David R. Walker

How to Train Your Dragon

Director: Dean DeBlois

Cast: Gerard Butler, Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Nick Frost, Gabriel Howell, Peter Serafinowicz, Bronwyn James, Julian Dennison

Running Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10 

Canadian director Dean DeBlois directed the animated film How to Train Your Dragon in 2010 and it was nominated for two Oscars – best achievement in Musical score by John Powell and Best Animated Feature Film.

DeBlois makes the bold and impressive leap to remaking the film as a live action version retaining the excellent services of John Powell for musical score in the visually appealing new film How to Train Your Dragon starring Scottish action hunk Gerard Butler as a menacing Viking Stoick whose wayward son Hiccup played by Mason Thames does not believe all the Viking hype about how evil the dastardly dragons are that keep attacking their remote village on the stark isle of Berk.

The reluctant hero, Hiccup who at the start of this film does not impress his strong and overbearing father is told to join the dragon fighting academy along with a rag tag group of teenagers including Snotlout played by Gabriel Howell who is having the same trouble trying to impress his father Spitelout played by Peter Serafinowicz.

Joining the gang of misfits is the determined and fiercely beautiful Astrid played by Nico Parker (Dumbo) who immediately becomes a source of attraction for the mysteriously naïve Hiccup.

Obviously any narrative containing dragons and Vikings is pure fantasy and in this genre, director Dean DeBlois excels expanding on the success of the original animated version.

How To Train Your Dragon is an action packed fantasy made more interesting by Hiccup’s unlikely friendship with a baby Nightfury dragon forcing him to challenge the long standing village attitude that all dragons are evil. In Stoic’s quest to find the Dragon’s Nest, Hiccup with the help of Toothless, the Nightfury dragon discovers the real source of these mythical creature’s true discontentment.

The visual effects are brilliant and John Powell’s musical score is superb along with the supporting cast including Nick Frost as Gobbler who offers sage parenting advice to Stoick. It’s refreshing to see Gerard Butler take a break from his action roles and star in a fantasy film.

The storyline is essentially how sons can find innovative ways to impress their fathers as Hiccup decides to challenge prejudices against dragons and his father’s stubbornness, changing the village completely.

How to Train Your Dragon is a fun filled fantasy adventure film with fantastic performances by Mason Thames, Nico Parker and Gerard Butler and is definitely worth seeing.

While some of the fight scenes could have been edited, How to Train Your Dragon gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is a suitable film for the whole family. Recommended viewing.

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