I went to How to Train Your Dragon in 2010 expecting basically a light show supported by a perfunctory plot, a dollop of sappy sentiment and of course plenty of adorable, anthropomorphized CG dragons. But I came away thoroughly entertained by a sweet and moving story of discovery, tolerance and love. I went in to this second sequel hoping for similar emotional satisfaction but found myself subjected to an hour and a half of admittedly dazzling visuals while waiting for something, anything, to reach my heart. In short, it’s everything I feared about the first film. Note: I’m in a minority here, but that’s what I’ve got. 

December 20 (104 min)