How To Train Your Dragon

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Ballarat breakfast on October 22, 2010.

(PG) ★★★★

Director: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders.

Cast: (voices of) Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera.

And that's how scientists discovered clouds weren't made of marshmallow.

DREAMWORKS have had their computer-animated successes, but it's been a patchy run - in between the hits there have been some wide misses (Shrek The Third, Madagascar 2, Shark Tale).

But here's one for the hit pile to rival Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and almost anything Pixar has ever done.

This family fantasy is set on the fictitious Viking island of Berk, where young Hiccup (voiced by Baruchel) is a disappointment to his father (Butler) because Hiccup doesn't have the makings of a big tough dragon-killer like all the other men in the village.

But when Hiccup discovers a supposedly ferocious dragon trapped in a nearby valley, he starts to learn about his own capabilities and the true nature of the dragons plaguing his village.

The plot might seem a little stale, but its well-told and features some intelligent twists along the way. Snappy one-liners, interesting side characters and cracking action scenes, including a thrilling final battle, elevate this above its slightly corny premise.

The film also has a lot of heart, whether it be in the humourous relationship between Hiccup and his father or the slow-and-steady bond between the boy and his dragon. Family films need strong themes and there's no skimping on that here, such as in the well-worn paths of following your heart, listening to your family, not placing your own expectations on others, putting aside differences to battle a common threat, or living in harmony with the environment.

Baruchel's voice is a little grating at first (and why do all the kids have American accents when the adults have Scottish ones?) but most of the voice acting is strong, particularly Butler as Hiccup's tough guy dad.

How To Train Your Dragon may not be vividly original, but it doesn't talk down to its audience and never feels dumb, which is part of the key to its all-ages success. It might not blow you away, but it will win you over with its surplus of charms.

Iron Man 2

(M) ★★

Director: Jon Favreau.

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson.

This was the moment the International Whip Cracking Championships decided to introduce drug testing.

ONE of the biggest problems with superhero franchises is that in an effort to go one better than their predecessors, sequels get crammed full of more characters, more action scenes and generally just more of everything.

It's this method that sunk the pre-Nolan Batman movies and Raimi's Spider-man 3 and it's a worry that a similar rot seems to be creeping in so early in the strong-starting Iron Man series.

Having revealed he is Iron Man at the end of the first film, Tony Stark (Downey Jr) is now dealing with the consequences - the US government wants the suit and Stark is fighting a losing battle to stop the power going to his head.

The suit is also affecting his health but that might be the least of his worries thanks to the appearance of Ivan Vanko (Rourke), a Russian physicist who recasts himself as Whiplash to exact revenge on Stark.

Looking at Iron Man 2 objectively, it's not a good film. There are plot-holes big enough to fit Stark's ego in and the script feels like its key action sequences were written first and the rest of the story was forced to tenuously join the dots, with the worst example being the F1 race near the start of the film that serves as Whiplash's introduction. It's an exhilarating set-piece but its presence is frustratingly incongruous.

As the script struggles to latch on to a direction, the excellent array of characters flitter in and out, and proper plotting is supplanted by a messy story that stumbles from explosion to explosion.

Another downside is that positives of the first film have been amped up into negatives - the humour that made it so great now borders on cheesy and the sketchy hyper-reality of Iron Man's world is stretched to new levels of ludicrousness.

But...

Subjectively, as a fan of Marvel and the first movie, I really enjoyed it, in spite of the plotholes, the increased cheesiness and the extra ludicrousness. Stark is a great character wonderfully realised by Downey Jr, the supporting cast is great, particularly Rourke, the comic book's qualities shine through, and the widening of the Marvel universe reduced me to a giggling fanboy. I laughed in spite of the cheese. I was thrilled by the action sequences despite the plotting making little sense at times.

So I'm torn, as I was with Watchmen. My inner comic book nerd loved that movie, but as a film reviewer I could see the cracks, and Iron Man 2 has some pretty big cracks in its shiny metal suit. Fans will be satisfied, even if it doesn't match the nuanced and well-rounded brilliance of the first film. But many will be disappointed with this seemingly rushed follow-up.