A big, popcorn-munching thriller that’s crying out for a cinema release
Troll is a great film released at the worst time of year. This is a sizzling summer blockbuster through and through, and plays out, in its simplest form, as a Scandinavian Kaiju movie. There are elements of King King, Godzilla and Independence Day all blended together to create a simple, fun, action-packed flick. Trolls are deeply embedded into Norwegian folklore and this Netflix Original movie exploits that for everything it can. With faint wisps of humour and a fast-paced plot. The story follows a group of misfits as they band together to try and stop a monstrous creature from causing havoc across the country. Deep in the Dovre mountains, an explosion rocks the surrounding area, unleashing a huge behemoth on the rural landscape, terrorizing the locals. Destroying everything in its path, this creature sets its sights on Oslo and begins to march there methodically. To avoid certain destruction, it’s up to Paleobiology expert Nora Tidemann, the Prime Minister’s advisor Andreas Isaksen and Captain Kris of the army to try and find a solution before it’s too late. Complicating matters further is Nora’s father Tobias, who knows more about Trolls and folklore than anyone in these parts. Only, Nora has an estranged relationship with her crazed father and that may prove to be a sticking point. But can they resolve their differences to solve Norway’s monster problem? The story itself is pretty straightforward, although when the creature is shown around the midway point, most of the drama and mystery dissipates, replaced instead with a good ol’ fashioned action flick. There’s nothing wrong with that of course and in many ways the movie feels very akin to the 90’s Godzilla movie in both its tone and presentation. The characters are all likable but not particularly deep. Andreas has a simple but satisfying arc, Nora and Tobias are the glue that hold this together, while Captain Kris injects the movie with some testosterone as the gum-chewing military man. The problem with Troll comes from its questionable logic and its recycled plot. There are scenes in this that have been ripped right from other monster movies – some of which I’ve already mentioned. Finding a giant footprint is a nod to Godzilla; vibrations causing water to move is in Jurassic Park; a giant creature fighting off helicopters is in King Kong. These sequences continue throughout the movie and you’ll find yourself checking off all the movies this riffs on across the 90 minute run-time. This is the sort of movie that if you even stop to think about for a second, the logic falls apart and you’re going to have a bad time. No foreign governments getting involved is a big point of contention, while even more damning, the movie doesn’t really give Kris a compelling ending either. Despite all that, Troll is still a fun movie. It’s a big, popcorn-munching flick that’s crying out for a cinema release in the height of summer. As it stands though, this is still a winter wonder and a fun way to kill an hour and a half. Read More: Troll Ending Explained
