In How to Train Your Dragon–no, not that one, that one, or that one, but the new one that looks slightly different because it has real humans in it–writer/director Dean DeBlois, the guy who made that other one and those other two as well, sells himself out for what is presumably God-level money to remake his own damned movie scene for scene.
DeBlois, the guy behind the three critically acclaimed animated How to Train Your Dragons, which, based on the two books I’ve read to my young daughter, are far superior to the source material, has made a live-action remake that will, in your eyes, either take flight or burn in the hellfire of Mount Doom–depending on your tolerance for live-action remakes.
On the one hand, this How to Train Your Dragon remake is a near carbon copy of the animated original, which could be interpreted as a soulless cash grab with no originality, creativity, or purpose for existing in this hellscape we call our lives. There really is no justification to watch this movie over the animated movie whatsoever–even Toothless the Dog Dragon looks exactly the same as he did before, and Gerard Butler (and presumably others, I’m too lazy to research) returns as Stoic, Hiccup’s stubborn father.
On the other hand…
This new How to Train Your Dragon is pretty entertaining, with a charming lead (Mason Thames) and engrossing action and visual effects. Sure, you know exactly what is going to happen, but DeBlois has made a fun, family-friendly, action-packed reason to hand over your pathetic dollars in exchange for two hours of mindless big screen time.
The third act is particularly explosive, including when, in the middle of the climax, my six-year-old (who LOVED the movie and doesn’t care that she has seen the animated ones a hundred times over) decided she needed to go to the [public, men’s] bathroom while only wearing one shoe. The visuals are grand, the action exciting, and things go boom.
There are some nits–the costumes, and especially the hair, of some of the characters feel a little Disney Channel-ish (Astrid, played by Nico Parker, is particularly victimized in this aspect), and the script, while fine, isn’t exactly emotionally deep.
But as unnecessary as this movie is, and as duplicative of the original as it is, this How to Train Your Dragon remake is one of the more rewarding live-action remakes in recent memory. That might not be enough to sway you–totally fine–but if you just want to be entertained and give your kids something to do, this one breathes more than enough fire to justify the cost. Dean DeBlois may be laughing in his mansion stuffed with money, but he at least gave our dragon eyes something to feast on.
Review by Erik Samdahl.