"There were Dragons when I was a boy". For almost 5 years I had that quote stitched into my mind, wondering what Dean DeBlois would have in store for the finale of the How to Train your Dragon trilogy. The world was set, the characters were fully realised, the possibilities were endless and..........we get what's possibly one of the most mediocre and disappointing plots to a third trilogy finale film since probably Spider-Man 3.
Story: Hiccup and his gang have been rescuing dragons from Dragon trappers and bringing them back to their home on Berk. That is until one day, an EVIL villain named Grimmel arrives to kill Hiccup's night fury Toothless, and do some other stuff with dragons (honestly other than the forced "I needs to kill za night fury because REAZZONS" plot, the villain sucks), and so the gang takes all of Berk to find the mysterious Hidden World. Toothless also finds a love interest, a white collored Night Fury dubbed the "Light Fury". That's all I got.
Before I get to the negatives, the positives first. Animation as always great. There are parts too where the scenery looking Uber realistic, like I'm seeing real life locations on screen, and Dreamworks has certainly come a long way. The costume designs and the design of all the dragons is very well handled. The music is great, as it's been in the other two films. So superficial stuff, all good. As for the characters, they're pretty one note. I liked Fishlegs' new parental interest in baby dragons, that was kinda sweet. And I also enjoyed the flashbacks between Hiccup and Stoick; nice little pay check for Gerard Butler.
As you can tell, this movie is beyond frustrating and incredibly disappointing. I know there's people out there saying "it's just a kids movie" no, a kids movie would be Luis and the Aliens, or the Minions. The How to Train Your Dragon franchise has been with us since 2010, and it does for our age group what Toy Story did for the age group a few years older than me; it grew on us, and we don't just want the characters to grow and mature, we want the story, and themes and emotions to grow with them. How to Train your Dragon 2 was AMAZING partly because it introduced themes and emotions that flowed so well with young adult versions of the characters.
I have to believe that half way or a third through this DuBois was let go and replaced; 4 years to conclude this trilogy and this is the story and villain he goes with? Seriously? Did he just not care anymore? Now I know what M.Night.Shyamalan fans thought when they were watching The Happening a decade ago.
The villain was beyond eye-rolling to watch, and the animators might as well of just given him some twirling moustache on screen, that's how cartoony his character and 'villainy' was. He has the same arc as Drago in the second movie, but the 50¢ version.
Overall, this film reminds me of The Last Jedi, it left the franchise on a low note; not for the same reasons, but having waited 5 years for the third instalment, with that one quote fishing around in my brain, expecting the ultimate conclusion, the ultimate villain for this franchise, with no new jokes, or concepts to explore. How to Train your Dragon 3 is uninspired fan fiction, and I'm giving it a 5 out of 10
Story: Hiccup and his gang have been rescuing dragons from Dragon trappers and bringing them back to their home on Berk. That is until one day, an EVIL villain named Grimmel arrives to kill Hiccup's night fury Toothless, and do some other stuff with dragons (honestly other than the forced "I needs to kill za night fury because REAZZONS" plot, the villain sucks), and so the gang takes all of Berk to find the mysterious Hidden World. Toothless also finds a love interest, a white collored Night Fury dubbed the "Light Fury". That's all I got.
Before I get to the negatives, the positives first. Animation as always great. There are parts too where the scenery looking Uber realistic, like I'm seeing real life locations on screen, and Dreamworks has certainly come a long way. The costume designs and the design of all the dragons is very well handled. The music is great, as it's been in the other two films. So superficial stuff, all good. As for the characters, they're pretty one note. I liked Fishlegs' new parental interest in baby dragons, that was kinda sweet. And I also enjoyed the flashbacks between Hiccup and Stoick; nice little pay check for Gerard Butler.
As you can tell, this movie is beyond frustrating and incredibly disappointing. I know there's people out there saying "it's just a kids movie" no, a kids movie would be Luis and the Aliens, or the Minions. The How to Train Your Dragon franchise has been with us since 2010, and it does for our age group what Toy Story did for the age group a few years older than me; it grew on us, and we don't just want the characters to grow and mature, we want the story, and themes and emotions to grow with them. How to Train your Dragon 2 was AMAZING partly because it introduced themes and emotions that flowed so well with young adult versions of the characters.
I have to believe that half way or a third through this DuBois was let go and replaced; 4 years to conclude this trilogy and this is the story and villain he goes with? Seriously? Did he just not care anymore? Now I know what M.Night.Shyamalan fans thought when they were watching The Happening a decade ago.
The villain was beyond eye-rolling to watch, and the animators might as well of just given him some twirling moustache on screen, that's how cartoony his character and 'villainy' was. He has the same arc as Drago in the second movie, but the 50¢ version.
Overall, this film reminds me of The Last Jedi, it left the franchise on a low note; not for the same reasons, but having waited 5 years for the third instalment, with that one quote fishing around in my brain, expecting the ultimate conclusion, the ultimate villain for this franchise, with no new jokes, or concepts to explore. How to Train your Dragon 3 is uninspired fan fiction, and I'm giving it a 5 out of 10