The sequel follows admirably in the footsteps of the original, but ends up wearing mismatched shoes on the way.

When I watched the original How to Train Your Dragon for the first time, the movie underwhelmed me. It seemed forgettable. Competent and entertaining, sure, but nothing too special. Now, after 20+ viewings (only half of which were instigated by my children), I now consider it a modern classic, and welcome the next 20 viewings. I don’t think I could ever get tired of watching it. There are some scenes that never fail to set my soul soaring alongside Hiccup and Toothless.

So I had been looking forward to the sequel ever since it was announced. We took the whole family. And the experience was…good. My initial reaction was similar to my thoughts on the first film. Competent and entertaining, but nowhere close to reaching the heights of the original masterpiece. Certainly not a lasting classic.

I hope history repeats itself, and after a repeated viewing, it takes its place in the skies alongside its predecessor. I really, really wanted to like this movie. So what was the problem? Before getting into that, I’ll go over what I liked about the film.

The Good

Thematically, the new film goes in a direction that makes perfect sense. The first one explored how close a bond between a human and animal can be, how both are changed permanently because of it, and, as a result, how both are better off. We see Hiccup, the main character, gradually gaining more confidence and courage, and at the end, we see Toothless become the first dragon to stand up to their evil queen. It focused on the symbiotic nature of the relationship. How it grows and plays out is part of the magic of the first film.

There is a great scene related to this, when Astrid, in a disbelieving and exasperated voice, asks Hiccup if he’s really ready to throw everything away for his pet. Hiccup, looks at her with eyes of solid resolve, and simply says “Yes.” This is the first time where Hiccup is choosing not to cater to or tiptoe around the assumptions of the rest of his viking community. It is here where he finally makes the leap from being a boy desperate for approval (from his father, from his peers), to being a man. It is here where his unwavering courage, forged in the bond between him and a dragon, first peeks through. And Astrid, seeing his face and hearing his response, immediately understands this, and begins deferring to his judgement.

Dragon 2 contrasts this sharply with the other type of relationship a human can have with his pet: that of a master and slave. Drago, the main villain, is a parallel to a modern day dog fighter, who crushes the spirit of various dragons so they will do his bidding. He weaponizes them. He treats them as disposable property. The main thrust of the film is the battle between these two ways of relating to animals.

This theme is also explored through another of the new characters, Valka. She has lived with dragons for almost 18 years, with very little contact with other humans. As a result, she has a tremendous insight into the biology and patterns of dragons, and maintains a certain advantage over other characters. Her skill set surpasses those of even Hiccup. And yet, the movie paints the situation as less than ideal. She has become too dragon-like, and lost too much of her humanity. She dresses to look like a dragon, mimics the movements of a dragon, and has given up too much in the human/animal relationship. When she is presented with an opportunity to rejoin the human community, she takes it, and this decision is ultimately viewed as a positive thing.

Visually, the movie is stunning. There are some magnificent scenes in Dragon 2, scenes that made me forget to blink. And Toothless is just as cute, adorable, and majestic as he was in the first movie.

Various characters get their time to shine, especially Hiccup’s father, Stoick. Since the threat of dragons is no more, his role as chief has changed, and he has also started to think about retirement. But he is also the center of one of the best scenes in the movie, when we see this brawny warrior sing a ballad to his lost love. This whole sequence will stick with you long after the credits role.

The Bad

What caused Dragon 2 to stall? Nothing big or glaring really stood out and stained the whole experience. As I said, this was a competent, well-made film. But there were things that irked me enough to deflate my very high expectations.

In the first movie, every character has an arc, even the secondary ones. They are fleshed out with full personalities. And Astrid, Hiccup’s boyhood crush, is fleshed out more than most. She is assertive, intense, has an eagerness to prove herself that is balanced by a calm confidence, and is above the typical antics of the other viking teens. She has motives of her own, and Hiccup usually has to react to her.

In the sequel, it seems the Astrid we know is gone. Now married to Hiccup, she has been relegated to chasing after her husband, or getting herself into trouble so she needs to be rescued. It’s almost as if she is a different character. Given that it has been several years since the events of the first movie, I would expect a major character to grow in depth, not lose a dimension. We see almost nothing of what their marital relationship is like, and what we do see is anemic, and seems forced.

This movie isn’t about Hiccup and Astrid, so its understandable why its not fleshed out more. As it is though, the relationship feels tacked on, nothing but a bit of fan service. I was left wondering whether they would have been better off just not having them married at all.

Overall, the movie’s pacing also seemed off, and the plot points a bit disjointed. It had more to balance and juggle than the first, for sure. But several times, you feel like the story is about lose its balance, even though it never quite collapses into a morass. It’s more messy, less polished. It relies a bit too much on coincidences, and glosses over certain details in order to rush to the next scene.

Don’t Let This Stop You

By all means, watch this movie. You’ll be glad you did. And if you are a fan of its predecessor, its likely you won’t need any prodding from me. My household will be buying it as soon as it comes out on Blu-ray. I hope that, after a repeated viewing or two, my opinion changes, just like it did with the first film.

I’ll also be one of the first in line to see How to Train Your Dragon 3.