[Review] How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (7.5/10)

Title - How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Studio - DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures
Starring - Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Kit Harington, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Kristen Wiig, Craig Ferguson, F. Murray Abraham, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Writer - Dean DeBlois
Director - Dean DeBlois
Release - 1 March 2019

A nice conclusion to the trilogy, though took a while to get there.

I don't know what is it with me and this franchise. I loved the first one, but only fell in love with the second after the second watch. This one, too, bored me a lot with the whole seduction thing going on between Toothless and the Light Fury. It felt like a whole 30 minutes of just these two dragons going ga-ga over each other in silence, save for their on and off purring.

But I loved that opening battle sequence. (Although, I was anticipating Jay Baruchel's voice over and it never came.) I thought that whole fight scene in the fog was a work of art in terms of the animation. And it was a great way to bring back all the characters once again.

Again, I seemed to keep having issues with continuity when it comes to these sequels. In the second movie, Hiccup has always been the one that favours negotiations over battle. Here, that's no longer the case as he seeks out the defeat of the antagonist first rather than talk.

F. Murray Abraham portrayed a great antagonist. One that posed as a worthy opponent as well as a tactician, making him scary too.

And as we discovered the "hidden world", the artwork did look fantastic but where was the gigantic dragons that were highlighted in the first two movies. How can the sanctuary of dragons not have even bigger dragons? It boggles the mind.

While most of Hiccup's friends had their own time on the screen with some minor character developments, the relationship between Cate Blanchett and Jonah Hill was a weird addition.

But as a story to end the trilogy, I thought this was the perfect ending; as long as Dean DeBlois doesn't do another one - just like the upcoming Toy Story 4.