Timber Jones

As with any new Live Action remake of films these days you wonder, "What did they screw up?". The is nothing and they possibly improved upon the original animated version. Hiccups first interaction with Toothless in the forest was more intense, the first flight scene with the two was believable and more exciting and Astrid....a perfect casting job. She looked more authentic as a Viking than the original and added to the inner battle she had with being number 2 while knowing they needed a hero. The score was phenomenal and carried you along the adventure. The attention to detail was impressive as in the forest scenes matched the original precisely. Brilliant version.

The story is good and well adapted from book to screen. Anne and Marila are portrayed well and the actresses nearly perfected the inflections in the original characters voices. But all the other characters have varying accents that make little sense to be together. Why does Rachael now have an Irish accent? Why is there a Montana prospector? Mr. Harrison seems to be a nondescript Celtic man who at times sounds like a comic book villain. The script is fine job but the writing for Anne was accurate but not as good if that makes sense. Overall this movie was decent and that's about all. Nice for a family movie night.