When a sequel comes out and you think “ I should watch that” and realize you didn’t do the first movie. It’s a tale as old as time, and usually it doesn’t stop me - but then I think “but how does a sequel come from that first one, did I forget something?:” Well, heck with it we’ll just go back and do the first movie this week, since in that classic stuck-on-repeat nature of my existence, I would have sworn I already did but in fact did not do it on here. Get the tissues ready for the smell of hypernature, Japan may have Godzilla but Norway has a Troll.

A kid going on an adventure with her dad is told about the importance of belief, and how sometimes in order to see you have to believe, and not the other way around like it’s usually said. Skip into the future, and some protestors don’t like that there’s a tunnel getting blasted into a mountain for transit purposes - and they aren’t the only one. After the most recent blasting, the mountain seems to be blasting back with something of it’s own. We also catch back up with our little girl all grown up, searching for fossils on the shoreline. Her victory party from finding some is interrupted when the government hosts a helicopter ride in to figure out what might be causing giant footprint-shaped impressions in the ground. With the help of some footage by a protestor who I’m pretty sure didn’t make it out of there alive, we can see the shape of something menacing in the mountain. Is it some kind of new creature, or something old and fabled? What’s it’s purpose and why is it there?

The acting is pretty decent here. Setting aside anything that’s lost in translation, as for whatever reason both the times I’ve watched this I’ve left it in native Norwegian and thrown on the subtitles (maybe I’m hoping some of what they say will stick and I’ll be able to remember more than three words), I feel like general emotions are pretty well done. You get some sad, you get some playful and awe - it’s a decent range at least from our main crew. Some of the side characters who I don’t even think get names also do a good job of emoting, so it’s not just folks that have lines that can sell whatever is happening on the screen. There’s also a nice dynamic between plenty of the characters, which is partly entertaining to me as I feel like if it was just a straight Hollywood flick some of the softness of those interactions would have been hardened into something a bit more derogatory or joke-butt territory (like the soldiers reaction to a “Call of Duty” comment from the advisor).

Something that doesn’t change is the government and how it’s less than effective and more prone to want to hit things with bombs because “time is of the essence.” If you hate that part of other giant monster movies, this one won’t win you over on that front - they are acted fine, and outside of one guy it never really feels like it’s straight up the higher ups just being idiots, but it’s there. Our lead batch of characters all have a little bit to them, but nothing too crazy when it comes to character. The soldier is a nice fellow, but doesn’t really get a lot to him to build him up from that. Our aid advisor guy gets to bring up some of his dreams and aspirations and internal thoughts a bit, which does make him feel a bit more fleshed out then just some sidekick, even if really he is pretty much just a sidekick. Our lead gets to take that re-discover the mythical sort of ark that even gives her a chance to re-bond with her father after the two became estranged after he went a little overboard with his troll theories. Combined, the characters and the actors playing them do a pretty decent job of bringing things to life in a entertaining or heartfelt way without becoming too over the top - while still fitting in some jokes as they go.

There’s two things that initially got me to want and watch this movie - one of them being the potentially more unique nature of where ones ancestors are from making you interested in things from certain regions, the other being the more universal promise of a big monster movie that from the trailers all promised to look pretty darn good. The good new is, they kept that promise pretty swell, and the movie does in fact look darn good. The amount of times you feel taken aback by something in the movie jarring with something else is incredibly minimal. Between this and Troll Hunter, the Scandanavian effect teams are really knocking stuff out of the park for their movies with trolls in them. This one has a bit more of a budget polish to it - possibly because this one doesn’t play as found footage and instead embraces being a normal movie. Costumes and props all look great as well, even if it’s your classic “modern day” stuff. That said, it does have that one really gnarly science fiction looking pilot helmet in it that I love the look of, so there is at least a little extra spice in there.

Of course, there’s also plenty of explosions and well done giant troll effects, including plenty of debris and some interactions. Not all the effects are super diamond grade perfect, but rarely do you see something that is and it does well and enough better then it needed to to still be a fun and functional movie. Jokes are always going to be tied to peoples individual humors, so the mileage there will vary. You might get a chuckle out of a something like "and put on some pants dad” or a few of the verbal jokes, and by no means is the movie played out as though it is supposed to be a comedy movie in the slightest, but it does know that using them can be great for tension and the like and fits stuff in every now and then. Some awkward humor that might be a bit cringe for some, but pretty harmless in my book and fitting with the character they give it to.

Audio is balanced well, and the sound department didn’t want to be left behind when it came to the sounds the are painting the landscape with. The various roars and moans and rocky creaking of our troll sounds great, as does the classic T-Rex style stomps of his big ole feet clomping around. It plays a bunch with the mythology of the troll, while also taking a bit to play around with the idea that not everything in a fairy tale is wrong, even if it’s not. It’s like when you throw garlic and a vampire and it doesn’t do anything, because that’s just goofy it would somehow hurt them even though that wooden stake through the heart still works just fine - except with a big rocky troll fellow. Following that it may or may not be obvious that despite it’s drama adventure style monster movie attire, there’s a surprising amount for the thinking folk in here if they want it. Nature plays a big roll, tying back into that idea of Godzilla (although with far less “made from the nuclear sins of man” angle) in some of that franchise. There’s also a bit that might be a bit more unique to Norway with the whole Christian angle and that plays not just into Norway but also the myths of the trolls. That part is of course somewhat separate from the whole power of belief and improbable not being impossible angles, as believing in things isn’t an exclusively religious thing. Thanks to the inclusion of the dad, there’s even a little bit about family in there.

If you aren’t here to get a sample of why you should or shouldn’t like people or the government, you’ll still have a fun time with this. It’s got some grade A effects work in here, and the actors are all doing a fine job to keep you invested and not bored. It does a good job filling things in as you go, so you never feel too much like it’s just this running twenty minute exposition dump that gnaws on your patience - it’s a steady drip feed with some conspiracy and some reveals, and plenty of ups and downs as to if you should be happy or sad about trying to defeat this majestic man mountain brought forth from the bowels of a bigger mountain through vicarious explosions. Now that I’ve gotten it re-watched so it can be more fresh in my head, I think I’m all set up to go right into the second one and see if it can keep up the impressions with whatever it might do.

@IMDB

Netflix

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Troll (2022)