Unerring craft will keep you gripped

Johnson Thomas

In this third and final instalment of the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, inspired from Cresida Cowell’s children’s books and directed once again by Dean DeBlois, we see brave young Viking, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his fire-breathing Night Fury buddy, Toothless, having to rescue the tribe and its dragons from a fearsome, legendary dragon slayer Grimmel(F Murray Abraham) — while also dealing with raging dragon hormones brought on by the introduction of a potential mate, The light Fury (for The Night Fury).

In the first movie (2010), Hiccup made a lifelong friend in a dragon, Toothless, breaking with centuries of Viking tradition, in the second he gets to showcase his refined leadership skills and becomes a worthy successor to his father, Stoick (Gerard Butler) whilst reuniting with his mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett), a pioneer in dragon whispering. This final entry is a coming-of-age for both Hiccup and Toothless.

The Hidden World may not have an emphatic winning formula working for it but the instinctively engaging pathos and bittersweet irony of the message comes through strongly enough. Also, the craft is so wondrously executed that it’s hard to take your eyes off the screen even when everything feels a little too familiar and repetitive.

The narrative throws up many challenges for Hiccup and Toothless- from figuring out whether to run off to a safe haven or stand firm and fight the evil they are confronted with? whether Berk is just a state of mind?  Whether the light Fury is bait meant to drop the Viking tribes’ guard? Whether Hiccup is ready to take on the challenge of marriage with Astrid(America Ferrera) ? and many more…This film makes the voyage to self-realisation meaningful enough. The characters continue to be amiably drawn and the CGI is definitely the best money can buy. Given the high-end technique, the stunning craft and amiable story-telling it’s a given that you will be swept up in this moving saga of kinship and enterprise!