Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

mhstar-97570 Somehow, they managed to take everything that made the first movie so magical - and just throw it out of the window. The first movie is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sure, they could have picked a better title that would not give away from the very start that, well, they'll be training dragons. But that aside, the story of a village of vikings struggling against an onslaught of dragons, and, despite everything he's been taught, a boy and a dragon becoming best friends and changing the world together, sticking up for each other, is magical and simply grand. The sequel throws away the magic. Violence is abound. Toothless is portrayed as feeble-minded and dangerous. I have no idea what they were going for, and what kind of message they are trying to send.Harmless example: Hiccup is surrounded by dragons and the dragon rider leader. Toothless gets dropped in. The dragon rider waves, and all dragons threateningly open their mouths, revealing fire. Toothless immediately stands in front of Hiccup, and shields him with his tail - great. That's friendship right there. Now the dragon rider approaches, waves, and in the next moment Toothless rolls on the ground in glee, completely subdued. Is that supposed to tell me anything in particular about their relationship? Even if you stretch it reeeal far and claim that the dragon rider "spoke" to Toothless - it sure didn't take a lot to leave himself and Hiccup completely unprotected. Next example - yup, the death scene that everyone else complains about too. Within the blink of an eye Toothless becomes completely controlled by the Alpha (after Draco announces it, no less). Words aren't getting through, and in the next moment he fires at Stoick, killing him in an instant. Was that part of the plot really necessary? Should that show me a particularly deep friendship between Toothless and Hiccup, or a special bond that no one outside can touch? Never mind the fact that he did actually mean to kill Hiccup - essentially his best friend for many years. To me, it felt that this part was more of a "gotcha" from the writers, as if they were saying "Hah, did you think his words would be coming through? Well, gotcha!!"In return however, Hiccup gets a second chance to get through to Toothless - without any imminent danger, all while the villain is grinning and waiting for Hiccup to make his move. And boy, does he rejoice when he gets through ("Atta boyyy, that's iiit!"). The death of his father is forgotten, and he gets crowned chief by the elder, complete with painting his face akin to The Lion King.They throw you another curve-ball at the end - just when you think "okay, that's gotta be it" - nop. The big bad Alpha freezes Hiccup in ice. "Haha, did you think it was done? We gotcha again!" But whoops, turns out Toothless protected him, so he gets out without a scratch, and now, after aaaaall this talk about "peace and friendship" the Alpha gets walloped like there is no tomorrow until its tusks break off - and that's finally it then. What exactly is supposed to be magic about that again?The entire movie is basically about who's controlling the dragons. The Alpha controls most dragons. Everyone controls Toothless - except Hiccup. The dragon rider waves her hand to make Toothless flop on the floor like a good doggy while Hiccup's presumably still in peril, she presses Toothless' buttons to make him sprout extra fins, Draco barely needs to show effort to get Toothless on his side -- and that's the pair that's supposed to have the deepest and most special bond among all of the characters?! The magic from the first movie - that dragons are mysterious creatures with their own minds and notion of friendship is nothing but an empty shell here. The movie paints them as weak-minded, simply acting under whoever's the Alpha at the moment, and easily controlled by anyone who knows how to wave their hands in the right way.Contrast that to the first movie - yes, the dragons were bringing that huge dragon food - but it is made clear that they were tyrannized, and acted out of fear. Case in point, when they don't bring enough food, they get eaten. Nothing of that is necessary in this sequel - the Alpha just needs to make its eyes dance, and bamm, all the dragons follow its every command - not because of fear, but because of, you know, just because. Mind control, whee.On the plus side: good animation, good graphic effects, long. But that alone doesn't make a movie. Zootopia is animated better, with better graphic effects, and yet I'd say HTTYD 1 has a stronger message. I really don't want to bash sequels. I hope that the third part in 2019 brings back the magic from the first part. Judging by how much they aged, Toothless and Hiccup have been together for a decade, and they've been each others best friends for that long. Think of what that means. If I want pure action with a bunch of deaths I'd watch Aliens. This sequel tried to be everything - love, romance, action, drama, separation, loss, reunion - and diluted its core values with it. And that is a huge shame.I'd rate it a 4/10. It has its moments, but overall there is little to relive and to rewatch. Story-wise it's definitely a step down from the first part - which is also reflected on metareview sites. Please make part 3 good, at least.

Gavin Cresswell (gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297) Hi everyone. This is gavin.thelordofthefuture and today's the 2nd of March which means that the third and final installment of the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy will be out in one more year. So, I'm going to review this second installment that came out almost four years ago.After the success of the original film in 2010, DreamWorks started production on the sequel. Dean DeBlois, who directed the first film with Chris Sanders, revisited the films from his childhood, My Neighbor Totoro and The Empire Strikes Back as inspirations for the film to focus on the scope, the characters, and the fun. The original voice cast including Jay Baruchel, gerald Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig returned fo the sequel along with three new additions like Cate Blanchett, Djimon Hounsou, and Kit Harrington from Game of Thrones. Then, after finishing the design and look of the film itself, it came out to theaters and was met with critical acclaim, with praise for it's animation, voice work, action sequences, John Powell's musical score, emotional depth for the characters, and the more darker and serious tone compared to the first film. So, having loved the original, this sequel blew away my expecations and is the best animated sequel from DreamWorks since Shrek 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, and Madagascar 3.How To Train Your Dragon 2 shows Hiccup trying to take responsibility when he becomes the chief of Berk. Suddenly, a threat occurs when the new villain named Drago Bludvist sets to conquer the world and it's up to him and the other dragon riders, along with Hiccup's long lost mother, Valka, to save it.This film is a reminder of a second installment done right. It reminds me of Kung Fu Panda 2, also a great sequel to the original film, which I also loved as well. Because not only does it provide a compelling story with breathtaking flying moments that are as good as the original film, excellent action sequences and emotional moments (the flashback of Valka being taken by the dragons, the reunion of Stoick and Valka, the death of Stoick (SPOILER ALERT to those who haven't seen the film yet), Hiccup's attempts to free Toothless from the Bewilderbeast's control with the power of compassion and friendship) but it does a great job in expanding on the original film by making the new characters and villain have a connection to how the war between the Vikings and Dragons started. The new characters are great. Valka (voiced by Lady Galadriel-I mean Cate Blanchett) is a female side character done really well because of her relationship with Hiccup and their perspectives on how to create peace for all the dragons and vikings of Berk. Eret, the dragon trapper and working for Drago Bludvist, is really entertaining and while having some menacing moments, he also has some hilarious moments. And last, but not least, Drago Bludvist. Some people considered him to be a generic villain wanting to conquer the world, but to me, he's one of DreamWorks Animation's best villains since Rameses, Tai Lung, and Lord Shen. The reason why his connection to how the war between Vikings and Dragons started make sense is because his people were slaughtered by dragons is what drives him to use dragons to bring fear to other people.That being said, the rest of the film maintains the same strengths that the original film had. Hiccup continues to be relatable due to his struggles by trying to take responsibility as chief of Berk and his relationships with Toothless, Astrid, Stoick, and Valka are beautifully written. The other dragon riders Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and Ruffnut weren't given as much screentime, I'll admit, but they contributed a little bit more to the plot while still providing some great humor particularly with Ruffnut, whose expressions when encountering Eret became really hilarious. Stoick, whose stubborness changed after the end of the original film, is still a great chief and shared his emotional moments with Valka perfectly while Gobber is still a funny side character. The animation continues to be beautiful from the landscapes, the even more unique character animations and movements and expressions so beautiful. And last but not least, the music score from John Powell and he did a great job. He reprises the themes from the first film while introducing new themes for the new characters, but not only that. It retains the scottish tone and provides some really strong action music writing while also being as epic, dramatic, haunting, and emotional as ever.Overall, How To Train Your Dragon 2 not only managed to be as good as the original film, but reached the mature heights for DreamWorks Animation since The Prince of Egypt. I cannot wait for How To Train Your Dragon 3! Solid recommendation to fans! :)

hansefde Rarely a sequel is better than the first one, but here it is. The graphics are stunning, but more importantly the story deals with difficult questions. While the first movie was about trust and friendship, How to train your dragon 2 is about dealing with the death of relatives, becoming mature and being able to take responsibilities. It's a big step for a teenager becoming mature and this movie deals with it brilliantly. Yes it's an animated movie, but adults will like it as much as children. One to watch for the whole family. An epic movie.

Miguel Neto Continued great How to Train Your Dragon , How to Train Your Dragon 2 tries to be higher than its predecessor, and almost can , but I still prefer the first , but it's still a very good animation, the characters are older, we are introduced to new characters, the film is a bit sad and dramatic than the previous, some legal others uninteresting , the Night Fury is more docile, cute and funny in this movie , the soundtrack remains excellent , the voice work is at the same level of the first , great , the plot is good, and the battles are good yet, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a bit lower than the first , more is very funny and has some sad moments . note 8.3