A great sequel that proves to be as a good as the first film

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2014)

At first I was skeptical of this film. The first movie did deserve a sequel, but I thought that the trailers revealed too much and that there wouldn't be much of a film left.
I was wrong.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 makes bold leaps both metaphorically and literally. The movie brings the audience to new locations, reveals many new dragon species, has new characters, and explains much more about the dragon universe. Shockingly, this movie actually has a villain, unlike the first movie, and the movie still proves to be very emotional and loving.
People seem to complain about the villain for being too simplistic and not well fleshed-out. I agree that he is not fleshed-out. He does need a bit more of a back story. However, I don't think he was bad. How To Train Your Dragon 2 isn't about who the villain is, the movie is about power, freedom, and how some people can't be reasoned with. Drago is bad. However, it is established that he is kind of insane and you can clearly see it. You can see through his facial expressions and his attitude that he is a very powerful person who always wants to show his dominance. His presence is actually very powerful especially when you see him take on dragons and force them into submission. He isn't a complex character, but he is very interesting. His heartlessness shows a huge contrast to Hiccup's caring. This makes him a good villain because he went through the same things as Hiccup, but ended up with a different outcome. A much different outcome. The movie makes a power hungry villain seem realistic. There are people in real-life who are power hungry. They are simplistic, but they are still very real.
One of the best things in this movie (other than the great camera angles, lighting, and action) is the character interaction. The characters will actually sit around and talk like... actual people. The relationships are great because the father and mother ACTUALLY work! You can see why they got married in the first place and you can see why they had their issues, but you can tell they both love each other deeply. The same goes with Hiccup and Astrid. In the first movie their romance seemed forced, but in this movie it feels natural and realistic. There are some touching moments between characters.
The mother adds to the movie significantly. You can tell she isn't quite... right in the head. She has a lot of odd moments, she is a bit strange and out of it, but you can tell she still loves her family, she just doesn't know how to express it properly. It is very rare to have an interesting motherly character in an animated movie.
I thought one of the most interesting aspects of the movie was the concept of force and power. People naturally go towards the side with power, whether or not they agree with it. This makes the villain all the more terrifying because he is obviously very powerful to have an Alpha Dragon on his side.
On a side note: This movie is one of the most detailed and beautiful animated movies I have seen. Generally most animated movies will have their hiccups (no pun intended) where the character's face looks a little plastic, or certain objects lack fine textures, but this movie... this movie has it all. The lighting is spectacular, the textures look amazing, and the camera angles are all fantastic looking.
Overall, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is a great sequel. It doesn't tell the same story as the first film and it adds a lot to the Dragon Universe. The character's actually age, and it tells a good moral (while a bit forced at times).