This round of reviews includes “Greta,” “Fighting With My Family,” and “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.”
Greta
“Everyone needs a friend.”
Neil Jordan’s “Greta” is a peculiarly excited film. At a glance it’s not difficult to understand why; it features an eye-catching performance from the phenomenal Isabelle Huppert which is as bewilderingly entertaining as it is unhinged, and the rapidly rising Chloë Grace Moretz absorbs and internalizes this energy while anchoring the viewer’s perspective. In fact, a great deal of the film’s virtues stem from the stretches in which their counterpoint is allowed to crescendo. One particularly memorable sequence takes place in a high-end restaurant, featuring a calm-shattering outburst and a pitch-perfect reaction to match, likely earning its way into some year-end montage reels.
Beyond that, however, “Greta’s” eagerness proves a bit excessive, as it pulls the viewer into twists and turns before taking care to establish the stakes necessary for the various payoffs to hit home. There are several instances in which the score rumbles with menace and the camera creeps about, but nothing evidently menacing or creepy is unfolding onscreen. This disconnect between the film’s affectations and viewers’ perceptions leads to moments where the thought, “Wait, did I miss something?” pushes its way to the front of the brain and distracts from the scene at hand. When enough of these moments are strung together, viewers will correctly decide that the movie, not their focus, is to blame for the repeated confusion.
Eventually, though, the actual events onscreen catch-up with the movie’s giddy anticipation of these events, resulting in a climax that is—at the very least—superficially compelling in all of its warped zeal. Taken altogether, “Greta” is an interesting, uneven showcase of its performers, occasionally flashing a greater potential it never fully realizes.
Grade: B-
“Greta” is in theaters now.
Fighting With My Family
“It’s all fake anyway, isn’t it?”
In Steve Merchant’s “Fighting With My Family,” which tells the true story of WWE star Saraya Knight (better known by her ring name, Paige), everything is grounded primarily in the language of wrestling. Instead of this creating an exclusionary, insulated feeling for those who know next-to-nothing about the sport (hello), the film exercises a gracious patience and instead consciously chooses to serve as an introduction to the world. It teaches viewers through immersion, working to develop an appreciation for its building blocks of athleticism and showmanship while Knight (portrayed by Florence Pugh) grows from an aspiring small-town personality into the role for which she’s known today.
Aiding this cause is a delightful ensemble cast anchored by the portrayal of Knight’s family (Nick Frost, Lena Heady, and Jack Lowden). Knight’s one-track focus (and, subsequently, the film’s) comes about organically largely due to their sincerity, presence, and influence, even as she’s overseas training for her shot at making it onto the WWE stage. Meanwhile, Vince Vaughn plays Vince Vaughn in a role that calls for him to be Vince Vaughn (WWE talent scout and developer, Hutch), and he does so perfectly.
Where the movie stumbles a bit is in its slightly-too-rigid adherence to hitting the customary genre beats; the predictability can be a bit deflating when everything else feels as fresh and fun as it does. It’s also somewhat jarring to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson make a couple appearances as himself. Seeing as those scenes can’t quite escape the gravity of his star power, the cameos wind up feeling a bit uncanny. (Yeah, that is kind of the point, but that doesn’t mean the point was well-conceived.)
“Fighting With My Family” exudes an infectious enthusiasm for wrestling that should tempt even the most skeptical viewers into giving it a chance.
Grade: B+
“Fighting With My Family” is in theaters now.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
“Legends tell of ships that sailed too close to it, only to drop off the edge of the world, never to be seen again.”
There’s a sequence in “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” that plays much like a silent film. Toothless (the name of the main dragon seen in the marketing for each film in the trilogy) and another “Night Fury” soar together above the clouds, and the only diegetic noise is their playful cooing back and forth as they dance through the air. What’s especially striking is that they’re happy and free in a way that hasn’t necessarily been observed until that point; the only humans present in any capacity are the viewers, worlds removed from the action onscreen.
I watched all of the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies in twenty-four hours.
Considering the conventions of the genre, it’s a sequence that exercises an impressive amount of restraint and respect for the patience of its viewers, standing as a high-water mark of the series and illustrating one of the reasons why viewers of all ages are drawn to these films. All directed by Dean DeBlois, the films all display a willingness to let a good moment stand on its merits.
I watched the first “How to Train Your Dragon” movie, and immediately thereafter decided to watch the next. I then proceeded to go to a movie theater and see the third installment the very next day, within twenty-four hours of seeing the first one.
Of course, good moments stem from an engaging narrative and compelling characterization, and the continuity between the series’ entries (each positioned about four-and-a-half years apart) culminates satisfactorily in “The Hidden World.” The strongest persistent thread by far is the core arc that binds Hiccup (the series’ protagonist), his parents, and Toothless. Through deft, sensitive storytelling, each chapter in the saga fundamentally changes the way we view their relationships. These revelations play-out naturally, illuminating new information and perspectives without making viewers feel misled (perhaps with one fairly significant exception in the second film).
It’s not even that I liked them a bunch or anything. They are enjoyable, definitely, but are they so enjoyable that a well-adjusted person should let them consume over a third of their waking hours in a single day? No.
Unfortunately, “The Hidden World” also serves as a continuation of the films’ collective shortcomings. Most importantly (though perhaps also most debatably), the central metaphor at the heart of the series’ premise has at this point been muddled into relative inscrutability. The original “How to Train Your Dragon” poses the relationship between humans and dragons as one that paralleled humans and animals, with Hiccup and Toothless’s bonding process setting an example of kindheartedness and respect. It’s a modest, commendable, fairly vague thematic aim. “How to Train Your Dragon 2” gets a bit more specific, seeming to point to the evils that stem from people training creatures for unethical ends. However, this approach doesn’t explore and subvert the avenues of trust between villainous trainers and their creatures, opting instead to use a hypnosis-esque plot device as a shorthand.
I do actually have some obligations. Even if I wanted to, it’s not like I could spend every day binge-watching animated film series, no matter how critically well-received. Why did I make the exception here? Just to be “caught up” when I went to see the new one? Even if that’s the reason, why not just spread out the viewings? Hell.
“The Hidden World” ultimately seems to abandon the notion that its events have much at all to say about the world outside the movie screen, largely relegating its characters and creatures to its specific realm of fantasy. This is not inherently a bad thing! It’s just slightly disappointing when considering the solid metaphorical bedrock established by its predecessors.
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” is a worthy end to its trilogy, even if its sights seem to be set on a different goal than the one that motivated the first film.
Grade: B
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” is in theaters now.
The original “How to Train Your Dragon” and its sequel, “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” are available to rent or own on a variety of streaming services.
On the Image 
Leave a comment