Picture: Netflix
Three years ago to the day, Roar Uthaug’s Norwegian Kaiju-inspired adventure film, Troll, debuted to massive viewing numbers. The film lapped previous international releases, with over 44 million equivalent completed views (CVEs) in its first week, before becoming the biggest non-English-language Netflix film of all time, a record it still holds to this day.
2022’s Troll was not only watched by a massive audience, but its critical response was largely positive as well, with an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score and a “green” mixed-positive score from Metacritic. I can understand why.
The first Troll film felt like the collision of the tone & structure of the blockbuster Legendary monster-verse films (starting with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla in 2014) with the creature designs & mythology of Norwegian films like 2010’s Troll Hunter. As a recognizable framework with a potential new-to-them storyline, audiences wouldn’t have any trouble clicking and sticking with the original. Add in a familial legacy of fables & fantasy combined with generally likeable characters, and you may find a sleeper hit on your hands.
Three years and multiple American kaiju films later, Troll 2 will hit Netflix on a Monday (of all days) smack dab in the middle of a Christmas holiday barrage of films with some pretty lofty expectations to meet. Is the interest in this burgeoning franchise still there? Will it be more of the same or a new direction following some character losses in the first film? Now that we know how to stop the trolls, how exciting or interesting could a sequel be?
Fans of the original will be happy to know that the lead cast of the original film is back for more this time around. Paleontologist-turned-Troll Expert Nora (Ine Marie Wilmann), Government Inside Man Andreas (Kim Falck), & Kaptein-turned-Major Kris Holm (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen) will band back together once more, but they are not the welcomed heroes you would think they would be.
Withdrawn from the “Troll Commission” and banished from the Palace, Nora has lived in isolation for quite some time. That is until Andreas, newly returned to government work after publishing his novel, convinces her to see the project his team is working on: a secret hibernating “Mega-Troll” being studied on since the World War II era. Under new project leader Marion Rhadani, progress has stalled with the endeavor in jeopardy of being shut down. When Nora gets up close and personal, the potentially dangerous troll awakens, breaking free of its shackles, and bursts out into the countryside. Reuniting with now “Major” Kris and a pregnant Siggy (Karoline Viktoria Sletteng Garvang), the reassembled crew must work with the new Prime Minister to find this new Troll and stop it from doing any more harm. But when the old methods of dealing with Trolls seem not enough for this Mega-Troll, Nora may have one more trick up her sleeve.
Troll 2. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
As you can see by the plot description, Troll 2 picks the traditional path for big monster action/adventure sequels by going bigger and bolder with a more formidable foe set free by government-backed agencies. And also like many monster movies of old, the government must rely on the help of another monster to save them – a second troll as seen in the trailer and as teased in the mid-credits of the original film.
While this new Troll film may have similar beats to its fellow creature sequels and its previous film, the main differences this time around are motives of its key players in the wake of the ending in Oslo and the loss of Nora’s father in the first film.
The first film was rooted in family and the troll stories they held sacred and true. Nora’s father and the legacy he passed on before his death are the core tenets and teachings that guide the crew to victory. Sunlight as a weakness, the ties to the Christians who drove them out of their home – these are the results of Nora, her father, and the detailed research over their lifetimes. Seeing these trolls as nature itself that deserves compassion and understanding also fuels the emotional conflict of the first film’s conclusion.
Troll 2. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
In Troll 2, Nora’s feelings and objections, combined with her ability to communicate with trolls on some level, serve to suss out only that some Trolls only want to see the world burn. After communication among trolls breaks down, the plot of the film also gets wobbly. Avoiding spoilers, the reasons for finding the key to stopping the vengeful troll are largely unexplained and very convenient. While I always love a good “Indiana Jones” style discovery, this one I found to be a stretch as they knew they had to be in a certain city, but had no basis to seek out something that didn’t promise answers until it did. Did the movie also reverse a known Scandinavian folk tale? Honestly, I don’t know, but it sure felt like a slap to the credibility of Nora’s father.
While the plotting may lose points, the gains from original to sequel are its ability to loosen up from its more serious counterpart. A troll eating douchebag patrons at a ski resort, a callback to a couple getting their home destroyed by a troll’s relentless path, instrumentations of the church as weapons, and of course a brawl among trolls themselves – these are all included in the more playful, more adventurous follow-up to the more emotional and contemplative original. And maybe no character embodies the spirit of the change in tone more than Andreas: a government sidekick with a few personality quirks in Part One becomes fully formed as an often quippy, Star Trek referencing, nerd novel penning goof who gets his movie hero moment when it matters most.
Bottom line, if you came to Troll 2 because you enjoyed the first on some level, I can’t imagine you won’t find any charms in the sequel. The chase is still on, the players are mostly the same, and the stakes rise just enough to play to the end. The only thing you’ll have to justify to yourself is: Am I up for a Troll 3? If this one does similar viewing numbers to the original, you may get to answer that soon enough.
Troll 2. (L to R) Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora Tidemann, Ester J. Tiller as Anne Krigsvoll, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Kaptein Kristoffer, Sara Khorami as Marion Rhadani and Kim Falck as Andreas Isaksen in Troll 2. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
Watch Troll 2 If You Like
- Troll (2022)
- Godzilla (2014)
- Troll Hunter (2010)
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023)
MVP of Troll 2
Kim Falck as Andreas Isaksen
As laid out above, the evolution of Andreas’ character from the original to the sequel provides not only more fun & personality, but also true human stakes that only a superhero would take on. His movie references and general goofiness remind us that we’re in an action movie and it’s ok to just want to see our gang see a mission through. There is just one problem with him being the best part … hmmmmmm.
While the plot may scramble for logical solutions, Troll 2 largely justifies its existence as a sequel – even if that justification is just more fun and more of the same goods the original provided.
Rating: TV-14
