By Mark Fields
Live Action Version Exceeds Expectations…A Little
I approached the premiere of How to Train Your Dragon with a healthy dose of cynicism: was the world really asking for a live action version of the well-done but unremarkable 2010 animated movie? My skepticism was reinforced when the movie was preceded by a commercial for the new Universal park in Orlando, which just happens to include an area dedicated to the Isle of Berk, the land where this story takes place. So, apparently, this new iteration is intended, at least in part, to be a feature-length advertisement for the theme park.
Fortunately, the filmmakers involved here seem to have more than just marketing in mind, because the new live-action How to Train Your Dragon is a worthy, albeit unnecessary, parallel to the original, in that it captures some of the same earthy humor and thrills as the 2010 edition, and has plenty of appealing, world-building production design to accompany the story.
In case you don’t already know, How to Train Your Dragon is set in the imaginary Isle of Berk, a land familiar to viewers of Viking stories but with the added benefit of marauding dragons. Hiccup (Mason Thames), son of the village chieftain Stoick (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same role in the animated version), has a clever mind and a kind heart. But Hiccup lacks the normal warrior skill sets of his father, his friends, or really anyone else in Berk. Determined to redeem himself, he tracks down a legendary (wounded) dragon, and instead of fighting it, gradually wins it over, and does what no one has ever considered: sees it as something other than the enemy.
The slow build of the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless (the dragon) is charming, and ends with a big payoff. (At the screening, my partner leaned over during that scene to say…”this is the ride for the theme park!”)
The story is pleasing if familiar. Much of the film feels auto-generated from the original. But How to Train Your Dragon really soars (pardon the pun) in the dragon flying scenes and in the overall look of the film. The universe here is attractive and richly detailed. The performances are generally satisfying, though also derivative. I especially liked Nico Parker as Astrid, Hiccup’s rival-turned-love interest, and Nick Frost as the blacksmith/hero confidante Gobber. Director Dean DeBlois, who also co-wrote the screenplay, keeps the action moving and the visual effects center stage. I do take issue with the sound mixing of the movie, which made the already-tough-to-decipher pseudo-Viking accents even more difficult to comprehend. Perhaps we’re not meant to follow the details of the story, but I find it disrespectful of the actors to make their dialogue so impossible to understand.
I left the movie more impressed than expected, but still doubtful of the need for this remake. However, I have since had this inexplicable hankering to visit Universal Orlando sometime soon.
Official Trailer
