How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

5/10

Starring

Mason Thames

Nico Parker

Gabriel Howell

Julian Dennison

Bronwyn James

 

Directed by Dean DeBlois

 

I do feel this movie was a waste of time, as it did not add anything new. I preferred the build-up from the animation to this live-action version, even though it played out almost the same.

The animation build-up to the final fight with the big dragon was fun to watch. Here, it was a boring wait. It felt like the makers had focused all their production, writing, and development on the final boss fight and just bored us stiff until we finally got there. When we did, it was amazing. The battle was fun to see, how Hiccup and Toothless took on the huge dragon and won.

When it came to the acting of the cast, I would say I was charmed by it. It is one of the highs of the movie, as the actors made their roles look very believable as Vikings.

Hiccup is a Viking, and his father is the chief of their hometown, Berk. The village is regularly attacked by dragons that raid livestock and destroy buildings. The people of Berk are dragon hunters, but Hiccup isn’t allowed to join the hunt because, compared to the other men, he’s considered too small and weak.

Hiccup works as a blacksmith’s apprentice and uses this opportunity to create a machine to catch a dragon. One day, he manages to shoot down a Night Fury with his machine. He decides to go look for it and finds the creature trapped. Instead of killing the dragon, Hiccup sets it free because he can’t bring himself to take its life.

The next time Hiccup returns to the spot where he freed the Night Fury, he finds the dragon still there. He notices the torn tail fin, which makes it hard for the dragon to fly. Hiccup designs a prosthetic fin that works only with his control, allowing him to mount the dragon. He continues to visit Toothless and learns a lot about dragons, which helps him subdue them. He plans to show the others that dragons are not actually bad.

How this played out and what led to the final boss fight is something you have to watch the movie to see, or if you’ve seen the animation, you already know.

In the end, I can see this movie becoming a big box office hit, which will probably make the makers want to go ahead and do the other movies in the franchise as live-actions. I feel if they do that, they should at least try to add something new and spicy to make the whole delivery not look as mechanical as this one.

I do not recommend this movie. I would say if you want to relive the story, watch the animation instead. It had more humor.