It's so good, you guys. {= D
Phobos and I went to see it last night, and despite two agents variously being complete basket-cases and/or shouting commentary in the back of my head, I really enjoyed the heck out of it.
First of all, it's gorgeous. The textures are fantastically detailed, the environments look astonishingly real, you can see the wind blow through every bit of fur lining and the light catch every bit of the peach fuzz on Hiccup's face. This is not distracting, because it's freaking perfect. Also, they've used a low angle (human eye-height, I think) for a lot of scenes that puts you right in the middle of the action and gives you a real sense of just how big the dragons are. They're big! So big! It's amazing!
New dragons: cool! I wasn't too sure about the design of the new female Fury—bit too smooth, a little Uncanny Valley, alien-like, next to Toothless. I didn't like it as a female Night Fury. However, they make it pretty clear she's not exactly a Night Fury; she's a subspecies, and in that context, the differences sit more easily. She's beautiful in motion, too. Definitely grew on me. (And her courtship with Toothless reminded me of Farilan and Ilraen, so that's a fun intangible. ^_^ )
New bad guy: terrifying! He's basically the anti-Hiccup. He's smart, he knows dragons, and he's completely ruthless. Where Drago from the last film was a bit too over-the-top to be taken seriously, Grimmel is reserved, cold, and calculating, yet not humorless. He's playing a game, and he knows the rules better than our heroes. Gave me the creeps every time he was on screen. He's a great villain.
Soundtrack: well done! It weaves new and unique themes with callbacks to the first two films in a way that feels both fresh and connected, and when you do hear the original theme, it's a wonderful payoff.
Plot: no big surprises, but solid. It does what it sets out to do, and does it well. It provides a bittersweet and satisfying end to the story, and I give the creators huge props for having the guts to do that instead of milking the franchise until it gets stupid. They've had a great run between the three films, the series, games, and whatever else. There might still be plans for adjunct materials that I don't know about (toys forever probably?), but to have the main story be brought to a respectful close is a great treat.
Lore: they show us how to make fireproof stuff out of shed dragon scales (they do shed!) and saliva. Gall has a new line of merchandise for sale. Hope you like blue.
How do my characters feel about it?
Well, Derik frankly didn't take much of it on board. The whole premise of "if you love them, let them go" in this context is so alien to him that I think his brain more or less shut down in self-defense from the word go. A handkerchief or two were no doubt completely ruined. He stuck it out for his partner, though. Good for him.
Gall is convinced that putting Hiccup in charge of Berk was the worst idea in the world (she has a point), and would have liked to tell him everything he was doing wrong and how she'd have handled things instead (much worse). She is definitely never going back to her home continuum, and they can take Fellrazer away from her over her dead body.
She and Derik agreed on this. Some uncharacteristically sedate cuddling ensued.
At least until Gall's water broke because wouldn't that just be the worst?
{= 3
~Neshomeh