How to Train Your Dragon 2 movie review

The sequel to How to Train Your Dragon is finally here! How does it hold up to the first? I’d say extremely well. Extremely, as in Fan-Tucking-Fastic!!! This movie is proof that this summer is going to kick major @$$!!!

So, if you can’t tell already, I absolutely love and cherish this movie. The first one was one of my favorite animated films of all time, but this sequel completely dominates it! It takes the steps a sequel should take.

Without spoiling anything, because I do not want to and you need to see it for yourself, I will give a brief plot description. In this movie, Hiccup is grown up, he’s still flying with Toothless (who is adorable, by the way), and everyone in the town has their own dragon companion. Pretty soon, he discovers that there is some evil jerk who’s trying to build a dragon army to take over everything. Naturally, Hiccup has to take him down. The movie is WAY deeper than that, but I’m not saying anything else. You’ll have to see it for yourself.

One of the best things about this movie is that it doesn’t rehash the same thing over again, like some other sequels do. It continues the story, gives deeper characters, and puts them through tougher challenges that change them. The dialogue is SO perfect! It sells these characters and their emotions, what they’re feeling, and what they’re going through as genuine, once again like the first film. There were a lot of sweet, touching moments, and then there were a few parts that made me want to cry. I was tearing up, and that’s not a bad thing.

The animation is unbelievable. It’s one of the most visually appealing animated films ever! There’s so much detail on everything and everyone. When it just shows the environments, like the ocean or the ice fields or something, it looks almost real. The flying scenes were impressive, as always. The dragons are even cooler in this one. There’s a lot of new types of dragons, and once again, they look awesome. Especially during the action scenes. Yeah, this is FULL of dragon fights and explosions and all sorts of intense scenes! I was surprised at how much of it there was! The best way to see this is in 3D, but I heard that 2D is just as good.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a fun time for people of all ages. Kids will like it because of the dragons and imaginative designs, the older viewers will like the deeper tones and emotional moments that aren’t in a lot of animated movies recently. This movie is funny, action packed, and overall perfect! There wasn’t much to the villain at all, other than being a big jerk, but he was still a decent bad guy.

It’s the movie to see this weekend, and probably for the rest of June. I love it, it’s one of my favorite animated films, one of my favorite films in general, and I WILL own this when it comes out on DVD and blu-ray. I want a sequel, but I’m not sure Dreamworks can top this one. It’s their best film (in my opinion), and it’s usually the third movie in a Dreamworks series that starts the downfall (Shrek 3 and 4). Either way, you can bet I’ll see the next one on opening night. Why? Because I gladly give How to Train Your Dragon 2 a perfect score of….

50 / 50

STORY: 5 / 5

VOICE ACTING: 5 / 5

CHARACTERS: 5 / 5

ANIMATION: 5 / 5

ACTION/ADVENTURE: 5 / 5

SOUNDTRACK: 5 / 5

TONE: 5 / 5

ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5

REWATCH VALUE: 5 / 5

OWNING VALUE: 5 / 5

I may love the Lego Movie, but this is definitely a contender for best animated film. It’s earned a spot on my Top 5 of 2014. I liked this better than Frozen… please don’t hunt me down and shoot me for that. That’s just my opinion. But you cannot deny that How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a great film! If you do, then you have no soul.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to catch 22 Jump Street this weekend as well. If not, then whatever, I guess. I’m pretty content with this for one weekend.