Out of all the live-action remakes of animated films to be released in the last few years, How to Train Your Dragon is the one that sounded too soon, and too perfect to touch more than any of the others. However, it winds up standing out among many of the other remakes that come to mind. Director Dean DeBlois sets out to retell the story of Berk and its vikings and dragons in realistic glory, but also sticks so closely to his original film’s visual palette that there almost isn’t anything new here. Large amounts of dialogue, if not the entire script, are also beat for beat exactly the same, so if you remember the original film quite well, it’s like watching a film you’ve already seen be enhanced and remastered. Though the first film is so wonderful that it doesn’t leave much need for improvements, making a new film should be justified by making some changes and additions to the story, not to mention much from the source material that the film was based on that we haven’t yet seen.

Mason Thames manages to make the role of Hiccup his own, while Gerard Butler is a standout reprising his role as Stoick from the animated trilogy. His hard exterior and brutal attitude towards dragons that develops from his fear and desire to protect his son and tribe are prominent. The production design and CGI effects work very well to form engaging action scenes — even if it takes a lot of getting used to that Toothless looks the exact same as he did in the animated version but is now interacting with live-action settings. Nico Parker is wonderful as Astrid, and her bond with Hiccup also stands out, particularly his earning of her trust. The supporting teen characters unfortunately feel like they’re doing imitations of their previous version, though Nick Frost entertains as Gobber.

Some scenes manage to carry the beauty over into this version, including Hiccup and Toothless’ initial bonding, and the former’s romantic flight with Astrid. Still, you’re sometimes left to wonder why it wouldn’t have hurt to change some more lines or backdrops, or even some add in some new story beats when you’re making a new film, after all. The real magic here that holds it all together is John Powell’s score. His themes enrich the world and the tone when they could’ve lacked in this new iteration otherwise. The movie’s insistence on staying so close that numerous scenes are a shot-for-shot copy and paste can frustrate, but its lack of originality doesn’t fully take away from the heart and vibrance that’s still here, even if in a lower capacity. For those discovering the story for the first time, though, it will certainly deliver with its themes of empathy and teamwork.