Joshua Pablico

When I first heard that How to Train Your Dragon was getting a live-action adaptation, I had my doubts. Most animated films that were turned into live-action have missed the mark—if not all of them. So, my expectations for this movie were pretty low. I only watched the teasers and kept my distance. Later, I found out that Mason Thames was cast as Hiccup, and I thought he actually resembled the character quite well. Weeks passed, and I let the movie slip by in theaters. I told myself, If it’s still showing by the weekend, I’ll watch it. Luckily, it was still there—so I finally did. I went in still holding on to my doubts, thinking it might be just as disappointing as the others. But by the end of the film, I was honestly moved to tears. That’s how good it was. As I kept watching, I noticed how faithful the characters were to the original animation—it was amazing. They didn’t stray from the animated version at all. It felt like I was watching the original film, just brought to life in a different way. I was blown away by the performances of all the actors and how well everything was put together. In my opinion, this movie deserves more than just five stars. I already loved the animated version and knew the story, but this live-action made me love it even more. I rarely write reviews, but because of how well this adaptation was done, I’m genuinely excited for the next installments. Mason did an excellent job portraying Hiccup. Toothless is still that adorable dragon we all love, and together, they bring magic to the screen. The other characters, as I mentioned, stayed very true to the original—which is something I really appreciated.