Good start, but then it gets ruined

The first must-see film of the year.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Somehow, they managed to take everything that made the first movie so magical - and just throw it out of the window. The first movie is nothing short of a masterpiece. Sure, they could have picked a better title that would not give away from the very start that, well, they'll be training dragons. But that aside, the story of a village of vikings struggling against an onslaught of dragons, and, despite everything he's been taught, a boy and a dragon becoming best friends and changing the world together, sticking up for each other, is magical and simply grand. The sequel throws away the magic. Violence is abound. Toothless is portrayed as feeble-minded and dangerous. I have no idea what they were going for, and what kind of message they are trying to send.Harmless example: Hiccup is surrounded by dragons and the dragon rider leader. Toothless gets dropped in. The dragon rider waves, and all dragons threateningly open their mouths, revealing fire. Toothless immediately stands in front of Hiccup, and shields him with his tail - great. That's friendship right there. Now the dragon rider approaches, waves, and in the next moment Toothless rolls on the ground in glee, completely subdued. Is that supposed to tell me anything in particular about their relationship? Even if you stretch it reeeal far and claim that the dragon rider "spoke" to Toothless - it sure didn't take a lot to leave himself and Hiccup completely unprotected. Next example - yup, the death scene that everyone else complains about too. Within the blink of an eye Toothless becomes completely controlled by the Alpha (after Draco announces it, no less). Words aren't getting through, and in the next moment he fires at Stoick, killing him in an instant. Was that part of the plot really necessary? Should that show me a particularly deep friendship between Toothless and Hiccup, or a special bond that no one outside can touch? Never mind the fact that he did actually mean to kill Hiccup - essentially his best friend for many years. To me, it felt that this part was more of a "gotcha" from the writers, as if they were saying "Hah, did you think his words would be coming through? Well, gotcha!!"In return however, Hiccup gets a second chance to get through to Toothless - without any imminent danger, all while the villain is grinning and waiting for Hiccup to make his move. And boy, does he rejoice when he gets through ("Atta boyyy, that's iiit!"). The death of his father is forgotten, and he gets crowned chief by the elder, complete with painting his face akin to The Lion King.They throw you another curve-ball at the end - just when you think "okay, that's gotta be it" - nop. The big bad Alpha freezes Hiccup in ice. "Haha, did you think it was done? We gotcha again!" But whoops, turns out Toothless protected him, so he gets out without a scratch, and now, after aaaaall this talk about "peace and friendship" the Alpha gets walloped like there is no tomorrow until its tusks break off - and that's finally it then. What exactly is supposed to be magic about that again?The entire movie is basically about who's controlling the dragons. The Alpha controls most dragons. Everyone controls Toothless - except Hiccup. The dragon rider waves her hand to make Toothless flop on the floor like a good doggy while Hiccup's presumably still in peril, she presses Toothless' buttons to make him sprout extra fins, Draco barely needs to show effort to get Toothless on his side -- and that's the pair that's supposed to have the deepest and most special bond among all of the characters?! The magic from the first movie - that dragons are mysterious creatures with their own minds and notion of friendship is nothing but an empty shell here. The movie paints them as weak-minded, simply acting under whoever's the Alpha at the moment, and easily controlled by anyone who knows how to wave their hands in the right way.Contrast that to the first movie - yes, the dragons were bringing that huge dragon food - but it is made clear that they were tyrannized, and acted out of fear. Case in point, when they don't bring enough food, they get eaten. Nothing of that is necessary in this sequel - the Alpha just needs to make its eyes dance, and bamm, all the dragons follow its every command - not because of fear, but because of, you know, just because. Mind control, whee.On the plus side: good animation, good graphic effects, long. But that alone doesn't make a movie. Zootopia is animated better, with better graphic effects, and yet I'd say HTTYD 1 has a stronger message. I really don't want to bash sequels. I hope that the third part in 2019 brings back the magic from the first part. Judging by how much they aged, Toothless and Hiccup have been together for a decade, and they've been each others best friends for that long. Think of what that means. If I want pure action with a bunch of deaths I'd watch Aliens. This sequel tried to be everything - love, romance, action, drama, separation, loss, reunion - and diluted its core values with it. And that is a huge shame.I'd rate it a 4/10. It has its moments, but overall there is little to relive and to rewatch. Story-wise it's definitely a step down from the first part - which is also reflected on metareview sites. Please make part 3 good, at least.

Rarely a sequel is better than the first one, but here it is. The graphics are stunning, but more importantly the story deals with difficult questions. While the first movie was about trust and friendship, How to train your dragon 2 is about dealing with the death of relatives, becoming mature and being able to take responsibilities. It's a big step for a teenager becoming mature and this movie deals with it brilliantly. Yes it's an animated movie, but adults will like it as much as children. One to watch for the whole family. An epic movie.

Now this is how a sequel is done. For a while, I haven't seen a sequel to animated movie that is not only good, but better than the original. Until now. "How to Train Your Dragon 2" is the perfect description of a movie that conquers the first film and keep in mind, the original movie was probably the best animated movie DreamWorks has ever put out. This movie continues the story like a good sequel should and also ups the story, characters and animation in the process. I even think this is one of the best animated movies ever made and have so much to say about it.Five years have passed since the last film and the Viking village of Berk has evolved. The island now lives with their former nemesis, the dragons, in harmony and have even turned many of their former weapons of war into items of use for the dragons like turning giant torches into feeding stations. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless have been exploring and mapping islands outside of Berk in hopes of finding other dragon riders. He instead discovers dragon trappers who are seeking revenge after their fort was destroyed and solidified by ice. Led by Eret (Kit Harington), he reveals that the warlord Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou) is raising an army full of dragons in hopes of conquering the world. After warning his father, the chieftain Stoik (Gerard Butler), the island of Berk is put in a secure state to protect the dragons in preparation for a war. Hiccup, believing the war can be avoided, leaves the island with his girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera) in hopes to talk with Drago and prevent the battle not knowing that they aren't the only ones protecting dragons. I could tell you what happens next, but I'd rather not spoil the movie.While the last film was directed by "Lilo and Stitch" directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, this film is rather written and directed by DeBlois himself who plans to turn the series into a trilogy. He claims he mostly got inspiration from "The Empire Strikes Back" and it clearly shows. The film does what a sequel should do. The film expands the world, introduces more new characters including more species of dragons and also the fun. The story is what I love about this film the most. It ups the emotion, heart and comedy from the previous movie while also taking the movie in a more darker and serious tone. One particular scene near the end of the film was so powerful that I actually did get a little teary eyed which is a very high compliment. The animation is some of the best put to film. With help from visual consultant Roger Deakins, the animation was so beautiful and even at times very realistic. There was one shot in the film involving glaciers that looked so realistic that I initially thought it was filmed on a camera. The character are again, fantastic. They evolve like characters should, while keeping their charm that we liked about them from the previous movie. The new characters are also fantastic with the villain Drago Bludvist being a genuinely unlikeable villain while having a believable backstory to explain his actions. My favorite character is still Toothless who can be both cute and funny at times while also being epic and awesome in others. I can go on forever praising this movie, but I'd rather not."How to Train Your Dragon 2" is one the best animated sequels ever made. This is a film that has everything I expect to a sequel. A story that is as good if not better than the original, some breathtakingly real animation, and fantastic memorable characters. It's really a fantastic movie and I'm pretty excited to see where the story goes next. There are many reasons why DreamWorks is considered one of the best animation studios in the business and this is most certainly one of them.

What I most liked about the movie is how toothless gets over control of alpha and establishes his own self as alpha. Hiccup does not give up on his dragon despite his father's death. At last everything ends on good note.It is worth watching for adults as well as children.Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: It is excellent.Tone: The tone relies on story where it is learnt how dragons can be controlled, mainly how alpha controls them and how can one achieve control over them for good or for bad. It is constructed well.Music: Music is average.It is worth watching multiple times.