How To Train Your Dragon - The Live Action Remake Saviour?

How To Train Your Dragon is an incredibly beloved trilogy from people of all ages. Both its silly humour and interestingly deep themes have caused many people that have grown up with these movies to create a very strong attachment to the characters and this world. With this in mind, surely it is impossible to create a faithful adaptation to the live action format that keeps everybody happy, right? Well the answer to that question will always be a resounding yes no matter what, but this movie gives it a good go and it seems to have paid off in part.

This movie is so fun. Putting any 'filmbro' instincts I have aside, this is an incredible movie. The most important thing is that this captures the same magic as the original, and I believe that has been achieved ten times over because this just made me feel like a kid again. I should really start this off by saying it's hard to write a review for a movie like this without simply repeating myself over and over. I came out of the cinema thinking this was incredibly fun and that's all I will continue to think because fun is really all that matters with this movie.

This being one of the biggest movies of the year, there was bound to be millions of eyes dissecting every last detail, even all the way back from the casting announcements. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding a large portion of the cast, so I feel I'd be amiss if I didn't address at least part of it. First off, our main character Hiccup. I thought Mason Thames did an amazing job at portraying this scrawny teenager, desperately trying to win his father's approval. There was many complaints that he wasn't small enough or seemed too confident, but once you see him in action, he very much embodies this character - and I think every so often I could even hear a slight Jay Baruchel accent slip through.

The complaints about Nico Parker are childish and, simply put, stupid so there's no need for me to delve any deeper into that apart from that she does a great job with this character. Now, Ruffnut and Tuffnut are where this gets interesting. In this movie, rather than the twins actually being identical, they're instead very obviously the opposite but are convinced that they are indeed identical. I'd heard about this prior to the movie's release and - while its a very funny concept that I thought only elevated this movie - I honestly wish they used that joke more as it was only really brought up once. Finally, the highlights of this movie, for me, were Gerard Butler's return as Stoick and Nick Frost's take on Gobber. These were both amazing, Gerard Butler proves that he is the only man that can ever play Stoick in any medium, and I thought Nick Frost did an amazing job at doing this beloved character justice.

The biggest part of this movie is obviously the dragons, of which they look incredible. At one point I forgot these were CGI because they look so real. The visual effects team did an amazing job at adding a hint of realism into these monsters without fully removing their cartoonish nature. These felt like the same animals as in the original, animated version, just a bit more detailed. I could not have possibly asked for more with their designs and I can't wait to see more of this expanded in the sequel.

The biggest critique I've seen for this movie is that it's almost a shot for shot remake of the original, but is that really a bad thing? The original is a masterpiece and if it ain't broke don't fix it, right? Yes, this may be pretty much the same movie with a fresh coat of paint, yet there were a few added details that - while not changing the story itself - only elevated the experience. I realise that makes it sound like I prefer this iteration, I don't, but honestly if you hadn't seen the original until this released, I wouldn't be surprised if you came out of the cinema preferring this version.

To conclude, while I don't think this has 'saved live action remakes' - at least I hope it doesn't - this really doesn't deserve the 'lifeless slop' label that seems to be slapped onto every live action remake the moment they're announced. While it may be true for some, it just isn't fair to disregard the hard work and passion put into this and treat it like you would with every one of Disney's attempts. Even though I did thoroughly enjoy this movie, I really hope it doesn't inspire more live action remakes. I don't want to wake up one morning in 2028 to watch the new live action Shrek.