How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon
As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together.
Alex | Pop Culture Brain reviewedJune 13, 2025
How to Train Your Dragon is exactly what we need right now
I saw the live action How to Train Your Dragon
So here's the good and bad without spoilers
Finding the balance when making a live action remake is tough
If you change too much or misunderstand the original, you risk alienating the fans
But if you don’t bring enough new to the table, you risk boring them
How to Train Your Dragon is probably the best case scenario for a remake such as this
As it’s very true to the original, carrying over its spectacle and heart
But felt fresh and engaging enough to warrant its existence
The CGI and the action scenes looked amazing
You could tell a lot of time, money, and effort was put into the visuals
And they did not disappoint
Toothless and the other dragons were especially well rendered
And as performances go, Gerard Butler, and Nick Frost were solid
But most importantly I'm glad this movie arrived when it did
Because its message of de-escalating violence, of turning away from tribalism
And finding humanity in the scapegoats you've been told to demonize
is pretty important.
And there’s a lot to learn from and appreciate in How to Train Your Dragon at this particular moment
As for the what didn't work
Mason Thames and Nico Parker's acting felt kinda flat to me
And the original 2010 dialogue wasn't doing them any favors
Also because the script follows the original closely
It moves quickly through major reversals and story changes
Those beats are easier to swallow in animation
But in live action I was left questioning some of the story logic and motivations
But the bottom line is this movie is a worthy rehash
That's entertaining popcorn fare, worth revisiting