On the island of Berk, things have changed
a lot since we first met Hiccup and his friends (both humans and dragons). Now,
the island is home not only to the Vikings, but also to their pet dragons. However,
things take a turn for the worse when an insane warrior unleashes an army of
mind-controlled dragons.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a huge success for 2014. It
received high reviews and made more money than any other animated film in 2014
(at the time this review was written). The film stars the voice talents of Jay
Baruchel as Hiccup, Cate Blanchett as Valka, a dragon trainer, and Gerard
Butler as Stoick the Vast, Hiccup's father and chieftain of Berk.
SUMMARY
The film opens five years after the first film in a
way reminiscent of the original How to Train Your Dragon, though
with one radical difference: dragons are now part of everyday life on Berk.
This includes competitions involving flying dragons and catching sheep.
Hiccup and his dragon companion Toothless have begun
exploring new territories, mapping them as they go along. However, Stoick,
Hiccup's father, wants to pass on the role of chieftain to his son. Hiccup is
less than thrilled and admits to his "fiancée" Astrid that he fears
he is not suited to the task as his great father has been.
While Hiccup and Astrid talk, Hiccup notices dark
smoke rising in the horizon. The humans, with their dragons Toothless and
Stormfly, go to investigate. They find the destroyed remains of some sort of
fort that is stuck in a giant formation of ice. They meet a dragon trapper
named Eret who tells them he works for a man named Drago Bludvist, who is
raising an army of dragons under his control.
Hiccup and Astrid, with their dragons, escape Eret
and his men. They return to Berk and warn Stoick of the trouble. Stoick tells
Hiccup he knows of Drago: he is an insane man who claimed to have the power to
control dragons. Years ago, when the Viking chieftains refused to bow to him as
their ruler (in exchange for protection from dragons), he called in armored
dragons. Stoick was the only chieftain to survive the attack.
Hiccup wants to attempt to reason with Drago in the
hopes of preventing war. Stoick tells his son that there is no reasoning with
the lunatic, and that Berk must prepare for invasion.
However, Hiccup and Astrid leave the island in search
of Drago. They find Eret and allow him to "capture" them, in order to
meet Bludvist. Yet Stoick, his friend Gobber, and some young dragon riders come
to save Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup escapes from his father and friends, so he
and Toothless continue their search for Drago.
They are captured (for real this time) by a
mysterious, mask-wearing dragon rider named Valka. She reveals a truly
life-shaking secret to Hiccup and shows him a hidden island where dragons live
in peace. She tells Hiccup that, like him, she was unable to kill dragons and
instead befriended them and learned all of their secrets. She shows Hiccup an
Alpha-species dragon, whom all other dragons in the area obey.
Soon, Stoick and Gobber track Hiccup to the
"dragon island," where they meet Valka. Meanwhile, Astrid and the
other young adult dragon riders, with assistance from Eret, find their way to
Drago. They are captured by Drago's men, as are their dragons.
Eventually, Drago's army attacks Valka's secret home.
She and the Berk dragon riders fight Drago's forces to protect it, but are
defeated when Drago reveals his own Alpha dragon. His Alpha defeats the other
one and begins controlling all of the dragons, even those belonging to Berk's
Vikings. The Berk dragon riders also suffer a hard casualty of the battle.
Bludvist and his army make way for Berk where they
plan to steal the remaining dragons and conquer the Viking world. However,
Hiccup and his friends race to defend their island in a final battle against
Drago.
GENERAL INFORMATION
How to Train Your Dragon 2 definitely has
its violent scenes. Kids of kindergarten age or younger might be frightened by
the battles or the dragons. There are many explosions (complete with fire and
destruction) as well as battles between both dragons and humans. In one scene,
a dragon kills someone by blowing fire; we see the dead body of the person,
though it appears mostly unharmed. Also, there are several scenes where dragons
threaten humans. Drago Bludvist might scare young children, as he is a dark,
foreboding character. Not to mention, he is violent and murderous. Twice we see
wounds: one is when a man reveals scars on his chest, and the other is when
Drago removes his metal arm, revealing the stump of his original one. Besides
this, there are some more mild violent scenes and references, including some
mild cruelty to sheep.
While there are no specific swear words used, there
are a couple of unfinished sentences ("what the..." and "kick
[his]..."). There is a small amount of name-calling. Also, a young woman
calls Eret, "Son of an Eret," perhaps implying something more crude.
There are three kisses in all, two including Hiccup
and Astrid, another between a married couple. But worse than this are scenes in
which the young dragon rider Ruffnet eyes Eret several times, including
slow-motion shots of his arms. Two young Viking men compete for Ruffnet's
affections throughout the entire film.
Related to the above paragraph is one scene that
sparked some controversy among audiences. While a married couple engaged in an
argument, Gobber turns to Hiccup and says, "This is why I never married.
This and one other reason." While this could have been taken many different
ways, director Dean DeBlois said that it implies Gobber is homosexual.
Otherwise, this won't be fully understood by younger kids. Even teens and
adults could have taken this a different way, had it not been for the
director's comment in an interview.
Much of the disaster in the movie is caused by Hiccup
who refuses to comply with his father's wishes. When Stoick tells Hiccup to
stay on Berk, rather than searching for Drago, Hiccup and Astrid leave Berk.
Later, once Stoick finds Hiccup, he tells his son not to continue looking for
Drago, but to return home. Again, Hiccup flees with his dragon.
Although there are these areas of concern, there are
also some good aspects of the movie. One of the main aspects of the film is
that Hiccup is trying to discover who he is. In the end, he does discover his
purpose. All humans have a purpose, because we have a loving and all-powerful
God. Ultimately, our most important purpose is to glorify God. Astrid tells
Hiccup that his purpose can be found in his heart, but true and lasting purpose
will never be found in ourselves alone, but only through Jesus Christ.
As far as the acting, it was very good. Gerard Butler
and Cate Blanchett were magnificent in their voice acting as Stoick and Valka
respectively. On the whole, the acting was pretty convincing.
Just as with the previous film, John Powell's musical
score is fantastic once again. The score was reminiscent of the original movie,
while still having its own feel. Also, the song For the Dancing and the
Dreaming (performed by Gerard Butler and Mary Jane Wells), while
relatively short, was a nice touch to one of the scenes.
To be honest, I really loved How to Train
Your Dragon 2. So, yes, this whole review is a little biased. However, if
you enjoyed the previous movie or Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda films,
this will likely be an enjoyable film for you. Young boys, I'm sure, will also
be thrilled to see the return of Hiccup and Toothless.
Even though there are some tense scenes for smaller
kids, this is still a film I believe many families will enjoy. I certainly
recommend it as one of the year's best family movies.
GENERAL CONTENT
Length: 102 minutes
Rating: PG (for adventure action and some mild rude humor)
Director: Dean DeBlois
Producers: Bonnie Arnold
Music: John Powell
Year of release: 2014
Primary audience: Family, pre-teens, teens
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