I went in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World with high expectations. I knew this was going to be the final movie of the trilogy so reasonably I thought yeah it's going to be entertaining at least. I came out a little underwhelmed. My biggest issue with the movie is that it rehashes similar themes and scenes of the first two that it didn't impress me nearly as much. Yeah, the animation is fantastic and I love the score by John Powell, but it just feels like a very standard sequel. How to Train Your Dragon 2 took risks and got surprisingly dark in places. This one, it focuses mostly on a pretty forgettable villain and Toothless' love interest, who is bland and nowhere near as memorable. The humour didn't work as well for me and seemed more kiddy-ish compared to the previous two. Everything felt safer and generic.

Despite all this, I never found the movie boring and still enjoyed it. I appreciate that the writers and animators have been growing up the characters as time goes by, and Hiccup and the others having to decide what to do with their Dragons and not always relying on them was a nice theme of the movie. Hiccup and Toothless interacting with each other is always a highlight, and the action sequences are well shot and colourful as expected. The last 10 minutes were great, as I really liked all the characters having a big final send-off and concluding the entire trilogy nicely. It almost got to me, honestly. I just wished the main plot was a bit more engaging and not stuff we're already seen before. On the upside, it wasn't bad at least.

6.5/10

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a fantastic finale for the film franchise and a poignant farewell to this beautiful realm of humans and dragons. Seeing these characters evolve over the past two films to where they are in The Hidden World feels not only believable but deeply emotional and weighty as well.

The Hidden World takes place one year after the second film, which means there aren't as many massive changes like the five-year jump between How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2. While the main characters are still massive goofs, they also feel more like burgeoning adults now. Everyone's been riding, fighting, and living alongside their dragons for at least six years so they're a more capable bunch now (well, most of the time). Meanwhile, their home, Berk, has grown into a ridiculously overcrowded viking/dragon utopia.

Hiccup's (Jay Baruchel) dragon-based tech has also continued to evolve and ties nicely back into the previous films. Seeing things like the wingsuit he was working on in the second movie be perfected in this third film gives the world a real physical sense of tangible continuity. Not all the film's callbacks work though. While the recurring jokes from the earlier movies -- such as how the twins hate each other, or Toothless playing fetch with Hiccup's foot -- were fun, they also felt forced and less genuine than before. Now the village chief, Hiccup, more than any other character, has truly come into his own even though, in many ways, he's still that boy full of self-doubt and compassion for his people and their dragons. He still looks to his friends, and especially his partner Astrid (America Ferrara),for help and inspiration when times are tough or his confidence wavers. Astrid remains one of the most capable among the supporting characters, having taken on an almost second- in-command role in the village.

A dangerous new threat to Berk comes in the form of the fearsome dragon tracker Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham). Grimmel is a truly fitting villain for this emotional final installment. Not only does Grimmel make things personal by having a special vendetta against Toothless, he's also strategic and calculating, always a step ahead of the heroes. He forces the citizens of Berk, particularly Hiccup and Toothless, to make some of their hardest sacrifices yet. Grimmel doesn't simply want power; he wants to totally eradicate dragons and make a larger, painful point while doing so. To this end, he uses the white female Night Fury dragon -- the Light Fury -- as bait to try to take out Toothless. Fortunately, the introduction of the Light Fury is simply adorable. The way the dragons move and behave like living, lovable creatures has always been essential to this franchise and this entry wisely doubled down on that hard.

Hiccup's support for his friend during this time shows how far they've come together as a team. Usually, it's been Hiccup developing a new relationship (like discovering Toothless in the first film or meeting his mother in the second). This time it's Toothless's turn to forge a new relationship. The pivotal choice facing Hiccup here is one that the Hiccup from even one film ago wouldn't have had the strength to make. Indeed, none of the characters we met in the first movie would have been capable of what's required of them here. It took the total arc of three films to get them all here to such a believable and selfless conclusion.

Visually, every installment in this trilogy has depicted a new dragon home, each one more magnificent than the last. The titular Hidden World is a haven for thousands of different kinds of dragons. These awe-inspiring scenes have so much happening on screen at once and wonderfully showcase just how far these films have evolved and improved visually since the 2010 original. Everything from scenes of destruction to dragon fire and dragon scales to the softness of human characters' hair all looked truly impressive. Factor in the rousing score and you have a movie that's a feast for the senses.

The Verdict How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a fantastic, visually stunning and poignant way to end this beloved trilogy. While the young characters remain joyously funny, this finale also adds mature notes to their story of friendship. The franchise has, like its audience, grown up, and to that end this film grapples with more complex themes than before, making for a truly satisfying yet bittersweet conclusion.

Absolutely adore 'How to Train Your Dragon' and consider it not just Dreamworks' second best after 'The Prince of Egypt' but also one of my favourite animated films. The second film was a great sequel, replacing 'Kung Fu Panda 2' as the best Dreamworks sequel, that was very nearly as good, despite finding Drago a bit one-dimensional as a villain, with all of what made the first so great evident.

Expectations were high for the third and final instalment 'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'. Luckily it was a fine example of high expectations met and actually exceeded. Was a little worried that it would be one of those "third time's not the charm" or "sequel too far" sequels, but it was neither. It culminates the series beautifully, it's very affectionate and has lost none of the fun, charm or poignancy that made the previous two films as great as they were. It felt much more than a sequel, was in no way an insult to the previous two instalments (actually put it and the second on the same very close level of being nearly as good as the original),was a more than worthy ending and was a fabulous film in its own way.

As to be expected, the animation is amazing, like in the previous two films. The character designs have become more expressive with each sequel, there is incredible attention to detail in the backgrounds and little touches and the colours are vibrant and wonderfully rich in detail. At its best, the music score induces goose-bumps and tears, this aspect was a particular strong point in both the previous films and it's the same here in 'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'. It adds a lot, enhances the action and drama when necessary and really gives the sense of fantasy and adventure and does so rousingly and beautifully.

'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World' is again smartly scripted, with the right dose of humour and pathos and mixed adeptly. The humour is smart, quirky and hilarious at its best and there are plenty of emotional moments that are poignant and sweet without being sickly or sentimentality-overload. The conflict is suspenseful enough, and personally didn't find it too scary (some may disagree though). The action sequences are gorgeously animated, are fast paced and full of thrills and imagination.

The story still has depth and while a good deal happens it doesn't feel like there is too much going on, maybe at times it could have actually been a touch simpler because the first film's simplicity managed to be to its advantage. The dragon courtship rituals subplot boasts quite a fair bit of fun and the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless is heartfelt and endearing. The characters on the most part are strongly characterised, especially the ever adorable and impossible to dislike Toothless. The voice acting from Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett and Gerard Butler is excellent.

Flaws were almost none, but for me, despite F. Murray Abraham's strong voice work, the villain was a bit underwritten and one-dimensional.

Other than that, a great sequel and film and finishes the series on a very high-flying note. 9/10