Throws out everything that made the first movie so magical

Rating: 4/10 (10 June 2018)

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.