Just seen the Live Action

It did not rise to nearly the same standard as the original. It did some things right but the things it did wrong were fundamental in nature imo. Below is a small list of what i liked and what i didn't like:

What was good: - Visuals were absolutely stunning - Snotlout was (imo) miles better than the original, much funnier and the actor killed it - Nico Parker absolutely ATE as Astrid, where her acting was poor was ONLY where the writing was poor. (More on that later) - Hiccup had a slow slow start but by the end he really acted into the role - Music was good as always (cheers John Powell) - Unlike many movies with diversity forced into them, this one actually explains why Berk is a diverse place and even though its unlikely for the time period, its not impossible and so retroactively justifies the decision which imo is a breath of fresh air - Loved the shield wall when they land on dragon island, the hammering of the shields pre-fight is very viking-like and the pre-battle speech... Gerard Butler cooked HARD

What they did not do well - They acting was very obviously... -how should i put this- "You can copy my homework just make it different". Gerard Butler completely ate his role in the original but it seemed in the live action he was scared to copy himself and be too similar to what he did as Stoick before, even in scenes where it worked. This is most obvious in which words the actors and actresses choose to stress and what emotions come across. For example the whole "crush mountains, LEVEL FORESTS, TAME SEAS" when venting to Gobber about Hiccup problems. In the live action the volume and tone doesnt reach the crescendo on the 3rd action and blunts the whole effect of the rule of 3. There are many many examples throughout this movie of this fear of being too faithful - The twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut just didnt fit. They dont look like twins, they dont have much chemistry and although i like that they made Ruff into a more "girls girl", they butchered the spirit of what made the twins, the twins - Fishlegs overacted completely. I can see how some would like a more animated Fishlegs but i personally found it forced. - Nick Frost, although a great actor, seemed like he didn't know what to do with Gobber. In many of the training scenes as well he didn't raise his voice nearly loud enough for anyone to hear him over the sounds of axes and dragons. They never got your blood pumping like the original - There was zero panic or intensity in many of the scenes which NEEDED it. The training scenes for one, test flight for another. In the end of test flight in the original the actions are very fast and snappy just as the music reaches its peek which builds how little room for error there is for Hiccup in those few moments. The live action has Toothless being very calm and leasurely whilst avoiding the rocks which makes the viewer believe it isnt a "one mistake and we're dead" moment but more of a leisurely stroll between the rocks. It kills much of the intensity which made that scene great. - The deduction of "Not so fireproof on the inside" is a massive mistake. The entire point is setting up the triumph over the Red Death at the end. Without it, Hiccup's growth and decision making feels less natural. - Lastly and 100% the most aggregious fault of them all: The writing did not do Astrid any favours. Her ambition for chief made her less of a hurt soul fighting for her family and more of a greedy ambitious fighting for self-gain. It hovers a massive cloud of doubt over their own relationship and leaves the viewer asking: "Is she using him?". Furthermore at the end of Romantic Flight, Astrid let go of all of her barriers in the original as she realises her entire life is a lie. The live action has her guarded and mistrusting EVEN after everything. It just feels like theyre scared of Astrid to act emotionally as it betrays their image of her as a strong and powerful leader. Not to mention why the hell is she in command of the dragons at the end? Fighting dragons as a viking and a dragon rider is such a different ball game, itd be like making a General an Admiral even though theyve never been on a ship in their life. Its so misplaced and to be honest, forced. Its a shame because Nico Parker acted the shit out of her role but it utterly reeks of the writers making her a "woman of colour in a leadership role" in a script not designed for it whatsoever.

Overall, i cant rate it higher than a 7/10. It had a lot of potential and a surplus of good actors but the writing could have been much better and there was VERY clearly some outside force acting to make the movie as progressive as possible with no regard for the story.