TOP FLIGHT: a review of "How To Train Your Dragon 2"

"HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2"
Based upon the How To Train Your Dragon book series by Cressida Cowell
Written and Directed by Dean DeBlois
**** (four stars)

If you are going to do a sequel then this is how you do it!!

"How To Train Your Dragon 2," the sequel to the outstanding original 2010 film, is flat-out sensational! Writer/Director Dean DeBlois, who also co-helmed the first film, has not only completely created the best animated film of the year (so far), he has also fully trumped the creatively ailing Pixar as well as created an antidote to the assembly line nature of product being released to our theaters. Yes, it has truly been four years since the first installment and frankly, if DeBlois felt that he need those four full years to craft a film of such enormously high quality, than let us all be thankful that he took that precious time instead of rush releasing something that would quite possibly have been sub-par.

"How To Train Your Dragon 2" is indeed one of those rare sequels that expands upon everything that has come before, widening its cinematic universe, broadening its themes and even darkening the journey, making for a more propulsive experience and at times, one that reached operatic heights. And yet, DeBlois wisely realizes that just being bigger is not necessarily better as the film's primary themes and relationships firmly remain the film's urgently emotional core. With an eye popping visual sheen, thrilling adventure, and a luxurious friendship between young man and young dragon at the center, "How To Train Your Dragon 2" is an extraordinary feature that exists as so much more than a sequel to the original film. It is an equal to the original film.

"How To Train Your Dragon 2" picks up the adventures of Hiccup (again expertly voiced by Jay Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless the Night Fury five years after the events of the first film. Their Viking homeland of Berk now exists in harmonious balance as humans and dragons co-exist in rambunctious peacefulness as well as continuous wonder as the Vikings are now able to explore the wider world in greater detail and distance, which Hiccup and Toothless joyously seek and discover daily. Ever the restless spirit, Hiccup (who is possibly now 20 years old) also continues on his journey of self-discovery as his Father, Stoick The Vast (Gerald Butler), gradually prepares him to become the Chieftain, a position Hiccup fears that he is just not ready for, if he even wants the responsibility in the first place.  

While on one of their aerial travels, Hiccup and Toothless, accompanied by Hiccup's lady love, the adventurous Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera), come upon a dilapidated fort encased in ice as well as the presence of Eret the dragon trapper (Kit Harington). This meeting soon uncovers a nefarious plot undertaken by the madman Drago Bludvist (voiced with ferocious menace by Djimon Hounsou), a dragon hunter hell bent upon capturing every single dragon in order to build a dragon army and enact ultimate domination. While Stoick and the warriors of Berk prepare for the inevitable battle with Drago, Hiccup impulsively decides to face Drago himself, hoping to convince him of the dragons' nobility, grace and innate kindness and to potentially curtail any possible violence and war.

Unfortunately, one cannot reason with madness and Hiccup and Toothless' journey forces their bond to grow tighter even as escalating danger threatens to tear them apart. And then, there is the matter of Hiccup's reunion with his long-lost Mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett), a woman he has never known but one he may have to align himself with in order to save all of the dragons and the Viking homeland from war and destruction.

"How To Train Your Dragon 2" is artful entertainment of the highest exuberance. As with the original film, I truly loved how all of the dragons were richly created and realized with such magnificent detail and character, making creatures who clearly stood out from each other through their respective powers, skills and personalities. These creatures have been created with such a loving sense of awe and discovery that again they almost had me believing that these mythical beats once indeed roamed and flew around the Earth. All manner of surprises are continued to be found with the dragons, including the film's truly monstrous Alpha beast, the ice breathing Bewilderbeast, the one to whom all dragons answer and the one who supplies a tremendous source of conflict between Hiccup and Toothless.

I am not ashamed to admit to you that the fullness of my heart goes out to Toothless, the star dragon of this series. With his feline eyes, sleek black skin, wide mouth that possesses his trademark retractable teeth, he is a dragon to behold just like any other. But it is through his sense of loyalty, humor, friendship and devotion to Hiccup that continues to give this film series its soul. DeBlois again, and masterfully, finds that inexplicable bond between humans and animals and translates the intimacy and unconditional love that is shared in such wondrous detail and emotion. As I watched, there was absolutely no way that I could not think about my two cats, especially my little Jada, herself a sleek and speedy black cat with large emphatic eyes, a mischievously playful spirit and one who has constantly displayed her unending loyalty. I know that this may sound more than a little silly to some of you dear readers, especially as Toothless is indeed a character who clearly embodies the world of fantasy. Despite the fact that he is a computer generated dragon of all things, whenever he experienced joy, I felt it as well. When he was in danger or within situations where I feared for his safety, I just wanted to reach through the screen and claim him for my own. If that is not the utmost example of how movies can become magical, then I do not know what else could accomplish that feat.

I just do not know how, and yet completely enthralled by how DeBlois and his team were able to mirror real world relationships between humans and animals so effectively, and that sense of purity just made "How To Train Your Dragon 2" soar through the clouds, even when Hiccup and Toothless are standing firmly upon the ground. I deeply appreciate how DeBlois crafted his sequel to not simply exist as a series of dragon showdowns and hyper-kinetic CGI imagery, something he could have easily made and just as easily have had released. By ensuring that the entire film hinges upon this central relationship between Hiccup and Toothless and also designing Toothless to function as a real creature with real emotions as as well as his own story arc, "How To Train Your Dragon 2" is a deeper and even more powerful experience than one might expect for it to be.

I also deeply appreciated how DeBlois also ensured that all of the human characters existed as fully as possible, making the humor and the drama succeed grandly. I was indeed surprised by the deep emotional heft that was housed within "How To Train Your Dragon 2" as Hiccup's relationship with his Father remained loving yet conflicted and even builds to a sequence of stunning depth. The addition, and therefore return of Hiccup's Mother was indeed a masterstroke. The reunion between herself and Stoick, the husband she abandoned, possessed an unexpected romance filled with history, regret, passion and mutual admiration and respect, despite their differences. I especially loved how Valka was essentially the Viking world equivalent of a figure like Dian Fossey or Jane Goodall, as she is a dragon conservationist, advocate and protector. Additionally, we are able to view a sense of Hiccup's personality existing within his own lineage as he struggles to determine exactly what kind of a life he wishes to lead.

How Valka's life path influences Hiccup's while Stoick simultaneously grooms him for a life he is unsure that he is fit to lead, also provides "How To Train Your Dragon 2" with a profound exploration of how the realms of free will and destiny may actually influence each other instead of working in conflict against each other. How you may be able to travel down roads of your own making but somehow end up exactly where you were meant to be. Hiccup and Toothless reach new stages in their respective evolutions through the course of this film and it was exciting to witness if the two would compromise themselves in order to attain their goals or will they stick to their paths of love and loyalty and still achieve the greater good. Certainly, you will be able to know the answer to that question. Yet, the joy lies in witnessing their collective journey, especially as "How To Train Your Dragon 2" possesses a formidable villain, darker themes, and even great tragedy for our heroes to shoulder.
 
And then there is the sensation that occurs when "How To Train Your Dragon 2" takes to the skies. As with the first film, DeBlois has such a clear, clean visual palate during the movie's many flying sequences that you know the complete trajectory of any dragon at any time, especially within the extraordinary battle sequences with hundreds of dragons of various shapes and sizes all zooming around. DeBlois has once again masterfully utilized the techniques of movement, pacing, editing and cinematic velocity to exceedingly give you the sensation of flight even as your are seated in your theater chair and the result is so stupendously exhilarating that you will wish that you had a dragon of your very own to take you for a ride after leaving the movie theater.

Dean DeBlois' "How To Train Your Dragon 2" is a superlative film that proudly displays its fierce commitment to storytelling and to chasing the art and not the dollar. I cannot express to you enough how important it was to me to see how DeBlois and his team served the characters first, making the story and situations feel as real as possible that they ultimately extend themselves far beyond just being commercial cash-ins, something the team at Pixar has either sadly forgotten or has chosen to ignore. With "How To Train Your Dragon 3" currently in production and scheduled for a 2016 release, I am hoping that DeBlois, who is writing and directing again, will be able to deliver on what he has already presented to us in such tremendous and heartfelt fashion. But for now, we have even one more terrific movie for you to head out and see this summer, a sequel of rare confidence, style, emotion and boundless imagination.

"How To Train Your Dragon 2" is without question one of my favorite films of 2014.