Five years have passed since the events of the first film. The citizens of the land, Berk, are hosting a game with dragons, their riders, and some sheep. Everyone is there—except for Hiccup.

Hiccup is spending some quality time with his dragon, Toothless. His girlfriend, Astrid, finds him. Hiccup reveals that his father gave him a small lecture on how he will need to be the next chief once he’s gone. But Hiccup does not consider himself ready for the responsibilities involved.

The two go through a burnt forest and encounter this seemingly unfriendly guy, Eret. Eret works for Drago, a powerful and evil warlock who plans to control all dragons to serve him. Hiccup and Astrid leave to warn those in Berk.

When Hiccup’s dad, Stoick, finds out, he will accept a battle to be fought. But Hiccup doesn’t want that. He thinks that he can get Drago to change his mind. Yet Stoick warns him that not everyone can be changed.

Not only that, but he also shares a story about when he first met Drago. He promised to protect the people of Berk from dragons as long as they would serve him. But everyone refused. So, Drago had his dragons attack everybody. They all died—except for Stoick.

Regardless of what his father told him, Hiccup rides Toothless to find Drago. He remains confident in getting him to change his mind.

On the way, Hiccup meets this mysterious person in a creepy mask. At first, he fears them and sees them as a threat.

However, that person turns out to be Hiccup’s long-lost mother, whom everyone thought was dead for 20 years. She has been raising dragons in a secret location.

Not long after, though, Stoick finds Hiccup. After failing to listen to what he wanted to tell him, he is surprised and satisfied to find his wife, whose name is Valka. They share some romantic moments with each other, including a special dance.

Unfortunately, the place is under attack, and the whole family must evacuate. Drago has started a war.

In addition, he has a big monster called a Bewilderbeast, which is a lot larger than all the dragons. The Bewilderbeast targets toothless and hypnotizes him to attack Hiccup.

Stoick jumps in to protect his son—only to get shot by a light effect from Toothless. Sadly, that kills him. And Hiccup demands Toothless to leave.

Will things get better… or worse?

I am going to admit that I liked this movie better than the first one. Not only was it more engaging, but it also had a lot of action, tension, magic, and memorable characters.

Hiccup has somewhat improved his relationship with his father. His mother was also kind.

I found it sad when Stoick died. And how Hiccup and his mom grieved was quite believable.

Aside from his parents, Hiccup also had a sweet relationship with Astrid. But most importantly, he maintained a heartwarming bond with Toothless.

The tone and mood of the story was appropriate and typical for a fantasy tale. The dragons’ designs were also creative, unique, and scary when necessary.

Even though the movie is more than an hour and a half long, it feels shorter thanks to the fast pacing. Another perk is how this installment can stand on its own. Enough backstory was given to help the viewer understand the plot.

Scenes were neither too long nor too short. They switched at just the right times.

Although I don’t normally talk about the music in the background, for this review, I will. It was dramatic whenever necessary—but it also helped me predict what was going to happen.

As usual, there were lots of twists and turns. See the film to find out what they are.

Overall, I enjoyed How to Train Your Dragon 2. It was an adventurous and fantastic flick with lots of action, drama, and more.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.