How to Train Your Dragon Review: A Gentle Glide Through Familiar Skies Starring Mason Thames, Nico Parker And Gerard Butler

Title: How to Train Your Dragon

Director: Dean DeBlois

Cast: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison

Where: In theatres near you

Rating: 3.5 Stars

The 2025 reimagining of How to Train Your Dragon soars onto the screen with heart, wonder, and an updated visual grandeur that feels both faithful and fresh. Directed once again by Dean DeBlois, the film trades animation for live-action but holds tightly to the story’s emotional core: the bond between a boy and a dragon and the journey that changes the world.

Set in the rugged Viking Island of Berk, the story follows Hiccup (Mason Thames), a thoughtful and inventive teenager who’s more inclined toward tools than weapons—an anomaly in a village that sees dragon-slaying as its highest virtue. That dynamic shifts when Hiccup shoots down the elusive Night Fury, only to find himself unable to kill it. He names the dragon Toothless, and their secret friendship becomes the emotional centre of a story that challenges inherited beliefs and redefines courage.

Mason Thames is well-cast as Hiccup, bringing earnestness and vulnerability to a character who’s still figuring out who he is. His scenes with Toothless are magnetic—thanks in large part to seamless CGI that brings the dragon to life with startling nuance and personality. Toothless, expressive, and catlike, he retains all the charm and mystique that made audiences fall in love with him over a decade ago.

Julian Dennison brings levity and warmth as Fishlegs, while Gerard Butler reprises his role as Stoick the Vast, Hiccup’s imposing but ultimately tender-hearted father. The tension between father and son forms one of the film’s emotional anchors, especially as Stoick grapples with Hiccup’s unorthodox views on dragons. Cate Blanchett lends gravity as Valka, making a brief but potent appearance that hints at future developments should this become a series.

The visual effects are among the most striking in recent fantasy cinema. Berk’s jagged cliffs and windswept forests are rendered with sweeping detail, while the dragons themselves are beautifully designed—each with distinct personalities, colours, and flight patterns. The flying sequences, in particular, are breathtaking. One scene where Hiccup and Toothless take to the skies for the first time is pure cinematic exhilaration, aided by John Powell’s soaring score, which returns in full glory.

Though grounded in familiar beats, the story remains resonant. It’s about empathy in the face of fear, about the courage it takes to defy tribal norms, and about finding strength in connection rather than domination. The screenplay resists wisecracks in favour of sincerity—a welcome choice in a genre that too often leans into irony.

While the 2010 animated version remains beloved, this 3D live-action take doesn’t try to outshine it. Instead, it offers a tender, visually rich reimagining that may dazzle newcomers and warm longtime fans. Still, it sometimes feels like a beautifully made echo—less a bold new flight, more a gentle glide through familiar skies.