Deadpool 2

Based on the Marvel Comics series by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefield, Deadpool 2 is the sequel to the 2016 film in which the titular character forms a team to protect a young mutant from a soldier with time-traveling capabilities. Directed by David Leitch and screenplay by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds, the film is an action-adventure comedy that has the titular character/Wade Wilson who is known for his profane language and thirst for violence as he decides to form his own team while causing all sorts of shit as he is once again portrayed by Ryan Reynolds. Also starring Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapicic, T.J. Miller, Jack Kesy, and Josh Brolin as Cable. Deadpool 2 is a wild and adventurously insane film from David Leitch.

Following a tragic event that would shape the life of Deadpool, the titular character reluctantly teams with the X-Men to protect a young mutant only for the mutant and Deadpool to be put in prison where the young mutant is being pursued by a soldier with time-travel capabilities. It’s a film that plays into the rogue assassin dealing with his role as a man who gets paid to kill bad guys yet is coping with loss as well as uncertainty of what to do next until he tries to help this young mutant who learns he had been abused at the orphanage he was in where he takes his own brand vigilante justice in his own hands causing him to be arrested and without access to his powers. The film’s screenplay by Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick doesn’t just explore Wilson’s own grief and his own need for meaning in his life while trying to protect this young boy but also create a void for his loss in a family while continuously surrounding himself with friends such as the bartender Weasel (T.J. Miller), the elderly roommate Blind Al (Leslie Uggams), and the taxi driver Dopinder (Karan Soni).

The script would have moments where Deadpool does break down the fourth wall as well as make claims that the film the audience is watching is a family film. Yet, it is a film about family as Deadpool has to protect Russell Collins/Firefist (Julian Dennison) who is troubled and is being pursued by this time-traveling soldier in Cable whose motivations is revenge. Yet, there is a lot more in what Cable is doing as it relates to his own personal mission as Collins is seeking a friend where he would turn to Deadpool but Deadpool is still dealing with his own personal issues to help out Collins until he becomes the mission to save him.

David Leitch’s direction is definitely playful as it add to the film’s offbeat and smarmy tone. Shot on location in British Columbia, Canada with the city of Vancouver being its main setting, the film does play into a world that has Deadpool struggling with loss where the film begins with him doing a suicide attempt while spoiling things that is to happen in the film. While there’s some wide shots in some of the film’s locations as well as scenes inside a mutants-only prison, much of Leitch’s direction is simple in its approach to close-ups and medium shots to play into the interaction with characters. Even in scenes involving Deadpool and his girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) early in the film to the interactions with X-Men members Colossus (Stefan Kapicic), Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), and NTW’s new girlfriend Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna) where there are these elements of humor and film references including the franchise Deadpool is a part of. Even in some of the film’s moments of violence as it has this element of dark humor that include Deadpool’s first encounter with Cable.

Leitch’s direction also play into the stakes as it relates to the unveiling of a major character in the film’s third act who would become a major threat to both Deadpool and Cable. Most notably as the latter’s motivation for revenge and his pursuit of Collins showcase what is to come as it’s not just Collins’ life that is at stake but also the future. There is also this element where Leitch does play with the elements of breaking down the fourth wall where it is obvious where many film sequels go as Deadpool also point out plot devices and such where it adds to the film’s offbeat and irreverent tone. Even in the film’s climax where Deadpool would get help from a few allies including a mutant with the power of luck named Domino (Zazie Baetz). Overall, Leitch crafts an exhilarating and comical film about a rogue mercenary who fights off against evil forces to protect a young mutant and his own future.

Cinematographer Jonathan Sela does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of bluish lights for some of the scenes set at night as well as in some of the daytime exteriors to help set a grim yet offbeat tone for the film. Editors Craig Alpert, Elisabet Ronaldsdottir, and Dirk Westfeldt do amazing work with the film’s stylized editing with its usage of jump-cuts, slow-motion cuts, and other rhythmic cuts that play into the film’s action and humor. Production designer David Scheunemann, with set decorator Sandy Walker and supervising art director Dan Hermansen, does brilliant work with the look of the mutants prison as well as the apartment Deadpool lives in as well as the home he shares with Blind Al and the orphanage that Collins lives in. Costume designers Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller do fantastic work with some of the casual clothes that Wilson wears as well as the Deadpool costume and some of the clothes the people from his team wears.

Makeup designer Bill Corso does incredible work with the look of Deadpool/Wilson as well as the look of Cable and some of the mutants they meet. Special effects supervisor Mike Vezina, with visual effects supervisors Michael Brazelton, Dan Glass, Rohit Prakash Gujar, and Sean Konrad, does terrific work with the look of Cable with his mechanical arm and gadgets as well as the powers and looks of some of the mutants. Sound editor Mark P. Stoeckinger and sound designer Martyn Zub does superb work with the sound in the way gunfire and gadgets sound as well as the atmosphere of some of the locations. The film’s music by Tyler Bates is wonderful for its mixture of rock and orchestral music that play into the action, drama, and suspense while music supervisor John Houlihan creates an extremely fun soundtrack that feature music from Pat Benatar, a-ha, Peter Gabriel, DJ Shadow w/ Run the Jewels, Skrillex w/ Sirah, Cher, Dolly Parton, Air Supply, Alicia Morton, the Steve Miller Band, and Celine Dion.

The casting by Marisol Roncali and Mary Vernieu is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Hayley Sales and Islie Hirvonen as Cable’s wife and daughter respectively from flashbacks, Luke Roessler as a young kid eating a cereal that Deadpool likes, Terry Crews as a mutant named Bedlam, Bill Skarsgard as an acid-vomit mutant named Zeitgeist, Lewis Tan as a cocky mutant named Shatterstar, Rob Delaney as a guy named Peter, Jack Kesy as a mutant inmate named Black Tom Cassidy who tries to intimidate Deadpool and Collins, Shioli Kutsuna as the mutant Yukio who is also NTW’s girlfriend, and Eddie Marsan as an orphanage headmaster who abuses Collins as well as being an anti-mutant extremist. Morena Baccarin is wonderful in her small role as Wilson’s girlfriend Vanessa as even though she is used as a plot device for the film, she does provide some touching moments that play into Wilson’s motivation to find meaning. Leslie Uggams and Karan Soni are amazing in their respective roles as Blind Al and Dopinder as a couple of Wilson's allies who both want to take part in helping Deadpool.

T.J. Miller is terrific as the bartender Weasel who tries to help Deadpool out as well as have his own weird encounter with Cable while Stefan Kapicic is superb in his voice-capture role as the X-Men mutant Colossus who is trying to get Deadpool to join the team and do some good. Brianna Hildebrand is fantastic as Negasonic Teenage Warhead as an X-Men mutant who can create sonic powers as her weapon as she is reluctant to have Deadpool be part of the X-Men. Zazie Baetz is excellent as Domino as a mutant whose power is luck as she is someone that can do things and always have good things happen to her as she is full of personality and charm that makes her a joy to watch. Julian Dennison is brilliant as Russell Collins/Firefist as a teenage boy who can throw fiery punches as he is someone that’s been abused and mistreated and is in need of a friend yet he’s unaware of what he is about to do due to the anger he’s attained through the abuse he’s suffered.

Josh Brolin is incredible as Cable as this time-traveling soldier who is more of an anti-hero than a typical antagonist as he is someone that is trying to go after Collins in this act of revenge yet is also someone that is carrying his own sense of loss and knows what Deadpool is going through. Finally, there’s Ryan Reynolds in a phenomenal performance as Deadpool/Wade Wilson as the rogue mercenary with a potty mouth as he is struggling with his own loss and existential crisis where he finds himself trying to protect a young mutant only to get lost further in his own issues where it’s a mixture of humor, anger, and drama that is one of Reynolds’ finest performances.

Deadpool 2 is a sensational film from David Leitch that features great performances from Ryan Reynolds and Josh Brolin. Along with its ensemble cast, witty dark humor, its ability to reference various plot points and get away with it, and a fun music soundtrack. It’s a film that never takes itself seriously where it does spoof sequels in some respects but also manages to showcase some substance as far as what is often expected from superhero films though it’s really more of an anti-superhero film. In the end, Deadpool 2 is a remarkable film from David Leitch.

David Leitch Films: John Wick - Atomic Blonde - (Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw)

X-Men Films: X-Men - X2: X-Men United - X-Men 3: The Last Stand - X-Men Origins: Wolverine - X-Men: First Class - The Wolverine - X-Men: Days of Future Past - Deadpool - Logan - X-Men: Apocalypse - (Dark Phoenix) – (New Mutants)

© thevoid99 2019

Deadpool

Based on the Marvel Comics series by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, Deadpool is the story of an assassin who reinvents himself as an anti-hero who goes after the man that ruined his life and has captured his old girlfriend. Directed by Tim Miller and screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the film is spoof of sorts as it play into the many tropes of superhero films but with a character that often makes very satirical comments as the titular character is played by Ryan Reynolds. Also starring Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Gina Carano, Leslie Uggams, Briana Hildebrand, and Stefan Kapicic. Deadpool is a wild yet witty film from Tim Miller.

The film follows its titular character who was once a top assassin until he is stricken with cancer where he goes to a mysterious man who would cure him but leave him deformed. In turn, he goes after him hoping for a cure and get his life back on track while providing some commentary of everything that is around him as well as breaking the fourth wall. It’s a film about a guy who claims to be a bad guy but does worse thing to those who are really bad as he has no interest in being a hero. Yet, once the assassin Wade Wilson would find love in a prostitute named Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). He starts to embrace some form of normalcy until he is stricken with terminal cancer as desperation to find a cure would lead him into a trouble where he meets this mutant named Ajax (Ed Skrein) who is immune to pain as he would put Wade into a dark experiment that would force him to become the anti-superhero Deadpool.

The film’s script doesn’t play by traditional narrative as part of it has Deadpool reflecting on his life with Vanessa and what he was doing while chasing Ajax and his goons at a highway only to be interrupted by Colossus (the voice of Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Briana Hildebrand) of the X-Men who want him to join. Deadpool refuses as he also comments about what he’s doing as well as criticize his character’s previous appearance in a film as well as other things that breaks the fourth wall. Especially as Deadpool would often talk to the audience as he tries to go after Ajax who would later kidnap Vanessa. There is also that sense of conflict in Wade as he embraces being Deadpool but also is filled with fear about what will Vanessa think of what he did to get rid of the cancer.

Tim Miller’s direction is definitely stylish as it play into the many tropes that is expected in action and superhero films but it also has fun with it. Shot largely on location in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, the film plays into a world that is quite chaotic but also exciting which is something that Wade is comfortable at since it play into his twisted personality. Miller does use some wide shots for some big moments as well as establishing some of the locations yet he would go into more intimate approaches to compositions with the usage of close-ups and medium shots. Some of which are playful as well as maintain that air of dark comedy into the film in the way Wade comments on the torture he would endure as well as comments from everything including bad movies and the guy who is playing him. Miller’s direction also has these moments such as the opening sequence where it plays into the many clichés of what is expected as the opening credits list everything that is often seen in these films. Still, Miller understands that the film isn’t taking itself seriously while not being afraid of being graphically violent at times or just taking a piss on itself at many of the clichés and have fun with it. Overall, Miller creates a thrilling and hilarious film about a bad guy who goes ape-shit on even worse guys by trying to get his girlfriend back and kill a bunch of fuck-heads.

Cinematographer Ken Seng does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography as it play into the somewhat de-colored look of the exterior locations with the exception of the scenes at the home of the X-Men while some of the nighttime scenes have some nice lighting to play into its eerie look. Editor Julian Clarke does superb work with the editing as it has some stylish fast-cuts for some of the action while actually not overwhelm anything as well as be straightforward in some parts. Production designer Sean Haworth, with set decorators Shannon Gottlieb and Shane Vieau as well as art directors Greg Berry, Nigel Evans, and Craig Humphries, does fantastic work with the set design from the bar Wade often hangs out as well as the home he would share with a blind woman. Costume designer Angus Straithe does terrific work with the costumes from the clothes that Vanessa wear as well as the design of the Deadpool suit.

Makeup designer Bill Corso does brilliant work with the look of Wade in his decayed and post-cure state as it play into the decision he‘s made. Visual effects supervisor Jonathan Rothbart does wonderful work with the visual effects from the way some of Deadpool‘s wounds are healed and the look of Colossus. Sound editors Jim Brookshire and Wayne Lemmer, along with sound designer Craig Henighan, do amazing work with the sound as it play into the sound effects and the way some of the gore sounds as it isn‘t afraid to be squeamish. The film’s music by Tom Holkenborg is marvelous for its mixture of bombast electronic music with some orchestral flourishes to play into the action while music supervisor John Houlihan create a fun soundtrack featuring music from DMX, Wham!, Juice Newton, Salt-N-Pepa, Chicago, Neil Sedaka, the Chordettes, and TeamHeadKick.

The casting by Ronna Kress is remarkable as it feature some notable small roles from Karan Soni as a cab driver named Dopinder that Deadpool befriends, Jed Rees as a mysterious man in a suit that gives Wade a secret contact, and Leslie Uggams in a very funny performance as Blind Al as a blind old lady that Deadpool lives with as she has a love for cocaine and IKEA. Stefan Kapicic is terrific as the voice of the steel-like mutant Colossus as a X-Men who tries to recruit Deadpool as he thinks there is good in him. Brianna Hildebrand is fantastic as Negasonic Teenage Warhead as a X-Men trainee who has the power to detonate atomic bursts in her body as she doesn’t seem to be impressed by Deadpool. T.J. Miller is superb as Weasel as a bartender friend of Wade who would help him with a few things as well as be a comic foil for Wade.

Gina Carano is excellent as Angel Dust as Ajax’s powerful henchwoman who likes to have a match in her mouth as well as be very strong where she is able to match up against Colossus. Ed Skrein is brilliant as Ajax as a mutant who is immune to pain as he would manipulate and ruin Wade’s life in the hopes he can use him as part of a secret army only to fuck with the wrong guy. Morena Baccarin is amazing as Vanessa as a prostitute who is Wade’s girlfriend as she has a strange yet enjoyable relationship until she wonders where he is as she isn’t some typical damsel-in-distress but rather someone that doesn’t take a lot of shit. Finally, there’s Ryan Reynolds in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as a smart-aleck assassin who is diagnosed with cancer only for things to go wrong when he gets cured as he becomes an even more fucked-up killer as it’s Reynolds being funny as well as provide some charm as it’s one of his best performances to date.

Deadpool is a sensational film from Tim Miller that features an incredible performance from Ryan Reynolds. Along with a strong supporting cast, a fun music soundtrack, and a premise that isn’t afraid to not take itself seriously. It’s an anti-superhero film that doesn’t care about taking a piss on itself as well as have a good time playing with the many clichés of the genre. In the end, Deadpool is a dazzling and hilarious film from Tim Miller.

X-Men Films: X-Men - X2: X-Men United - X-Men 3: The Last Stand - X-Men Origins: Wolverine - X-Men: First Class - The Wolverine - X-Men: Days of Future Past - X-Men: Apocalypse - Logan - Deadpool 2 - (Dark Phoenix) – (New Mutants)

© thevoid99 2016

Big Hero 6

Based on the comic book series by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau, Big Hero 6 is the story of a tech prodigy who creates a robot that helps him fight against a masked villain with the help of friends. Directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams and screenplay by Robert L. Baird, Dan Gerson, and Jordan Roberts, the film is set in a futuristic hybrid-city of San Francisco and Tokyo where a young kid tries to learn what it means to be a hero as well as cope with loss. Featuring the voices of Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Genesis Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr., Alan Tudyk, Maya Rudolph, and James Cromwell. Big Hero 6 is an exhilarating and touching film from Don Hall and Chris Williams.

Set in a futuristic city that combines San Francisco and Tokyo into a city called San Fransokyo, the film follows a 14-year old tech prodigy with little direction in life as he is encouraged by his older brother to use his talents where a tragic incident prompts the boy to become a hero and fulfill his brother’s wish to help people. It’s a film that isn’t just a boy coping with loss but also befriend a creation of his brother in an inflatable healthcare robot named Baymax (Scott Adsit) who would inspire him to do good. The film’s screenplay doesn’t just follow the young life of Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) who is this brilliant and smart kid that can create robotic stuff including micro-bots as it would be something he and Baymax would have to go against as it’s under the control of a mysterious masked villain. While Hiro and his friends do have a suspect as it relates to a tech entrepreneur in Alistair Keri (Alan Tudyk) who would give Hiro an offer for his micro-bots earlier in the film at a showcase. Yet, there are some things that become complicated as it relates to the grief Hiro has for his brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney).

The film’s direction by Don Hall and Chris Williams is definitely extraordinary for not just the setting of the film but also in creating something that bends a lot of genre but knows what it wants to be. The look of San Fransokyo is definitely a marvel as it does look and feel like a city that has its own unique style while Hall and Williams use some wide and medium shots for the locations while going for the latter in some of the intimate moments involving Hiro and Baymax. The close-ups would play into some of the emotional moments while the direction also has some humor as well as scenes that showcase Hiro’s talents along with the things Tadashi’s friends are able to do. It adds to some lavish sequences that are added with some gorgeous visuals due to the contributions of cinematographers Rob Dressel and Adolph Lusinsky in how some of the scenes at night are lit.

Aided by production designer Paul A. Felix and art director Scott Watanabe as well as visual effects supervisor Kyle Odermatt in the way some of the scenes in the sky look with Odermatt creating a very surreal sequence that occurs late in the film. There is a richness to the animation while it also leans toward the world of comic books as Hall and Williams definitely maintain that look of a comic book as the characters in the form not only are inspired by comics but also play up its sense of whimsy and adventure. Overall, Hall and Williams create a fun and heartfelt film about a young tech prodigy fulfilling his brother’s wish to do good by becoming a hero.

Editor Tim Mertens does excellent work with the editing as it has some nice rhythms to play into the action as well as in some of the humor without deviating too much into fast-cutting techniques. Sound editor/designer Shannon Mills does amazing work with the sound in creating some sound effects as well as in the way Baymax sounds. The film’s music by Henry Jackman is fantastic as it has these amazing orchestral flourishes in the strings as it play into the sense of adventure as well as in the drama and suspense as it is a highlight of the film.

The casting by Jamie Sparer Roberts is great as it feature some small yet notable voice roles from James Cromwell as a tech college professor who sees promise in Hiro’s work with micro-bots, Maya Rudolph as Hiro and Tadashi’s aunt Cass who raises them and runs a café, and Alan Tudyk as the tech guru Alistair Krei whom Hiro and Tadashi’s friends suspect as the mysterious masked villain because he wants the micro-bot tech that Hiro created. Genesis Rodriguez is wonderful as chemist wiz Honey Lemon who becomes part of the team due to her creation of powerful chemicals while Jamie Chung is fantastic as GoGo as an electromagnetic wiz who is also very athletic. Damon Wayans Jr. is superb as Wasabi as neurotic laser engineer who creates weapons involving lasers as he is also the most cautious. T.J. Miller is excellent as Fred as the school’s mascot who is the biggest comic book nerd as he is the wild card of the team.

Daniel Henney is brilliant as Tadashi as Hiro’s older brother who shows Hiro the things he can do and his ambitions where an incident would lead to his passing yet would find a way to give his younger brother some wisdom. Scott Adsit is amazing as the voice of Baymax as this robot who is this object of innocence as his object is to help people in need as a medical robot as it’s a character that is so complex where it shows something that has a lot to offer as it’s one of the most adorable and heartfelt characters in a film. Finally, there’s Ryan Potter in a marvelous performance as Hiro Hamada as a fourteen-year old robotics prodigy who deals with loss as well as a lack of direction where he is determined to solve the loss of his older brother as well as deal with growing pains as Potter’s performance is a highlight of the film.

Big Hero 6 is a phenomenal film from Don Hall and Chris Williams. Featuring some amazing imagery, top-notch art direction and animation, a great voice ensemble, and a heartfelt story about doing good and coping with loss. It’s a superhero film with heart as well as providing something much more than just being entertaining and fun. In the end, Big Hero 6 is a sensational film from Don Hall and Chris Williams.

© thevoid99 2016

How to Train Your Dragon

Based on Cressida Cowell’s book, How to Train Your Dragon tells the story of a young Viking teenager who captures a mysterious dragon in hopes to gain acceptance from his father and tribe. Instead, he befriends the dragon whom he starts to care for and help create a prosthetic tail to help him fly. Directed Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois with an adapted script by Sanders, DeBlois, and Will Davies. The computer-animated film is among one of Dreamworks Animations finest projects to date eschewing their more entertaining stories for something more profound. With a voice cast that includes Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, T.J. Miller, and Craig Ferguson. How to Train Your Dragon is a thrilling yet heartwarming film from Dreamworks Animation studio.

All Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) ever wanted was to win the approval of his Viking chief father Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) yet always end up causing trouble with his strange ideas. While he works as an apprentice for the blacksmith Gobber the Belch (Craig Ferguson), Hiccup wants to prove himself by capturing and kill a dragon as the island he and other Vikings live in are often under attack by dragons. The most dangerous dragon is the Night Fury whose speed and fire power is beyond anything that other dragons could do. Hiccup manages to capture one as he later finds the dragon only to realize that it’s afraid as he lets it go only to realize it lost part of its tail. With Stoick asking Gobber to train Hiccup to attack dragons as he goes on shore leave to find the nest, Hiccup reluctantly takes part in dragon training.

During his time with the Night Fury whom he calls Toothless, Hiccup learns about the dragon where he uses his knowledge to deal with other dragons during his training. Once the trouble-making outcast, Hiccup becomes the top student of dragon training though Astrid (America Ferrera) seems suspicious over Hiccup’s frequent disappearances. With Stoick learning about Hiccup’s progress at dragon training, he seems impressed as he hopes Hiccup will kill his first dragon. When Astrid discovers Hiccup’s secret that included creating a prosthetic tail for Toothless, the two make an even bigger discovery during an impromptu flight to the dragon lair. When Stoick eventually learns what Hiccup had been doing all along and the dragon’s nest, he makes a trip to the lair with a captured Toothless. Realizing that his father is walking towards danger, it’s up to Hiccup, Astrid, their friends, and other dragons to help out.

Since Dreamworks Animations founding in 1998 with its first film Antz, which was a computer-animated film, the studio has been making films that always try to provide a much more family-friendly kind of entertainment towards its audience. Yet, those films have often been peppered with pop culture references to keep younger audiences excited but always tend to lose focus for the story. With this film, directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois along with co-screenwriter Will Davies stray from that kind of humor for something much more profound while retaining some of the humor that has kept Dreamworks Animation successful.

Since the film is about a young Viking teenager trying to win his father’s approval while befriending a dragon. The character of Hiccup is one filled with conflict since he suddenly cares for this dragon that he’s captured and help make it fly again by creating a prosthetic tail. Yet, he also wants to prove to the Vikings that everything they knew about dragons were wrong while wanting his father to accept him. Yet, the character of Stoick isn’t a one-dimensional father that is very ignorant and wanting his son to be like him. He’s also someone who is unsure if he’s raising him right while wanting to protect him from all sorts of danger. The emphasis on character development and creating something more full-fledge allows the story to progress without having to dwell into any tricks. The dragons that Hiccup encounters, notably Toothless, have a personality all to their own which helps Hiccup understand these creatures.

The direction of the film by Sanders and DeBlois is truly spectacular as they go for something that is both rough in its landscapes but also broader in its scope. Taking on a much more textured look for the rocks and caverns plus the islands that Hiccup and Toothless encounter, there is a more life-like feel to the way these landscapes look that is similar to what Pixar studios have done. Still, Sanders and DeBlois do retain a cartoonish look to the characters and the dragons while making them seem a bit real and lively. The overall work in the animation and look to the film is phenomenal as Sanders and DeBlois create a moving yet visually-dazzling film.

Helping the directors to create the lighting and visual beauty of the film is renowned cinematographer Roger Deakins. Known mostly for his work with the Coen Brothers and having contributed his services to Pixar’s 2008 film WALL-E. Deakins work as a visual consultant help give the film a look that is livelier and more realistic that strays away from the cartoonish look of previous films. The overall look and photography that Deakins provides is truly amazing. Editors Maryann Brandon and Darren T. Holmes do some excellent work with the editing by creating some intense, fast-paced cuts for some of the flying scenes and action sequences while maintaining a leisured, straightforward approach for the dramatic moments of the film.

Production designer Kathy Altieri and art director Pierre-Olivier Vincent do a superb job with the look of the island and its homes along with the dome where Hiccup and his friends train in and the secret nest that Toothless takes Hiccup and Astrid to. Sound designer Randy Thom and sound editor Jonathan Null do great work in the sound from the fire-breathing sounds of the dragons to the creaking of ships in the sea for its climatic battle. The film’s score by John Powell is definitely a major highlight of the film as Powell’s score is filled with sweeping orchestral arrangements with bombastic rhythms. Even as he fills the scores with layers of Scottish bagpipes and other woodwinds to add flair and emotion to the musical pieces. Also in the film’s soundtrack is Jonsi’s Sticks & Stones which is a wonderful companion piece that is played during the final credits.

The voice is cast is definitely brilliant as it features small voice roles from Ashley Jensen and David Tennant as a couple of Vikings while Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller are funny as the battling twins Ruffnot and Tuffnot, respectively. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is very good as the nervous but book-smart Fishlegs while Jonah Hill is excellent as the arrogant but dim Snotlout. America Ferrera is wonderful as Astrid, a tough Viking girl who discovers Hiccup’s secret while learning why the dragons were trying to steal food from the Vikings. Craig Ferguson is great in a very funny role as peg-legged and one-armed Gobber, a blacksmith who tries to help Stoick about Hiccup while teaching the young boy about dragons and such.

Gerard Butler is brilliant as Stoick, a Viking leader who wants to protect Hiccup while trying to make him into a great Viking warrior only to realize how different he is. Finally, there’s Jay Baruchel who is amazing in providing the voice for Hiccup as Baruchel brings a sense of confusing and curiosity to a young boy striving to win his father’s approval. Particularly as he gains understanding about the creatures he’s learned to hunt for only to have a bigger appreciation for them.

How to Train Your Dragon is a marvelous film from Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois that truly brings not just a wonderful sense of entertainment but with a story that is touching and engaging. With a great visual look and a superb score from John Powell, it is definitely a film that truly can go toe-to-toe with the array of great films that Pixar has made since the mid-1990s. In comparison to the films that Dreamworks Animation has made, this film is undoubtedly their best film so far as How to Train Your Dragon is a stunning achievement for that studio.

© thevoid99 2011