RELIGHT MY DRAGON FIRE

LIVE-ACTION REMAKE OF AN ANIMATED CLASSIC MAY NOT BE STRICTLY NECESSARY BUT IT'S STILL A NOSTALGIC TREAT FULL OF HEART AND CHARM

- REVIEWS BY DAMON SMITH

DEAN DEBLOIS, Oscar-nominated co-director and co-writer of the 2010 animated fantasy How To Train Your Dragon, flies solo behind the camera for a live-action reworking that captures all the charm of the original but ultimately begs the question: why remake a film that was almost perfect and confidently passes the test of time?

Viking chieftain Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his role) presides over the village of Berk, where residents battle pernicious dragons that snatch livestock and set houses ablaze.

Stoick's weakling son Hiccup (Mason Thames) is relegated to sharpening swords under the aegis of blacksmith Gobber the Belch (Nick Frost), who lost his left hand and right leg fighting one of the beasts.