This franchise is 2/2 in my book. I was really shocked by just how much I enjoyed the first movie and how well it holds up not only story wise but especially visually. So I was very excited to watch the sequel, and it didn’t disappoint at all. This movie ticked off every box for me in terms of what I would want in a sequel. The world gets expanded, more dragons, more lore, still amazing visuals. This is a great sequel to an already great movie.
I love the way this movie portrays expectations and the weight of them. Fours years after the first movie, not only is the tribe friendly with dragons, they are basically a dragon tribe. Everyone has one. They love dragons. Which I thought was really sweet, and it was cool to see some of the side characters and their dragons and how they interact with them. But with all that being the case after the events of the first movie, the burden of expectations has now shifted with Hiccup. He went from being a disappointment to becoming revered and now he’s being thrusted into the role of tribe leader successor. Which he doesn’t want at all. It’s not him. With that position comes a commitment to be with the tribe almost at all times, protect them. And he wants to explore this world and map out everything he can. I loved how expansive this movie is. It was clear in the first one that this is a giant world with a lot of secrets and other things going on. So it was cool to see more of it in this movie. New tribes, new dragons, new friends, new foes. But ultimately this movie does a great job of keeping everything emotionally tight. This is still a story about Hiccup and his familial relationships and friendships. Which really get tested and pushed this movie. This is also a story about how somebody can rule. Friendship vs force and cruelty. Everything comes together really well.
It was awesome seeing Hiccup in the first movie befriend all of these dragons, learn what they like and their behaviors and ultimately come to the conclusion that they aren’t inherently dangerous and bringing that knowledge to his tribe. I loved seeing more of that in this movie. Both us as the viewer and Hiccup learn more about dragons and it was really sweet seeing what we know from the first movie being reinforced. Which makes it even more interesting because that ideology clashes with the main villain. He was intimidating, imposing, and really carried a presence every time he was on the screen or even mentioned, and he fully lived up to that. A menacing viking who only seeks to gain power from ruthlessly controlling dragons just as he does his own men. So when these two ideologies finally clash, it was not only a visual spectacle, but it was interesting and it also had dire consequences which resulted in some hard-hitting moments.
Again, this movie is stunning visually. More flying scenes, more dark and gloomy environments, but even more beautiful icy and snow areas. I still find it crazy how good these movies look. We got more dragons in this one and I think it’s very cool that a lot of them had fish like features. It married well with the areas the movie took place in and also added to the lore and biology of the dragons in this universe and how the big alphas work. I know there’s gotta be an ecology video on this series somewhere on YouTube and I will find it after I finish watching this trilogy.
So yeah, I loved this movie almost just as much as I loved the first one. Even more in some aspects. It completely met my expectations of what I wanted this sequel to be. More of the world, more dragons, still with a great story, and an interesting villain. Once again this series is 2/2 and I’m not only excited to see the third movie but also eventually the live action to see how they go about adapting everything.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 – 8/10
