Animation hits new heights with knockout opening to How to Train Your Dragon 2
HOW to Train Your Dragon 2: Some films hit the ground running. This sequel knows full well it can go one better than that.
Leigh Paatsch
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SOME films hit the ground running. How to Train Your Dragon 2 knows full well it can go one better than that.
So it hits the skies flying with a stunning aerial setpiece, featuring racing dragons being piloted by young daredevil Vikings.
Deploying a next-level brand of animation that combines the vividly photorealistic with the craftily illustrated, it is a knockout opening sequence that immediately wows an audience into happy submission.
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The story picks up a few years after the original (a timespan that hardline HTTYD devotees will point out has been very well covered in the TV spin-off Dragons: Riders of Berk).
The young Viking warrior Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and his trusty Night Fury dragon Toothless find themselves locked in battle with a dangerous dude named Drago (Djimon Hounsou).
Though Hiccup and the best tribal defenders in Berk have a good chance of seeing off Drago’s hired henchmen, there is one weapon in the enemy arsenal that could end the human-dragon alliance once and for all.
Drago has enslaved a dreaded Bewilderbeast, a huge species of “alpha dragon” that exhales devastating shards of permafrost instead of fire.
To make matters worse, Drago’s Bewilderbeast can impose his will telepathically upon all other dragons.
The breathtaking perfection of the visuals in How to Train Your Dragon 2 quite rightly divert attention from the imperfections of the plot. On more than one occasion, a feeling descends that too big a story is being crammed into too small a space.
With the thematic intent of the sequel coursing deeper (and sometimes darker) than before, some developments may not fully resonate with the franchise’s kiddlywink fanbase.
Nevertheless, as far as animated action-adventure outings go, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a solid and exciting offering for those to whom the franchise appeals.
The addition of a handful of new characters — stay away from the trailer if you don’t want to know the secret of Cate Blanchett’s mysterious character — is certainly a welcome one, as are the epic fight scenes spawned by the arrival of Drago’s Bewilderbeast.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (PG)
Director: Dean DuBlois (How to Train Your Dragon)
Starring: the voices of Jay Baruchel, Djimon Hounsou, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler
Verdict: Three stars. Soaring towards more frequent-fire points
Originally published as Animation hits new heights with knockout opening to How to Train Your Dragon 2
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