The third part of the coming of age story of the reluctant Viking Hiccup and his playful and fearsome “best friend” Toothless “the Night fury” will be released later this month. However they had “early screenings” this weekend, so of course I had to see if it was as good as the first 2 movies in the trilogy.
The movie takes place after the events of the 2nd movie, and Hiccup is still Hiccup…..out to save all the dragons he can, while still being as idealistic as anyone can be. All the main characters return….Hiccup, Astrid, Valka(Hiccups Mom), Stoick(Hiccups dad via flashbacks), Gobber, Snotlout, Fishlegs, annoying twins Ruffnut and Toughnut and former trapper Eret.
This movies villain is a dragon hunter named Grimmel the grisly, voiced by F. Murray Abraham(geeks will remember him for his role as Ahdar Ru’Afo in Star Trek: Insurrection). Abraham is excellent in his role as the ‘heavy”.
This is a “coming of age” movie, more so than the 2nd one because Hiccup is forced to make the decision to save both his fellow Vikings and all of their dragons. Hiccup is “forced” to “do something stupid”(a running theme in all 3 films}, also a plot device that allows for Hiccup to be “the hero that saves the day”.
Yes, Hiccup and Astrid are still a couple, and they do eventually tie the knot in this movie, but not before they find “the hidden world”, and Toothless finds a girlfriend. The introduction of the female dragon dubbed a “light fury” by Astrid is well done, and the “courtship scene between her and Toothless is amusing while not being overdone.
Grimmel is a better villain than Drago Bludvist was in the 2nd movie. While Drago was a 1 dimensional villain, Grimmel has an aura about him and while he is single minded in his quest to capture Toothless, he is possible the best animated villain in a long while.
The film is bittersweet as Hiccup and Toothless make a difficult and unexpected decision in order for both of them to have further growth. However the ending (taking a page from the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2) moves us forward in time and we get to see how both Hiccup and Toothless have “evolved”.
This is a fitting end to the series, and I recommend having a supply of tissues for the ending. I definitely say, take the kids and enjoy this film.
4 out of 5 Stars.
