated predecessor. Where that film was practically flawless, the sequel is rife with minor pockmarks that gnaw at you, such as its mixed messages about protecting animals and its overreliance on high-flying action sequences aimed at diverting attention from a surprisingly thin storyline.
I suspect much of the problem lies in the need to rush "Dragon 2" into production after the original shocked even DreamWorks with its nearly $500 million haul at the box office.
It shows, too, particularly in the unoriginal plot, which borrows from everything from "Harry Potter" to "Gorillas in the Mist," with a little "Brave" tossed in for measure. The script by director Dean DeBlois, who co-wrote and co-directed the original with Chris Sanders ("The Croods"), also works against itself by introducing two major story threads - Hiccup (now five years older and again voiced by Jay Baruchel) reuniting with his Dian Fossey-like mother (an awesome Cate Blanchett), and Hiccup leading a charge to quell a maniacal dragon trapper (a menacing Djimon Hounsou) bent on rounding up every fire-breather in the land - including Hiccup's beloved Toothless - to help carry out a fiendish plan to rule the Nordic world.
Either strand would be sufficient for an entire movie, but together, it's too much. And the story suffers from it, both in terms of charm and character development, two elements that made the original such a heart-tugging winner. There are also far too many scenes of Hiccup's fellow Vikings swooping and soaring in the skies over Berk aboard dragons, the villagers' newfound mode of transport.
What is initially breathtaking, especially in 3-D, quickly grows tiresome, as it becomes obvious DeBlois is using the flying sequences to prop up a weak story about treating animals like companions instead of beasts of burden. Don't get me wrong, it's an admirable message to hang your movie on. But DeBlois betrays it by portraying the dragons as little more than servants or pseudo racehorses used in a quidditch-like game in which innocent sheep are swept high in the air by the jockeys and dropped in a basket, leaving the lambs shaking in their wool. Not exactly what you'd call a humane activity. Funny, yes; humane, no.
There are also contradictions in the storyline involving Hiccup's mother, Valka. She's an alleged protector of dragons, yet she keeps them sealed up inside a humongous ice palace (which you'd think the dragons would easily melt with their fiery breath). The sanctuary supplies the film with its most dazzlingly animated sequence, but the sight of hundreds of dragons circling a cylindrical structure is too reminiscent of fish trapped in an aquarium tank. Not exactly what you'd call living free. Then there's Valka's reunion with Hiccup's loud, tempestuous father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler). I doubt a man so boorish would be so instantly receptive to the woman who left him alone to raise their son. And when the estranged lovers start singing a romantic duet, all credibility is lost.
My biggest complaint, though, is with the dragons themselves. Except for Toothless and a couple of others, the beasts are largely indistinctive. Ditto for many of the supporting characters, including Hiccup's tomboy girlfriend, Astrid (America Ferrera), and his close pals, Snoutlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Tuffnut (T.J Miller) and Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), the film's slyest scene-stealer thanks to her hilarious pining for the evil, but hunky dragon-trapper Eret (Kit Harington from "Game of Thrones").
Like the first film, "Dragon 2" benefits from an irresistible mix of humor, intense drama (maybe too intense for tykes) and spectacular animation, specifically in the cat- and dog-like movements assigned to Hiccup's dragon, Toothless. He's as adorable as ever. And the movie is a certified good time. But it's also a bit of a letdown from the original. Perhaps it's DeBlois working for the first time without an assist from Sanders in the writing and directing duties, or it might be something as simple as rushing "Dragon 2" into theaters before the red-hot franchise flared out. Either way, the result is more smoke than fire.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (PG for mild action and some crude humor.) Featuring the voices of Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Djimon Hounsou, Gerard Butler and Kristen Wiig. Written and directed by Dean DeBlois. Grade: B