HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
Genre: Fantasy, Action
Directed by: Dean DeBlois
Starring: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler
Release Date: June 13, 2025
Platform: Theaters
Star Rating: 3/5
“It’s not an essential remake—but at least it’s not an offensive one.”
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON(the live-action remake) isn’t a disaster—but it is a head-scratcher. If you’ve never seen the original animated film, you might walk away impressed. It’s a solid story with heart, scope, and some great creature design. But if you have seen the 2010 animated version, you’ll likely spend most of the runtime wondering why this remake exists at all. The film doesn’t really reimagine the story. It just replays it. And while the visuals are polished and a few performances land, the soul that made the original feel magical is harder to find here.
The remake follows the same emotional beats as the original, sometimes down to the frame. And while that might sound comforting, it leaves the film feeling a bit oddly hollow. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it—but there’s also nothing new about it either. It’s not bold. It’s not reimagined. It’s just a live-action version of a story that already worked beautifully in animation. And that’s the problem: when a film is already accessible and emotionally resonant, remaking it this soon feels more like a marketing move than a creative one.
To be fair, the film isn’t without highlights. Toothless translates surprisingly well to live-action. His design is both faithful and expressive, and it doesn’t drift too far into uncanny territory. The final battle sequence still delivers. It’s big, thrilling, and visually rich. And there’s a nice effort to expand representation within the Viking world—nothing showy, just thoughtful touches that make the world feel a bit more reflective of the one we live in. Gerard Butler also returns as Stoick, and honestly, he brings even more emotional weight this time around. His scenes carry a sense of lived-in grief and resolve that really work.
Where the remake falters, however, is in its handling of Hiccup. In the animated film, Hiccup was awkward, undersized, and deeply unsure of himself. His journey from outcast to dragon rider felt earned because we watched him struggle—physically, emotionally, and socially. Here, that vulnerability is gone. Mason Thames looks the part, but he moves and fights too confidently. He never really feels like a kid who doesn’t belong in his world. That tension—the disconnect that made Hiccup’s growth so powerful—is missing. And without it, the story still moves, but it doesn’t land with the same impact.
There are subtle changes throughout the film—some new character moments, a few tweaks to the world—but none of them deepen the story. The additions don’t hurt, but they don’t elevate things either. What could’ve made this special was a tighter emotional core. A deeper dive into Hiccup’s arc. A new angle on dragon-human dynamics. Instead, we get a faithful but mostly flat retelling. It hits the familiar notes but without the spark.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGONisn’t bad—it’s just unnecessary. It delivers solid visuals, a few standout performances, and a story that still holds emotional weight. But it never justifies its existence beyond brand upkeep. The message fully at the heart of it—empathy, fear, and understanding—is still there, and it still resonates. But the wonder, the magic, the raw sense of discovery that made the original soar? It doesn’t quite survive the transition. If you’re new to the story, you’ll find a lot to enjoy. But if you’re already in love with the original, this one may leave you wishing they’d just re-released that instead.
Movie Review: Slanted
on March 23, 20250