The franchise continues to soar thanks to the film's compelling story, strong emotional depth, and characters that are still great

Rating: 10/10 (2 March 2018)

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! :)