Written by Sam Clark 

Certificate: PG 

Running time: 125 minutes 

Director: Dean DeBlois 

Here we are once again, in the ever expanding pantheon that is live action cinema. It seems as though we have only just waved goodbye to Disney's ''Lilo & Stitch'' as it is now in the rear view mirror, still continuing to do business at the box office. For what has only seemed like five minutes, we have yet another remake to sit through. This time round however, it is not yet another Disney flick to have all of the magic stripped from its core, but DreamWorks instead. Despite the fact that the last ''How to Train Your Dragon'' was only 2018, it has however been fifteen-years since the first one, so the question of ''has it been long enough?'' is a little tricky here.

Yes and no is all we can really say. And to speak my truth, I am now bored of not only sitting through these, but also ranting about them and have miserable accepted reality; I don't think they are going away anytime soon (especially since ''Lilo & Stich'' is currently sitting on a current box-office gross of over $800 million dollars). Somehow and for some reason, ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' has already been announced. Dean DeBlois, who wrote and directed the original films, returns here; so at least the film is in safe hands? It is here that I would recount the plot, but since it is a direct replica, I don't need to worry all that much about explaining it. Let me put it to you this way: if you have seen the animations, you have seen this. 

Image credit: IMDb/ Universal Pictures 

Set on the island of Berk, Vikings and dragons are sworn enemies and have been for generations. We follow ''Hiccup'' (Mason Thames- replacing Jay Baruchel who voiced him in the original) who is the outcasted son of ''Chief Stoick the Vast'' (Gerard Butler reprising his role from before). ''Hiccup'' becomes the first Viking to have shot down and befriended a ''Night Fury'' dragon, the most feared and dangerous one of all, and names him ''Toothless''. The bond they strike together will change the foundations of the Viking and dragon world forever. We also have Nico Parker as ''Astrid'' and Nick Frost as ''Gobber''. 

In what seemed like a very short period of time in which I was somehow convinced this would be a breath of fresh air, it seems as though DreamWorks is yet another victim of the live action formula, as ''How to Train Your Dragon'' has shockingly proved to be the most pointless film I have ever encountered. A thought crossed my mind whilst watching this that I have never had before: ''I could walk out of this and not miss a single thing, because I have seen this before''. I of course mean this metaphorically, but it pains me how true it actually is. I don't understand how the same writer/director has got this wrong, and if he can't seem to get this right...what does that say about these remakes then? 

Image credit: IMDb/ Universal Pictures 

The fact that this was unable to rekindle my euphoric childhood memories was a crushing disappointment, and solidified and proved the idea that this format does not work. The fact that I genuinely could have just left and not missed a single thing is depressingly true. I knew this would be a remake; but not this much of a direct copy and paste. Shot for shot, frame for frame, line by line, all without the impact or emotion as before. The more this sank in, the worse I felt. The only saving graces are Butler and Frost who slot into the characters perfectly, and I always thought Frost's casting was perfect from the beginning. The rest of the cast I found to be very disappointing, especially Nico Parker who was not only unable to bring ''Astrid's'' fire and ferocity to life, but just felt bland in general. 

I was hoping that the 4DX 3D would save any last glimmer of hope I had and at least give me a good rollercoaster ride, and even that didn't do the trick, as the film had already proven that it was going to be yet another soulless machine. Whilst I have lost patience with virtually every single one of Disney's attempts, I was heartbroken to see their same mistake repeated here: no magic, everyone is falling under the same trap and I stupidly thought this would be different. As I'm sure we all were, I was nervously anticipating how the film would execute the franchise's most famous and cherished sequence: the test drive.

When I didn't feel same sense of awe and emotion I did the first time around, I had truly lost all hope and knew we were in trouble. Not even John Powell's iconic score could do the trick this time. Yet another soulless, industrial machine of a film. This failed to do one simple thing and the only thing it exists for: make me feel like a kid again. Transport me back to when I watched these awe-inspiring and wonderful films for the first time. If you can't even do that, pack up and go home before you ruin anything else. Here's hoping and praying that something, anything can improve for the sequel. Oh how gullible and foolish I am. 

In cinemas now