The Reel Review
Norwegian mythology springs to life when a tunnel excavation crew inadvertently unleashes a giant troll in this Norwegian language action/fantasy on Netflix. A paleontologist, a military captain and a bureaucrat find themselves racing against the clock as they work together to try to keep the creature from reaching and destroying the capital, Oslo.
Borrowing VERY heavily from Godzilla, King Kong and Jurassic World, co-writer/director Roar Uthaug (Tomb Raider, The Wave) has created a visually impressive, albeit very predictable creature feature, capturing the same sense of awe and excitement as those old black and white films from the 1950s, just with a distinctly Norwegian flair and big budget special effects. Seeing the troll destroy a troll theme park is pretty satisfying.
The troll special effects are surprisingly realistic and convincing, even if the increasingly goofy story isn’t. (It gets REALLY stupid in the final act.) But at just over an hour and a half, Troll smartly doesn’t overstay its welcome – a fun, mindless way to kill an hour and a half on a rainy, dreary day. Stick around for the scene during the end credits.
REEL FACTS
• Roar Uthaug directed Norway’s first disaster film, 2015’s The Wave, about a tsunami caused by a rockslide that destroys a coastal tourist town in one of the nation’s fjords.
• In 13th century Norse mythology, trolls were said to have lived in isolated mountains, rocks and caves, with later Scandinavian mythology describing the absence of trolls in more populated areas being the result of them being driven out by the sounds of church bells.
•Ine Marie Wilmann (Nora) and Anneke von der Lippe (the Prime Minister) previously portrayed mother and daughter in 2018’s Sonja: The White Swan.
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