HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2014)

Genre: Animated

Running Length: 1:42

Cast: (voices) Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Djimon Hounsou, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kit Harrington

Director: Dean DeBlois

When How To Train Your Dragon came out in 2010, it was the best movie experience for me. It got everything right; the flight sequences in 3D were exhilarating, the story had a lot of heart and of course, the super adorable Toothless. So, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 had an impossibly high expectations to clear no matter how hard I tried not to have one. Well, I didn't walk out with the same wonderment I experienced from the first movie but that said, HTTYD2 is a superior sequel considering how the film making industry works (Anytime a movie especially an animated one scores big at the BO, it instantly becomes a "trilogy". Creativity goes out the window but who cares as long as it hauls in the money). Thankfully, rather than retreading more of the same, the film makers chose to expand the scope and yet retaining all the elements that made the first one a success. The events in this sequel takes place 5 years after and thus, it explores the theme of growing up and finding out "who am I and what's my calling." Fortunately it didn't go all Shakespeare as there are plenty of action scenes, but the tone is darker and more complex than the original. There is a "everything's not going to be all right" feeling throughout the movie. Visually it doesn't offer anything groundbreaking but there is one BIG standout "mano-a-mano" battle scene which was jaw dropping. That scene itself justified the IMAX 3D surcharge. The relationships between the key characters are properly fleshed out especially the incredibly touching bond between Hiccup and Toothless; so much so it mattered deeply in the film's single most powerful scene.

Rating: 7.5/10