Why four stars? My kids gave it an average of 4.75. I would not give it more than 3. So 4 stars it is.
What I didn’t like about this film: the plot is as formulated as an animated film of the past decade can be – a son who turns out to be anything but what his dad (head of the village, of course) expected him to be, seeks his dad approval, and using brains rather than brawns, saves the day… This includes chewed up sentences such as “you are not my son” and later – “I am proud to call you my son”… Wow – how original…
What else? Not enough wit written into the dialogues to amuse the adults accompanying their kids. And the dragons? They seem to be the answer to the question: what do you get when you mix a reptile, a cat, a dog and a weapon... I can see the video games that will follow (probably available already for purchase): choose a Viking character, choose your weapon, oh, excuse me, that would be a dragon… shoot to kill. Talking about Vikings – that would be the guys that speak with Scottish accents and have a Shrek-like appearance. Luckily none are alive today to take offense.
In short, it’s a tolerable movie, entertaining at times, fun animation, and I presuming quite stunning during the flights sequences if seen in 3-D (which is not how I seen it). But if the only reason to see a film is its 3-D sequences, something is awfully wrong with it. But – your kids will love it, and unfortunately, so will many of the adults who will escort them, pan intended.