How to Train Your Dragon (2025)
Was a live-action How to Train Your
Dragon necessary? No. Is its existence a cash grab? Most probably. Is it
blasphemous to introduce children to the How to Train Your Dragon film
series by taking them to see this live-action first instead of 2010's now
animated classic? Not at all, because the new film is directed by Dean DeBlois,
who directed or co-directed and co-wrote the animated trilogy, so this is in
good hands.
Based on the book series by Cressida
Cowell, the new movie takes the same trajectory as the 2010 film. We meet
16-year-old Hiccup (Mason Thames), a Viking who lives in the village of Berk,
which is plagued by frequent dragon attacks. During a nighttime dragon raid,
Hiccup manages to wound a rare Night Fury dragon before it flies away. The boy
isn't a killer, but to please his father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, who
voiced the same character in the animated version), and impress a girl, Astrid
(the charming Nico Parker), Hiccup travels into the forest to find and slay the
dragon. Things don't turn out that way, as Hiccup and the Night Fury, who he
names Toothless, become friends. Stoick and the villagers do not like this turn
of events, but they have a gigantic queen dragon to contend with.
At first, the movie doesn't seem too
promising, as the opening night attack is visually too dark and the scene
lacked energy, while Thames comes off as too vanilla. However, once Hiccup and
Toothless bond, the film kicks into high gear, with good character work, exciting
visuals, and composer John Powell's infectious music score, which is a holdover
from the animated films.
Yes, this is basically a scene for
scene remake, but the story still works.
