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Competent Live-Action ‘HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON’ Is a Shot-for-Shot Remake Absent Its Own Merit

Few modern animated films have achieved the emotional clarity, visual majesty, and thematic resonance of 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon and its two sequels. They’re bold, inventive works that understood the cinematic power of animation without pandering to children or dulling their edges for mass appeal. So yes, I went into the live-action remake with something bordering on dread. But also, curiosity. Against my better judgment, and seduced slightly by some early, suspiciously polite buzz, I gave it a shot. Read More

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‘HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD’ Doesn’t Manage to Fly Higher

If looks could kill, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World would engulf audiences in a deathly conflagration of dragon fire. The animated second sequel looks absolutely brilliant on the big screen, roaring to life in luscious detail. From the crystal-clear scale of its big set pieces to the minutia of the movement of sand and water, Dreamwork’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World splashes every penny of its 129 million dollar budget up on the screen for audiences to behold. If only they could have dumped equally as much energy and effort into the story mechanics, which are far and away the weakest of the three HTTYD films.  Read More