My expectations were too high for this frenetic sequel

Rating: 7/10 (23 June 2014)

I enjoyed HTTYD1, and wrote a good review for it. I had high expectations for this one. Many of the good points of the original movie are found in this one too. There were some surprising moments, and a few moments of animated magic.
However, I enjoyed this sequel somewhat less. I was restless throughout the entire film, and I actually had to walk out once. It's hard to put my finger on why. Admittedly, my expectations were quite high.
For one thing, this sequel was too busy, too frenetic, too fast moving, too loud, too much shouting. Somehow with this one I was more conscious of the artifice. In HTTYD1, the dragons seemed amazingly real; in this one, they seemed obviously cartoonish.
The movie seemed to be about quantity rather than quality. It was the difference between a nature documentary focusing on one small group of animals, and one focusing on a herd. You don't really care about herds.
I would have preferred a quieter, more focused film with mystery and magic. There was a little of that here, but this was more like an action-adventure video-game film, with even a nod to recent giant lizard movies like Pacific Rim and Godzilla. There was even shooting and chasing.
I just couldn't get into the narrative. It felt convoluted and uninteresting. I groaned audibly when Valka revealed her identity (although I think she was an interesting character, well played by Blanchett). Was I right in thinking that the technology and complexity of this Viking village has increased a lot, more than seems right? In the first move, I felt like it was almost a real Viking village (after I got used to the accents).
Perhaps my issues with this sequel are nothing more than the loss of the surprise factor, a problem for any sequel. I'm sorry the filmmakers did not succeed in recapturing the breathtaking originality of the first one. This was an overwrought, overdone development of a good idea rather than a re-creation. A good sequel should be watchable without having seen the original. I don't feel this was the case here.
Several things in this movie downright annoyed me, eg the way Hiccup kept asking "what's going on" and kept calling Toothless "bud". I suppose that's the writing; however, I also think Baruchel was miscast. I get it: whiny, insecure, smart-alecky kid tames nightfury and becomes hero and then grows up and becomes smart chieftain. I couldn't get past the whiny smart aleck.
Maybe I have to see this movie again to appreciate it properly. It's worth about 6.5 in my books.