How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - Review: Unlike the First Two, the Finale Feels Empty and Generic, Bringing the Trilogy to an Uninspired Close
Release date (US): February 22nd, 2019
Starring: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Kit Harrington, Cate Blanchett, F. Murray Abraham, Craig Ferguson, Gerard Butler, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse,
Starring: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Kit Harrington, Cate Blanchett, F. Murray Abraham, Craig Ferguson, Gerard Butler, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse,
**DISCLAIMER**: This is a subjective, opinionated article that does not have, nor should have any effect on your opinion. As such, my opinion is entitled to change over time and whatever is written here at this point in time may not and should not be held to me in the future. You are not meant to agree with me 100 percent of the time, because the nature of subjectivity is we see everything differently. If there is something you happen to disagree with, I absolutely respect your point of view if you will respect mine. Please keep this in mind.
The Review
The Review
It's not a stretch to say that the standard for animated feature films has risen steadily over the last two decades. From the inception of Pixar with the first Toy Story, all the way until now, animation has steadily gotten better and better, to the point where it has almost become photorealistic. There are some shots in animated films where it's almost impossible to tell whether or not it's animated or live-action.
And with that higher standard for animation and visual effects come higher standards for storytelling. And for the most part, a lot of animated films have stepped up to the plate. Pixar has been cranking out quality movie after quality movie for many, many years. But quietly, other studios have been stepping up and delivering quality animated films. The How to Train Your Dragon franchise is the prime example.
The first two How to Train Your Dragon films were not just good animated movies. Nor were they good children's fare. Rather, they were good movies, period. They were emotional, funny, smart, and geared not just to children, but to the entire family. They had deeper themes of acceptance, loss, and responsibility as we follow an unlikely hero, Hiccup, as he journeys through a world with dragons.
So it was to my utter surprise and shock that I found the third, and supposedly final installment to this excellent trilogy to be dull, empty, and rather boring, quite rankly. From a franchise that produced such great characters and touching moments, there was almost nothing "adult" about this movie. Which is perfectly acceptable for a film franchise such as "Trolls", let's say. Because you wouldn't expect anything deep or significant from movies that are purely meant to entertain children. But from a franchise that produced two films that could rival some of Pixar's best, I was extremely, extremely disappointed.
We meet up again with Hiccup, who is now running the island of Berk. He now has more responsibility than ever as he has to not only meet the expectations of his own people, but also face the mounting pressure from rivaling tribes and chiefs that believe his truce with the dragons is sacrilegious. Joining him are the usual cast of characters, like Astrid (America Ferrera), Snotloud (Jonah Hill), and his mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett).
The problem with this film lies not in the characters themselves, but rather how they're used. These characters have already been established and are rich characters. It's not the fact that they need to be expanded upon, but rather the fact that the wrong characters are given bigger roles and bigger moments, while the wrong characters are relegated to delivering exposition and advice when Hiccup needs it. And Hiccup himself doesn't feel as fully three-dimensional as he used to. It almost feels as if he's there to think about a problem and solve it promptly, only to run into another problem.
And really, that's what the film boils down to. The reason it's boring is not because of the characters, nor the scenarios necessarily. It's more of the way that the film is edited and strung together. Because of the way that the film is put together, it almost feels unnecessary. It feels more like a "day in the life" rather than a story that needs to be told. Each and every event that takes place feels important, yet so unimportant at the same time.
Not to say that there aren't some good moments. There are. The characters are too well-developed for there not to be. There are some interesting changes in the relationships between Toothless and Hiccup as well as Hiccup and Astrid. And there are some really tender moments, especially towards the end of the film. The last thirty or so minutes of the film felt good. They felt like they were more in line with the previous two installments. The film makes some interesting choices and closes out the series with some level of finality that ultimately wraps up the entire trilogy.
But that's the main problem with the film; while the resolution to the film feels right and feels deserved, it's not because of anything in the movie itself, but rather what was set up before it. It felt like the filmmakers and story-writers wanted so desperately to reach this ending, which was a very good ending, granted, but didn't pay much attention to how they were to get there. The first two acts meandered for a long time, and the reason behind some of the events taking place made absolutely no sense. The film spends way too much time on the relationship between Toothless and this Light Fury, but it doesn't feel earned like it did between Hiccup and Toothless in the first film.
That being said, it's not an unpleasant film to look at. In fact, it's beautiful. From the very first frame, I was completely taken aback. Many of the frames seemed to be taken straight out of live-action. It was a level of animation that really, and truly seemed like the next generation of animation. The attention to detail was absolutely breath-taking. The amount of time taken to develop each and every frame was evident, and for that, I can commend the film.
In Conclusion: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is not a terrible film. I don't think it's a bad film either. But it's utterly uninteresting. It feels completely empty and devoid of any importance, falling well short of the bar set by the previous two. While it wraps up the trilogy in a way that seems fitting and poetic, the first hour and a half that it took to get there did not feel as if there was a lot of care put into it. The film is not without its merit. But I wouldn't say it's worth a watch either.
And with that higher standard for animation and visual effects come higher standards for storytelling. And for the most part, a lot of animated films have stepped up to the plate. Pixar has been cranking out quality movie after quality movie for many, many years. But quietly, other studios have been stepping up and delivering quality animated films. The How to Train Your Dragon franchise is the prime example.
The first two How to Train Your Dragon films were not just good animated movies. Nor were they good children's fare. Rather, they were good movies, period. They were emotional, funny, smart, and geared not just to children, but to the entire family. They had deeper themes of acceptance, loss, and responsibility as we follow an unlikely hero, Hiccup, as he journeys through a world with dragons.
So it was to my utter surprise and shock that I found the third, and supposedly final installment to this excellent trilogy to be dull, empty, and rather boring, quite rankly. From a franchise that produced such great characters and touching moments, there was almost nothing "adult" about this movie. Which is perfectly acceptable for a film franchise such as "Trolls", let's say. Because you wouldn't expect anything deep or significant from movies that are purely meant to entertain children. But from a franchise that produced two films that could rival some of Pixar's best, I was extremely, extremely disappointed.
We meet up again with Hiccup, who is now running the island of Berk. He now has more responsibility than ever as he has to not only meet the expectations of his own people, but also face the mounting pressure from rivaling tribes and chiefs that believe his truce with the dragons is sacrilegious. Joining him are the usual cast of characters, like Astrid (America Ferrera), Snotloud (Jonah Hill), and his mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett).
The problem with this film lies not in the characters themselves, but rather how they're used. These characters have already been established and are rich characters. It's not the fact that they need to be expanded upon, but rather the fact that the wrong characters are given bigger roles and bigger moments, while the wrong characters are relegated to delivering exposition and advice when Hiccup needs it. And Hiccup himself doesn't feel as fully three-dimensional as he used to. It almost feels as if he's there to think about a problem and solve it promptly, only to run into another problem.
And really, that's what the film boils down to. The reason it's boring is not because of the characters, nor the scenarios necessarily. It's more of the way that the film is edited and strung together. Because of the way that the film is put together, it almost feels unnecessary. It feels more like a "day in the life" rather than a story that needs to be told. Each and every event that takes place feels important, yet so unimportant at the same time.
Not to say that there aren't some good moments. There are. The characters are too well-developed for there not to be. There are some interesting changes in the relationships between Toothless and Hiccup as well as Hiccup and Astrid. And there are some really tender moments, especially towards the end of the film. The last thirty or so minutes of the film felt good. They felt like they were more in line with the previous two installments. The film makes some interesting choices and closes out the series with some level of finality that ultimately wraps up the entire trilogy.
But that's the main problem with the film; while the resolution to the film feels right and feels deserved, it's not because of anything in the movie itself, but rather what was set up before it. It felt like the filmmakers and story-writers wanted so desperately to reach this ending, which was a very good ending, granted, but didn't pay much attention to how they were to get there. The first two acts meandered for a long time, and the reason behind some of the events taking place made absolutely no sense. The film spends way too much time on the relationship between Toothless and this Light Fury, but it doesn't feel earned like it did between Hiccup and Toothless in the first film.
That being said, it's not an unpleasant film to look at. In fact, it's beautiful. From the very first frame, I was completely taken aback. Many of the frames seemed to be taken straight out of live-action. It was a level of animation that really, and truly seemed like the next generation of animation. The attention to detail was absolutely breath-taking. The amount of time taken to develop each and every frame was evident, and for that, I can commend the film.
In Conclusion: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is not a terrible film. I don't think it's a bad film either. But it's utterly uninteresting. It feels completely empty and devoid of any importance, falling well short of the bar set by the previous two. While it wraps up the trilogy in a way that seems fitting and poetic, the first hour and a half that it took to get there did not feel as if there was a lot of care put into it. The film is not without its merit. But I wouldn't say it's worth a watch either.
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