Review of 'Troll 2'

Three years after the events of the first film Troll, Nora (Ine Marie Wilmann) lives in a remote cabin when she is visited by Andreas Isaksen (Kim S. Falck-Jorgensen), former Prime Minister office worker and author, who has something she should see. Nora is taken to an underground facility run by Marion Rhadani (Sara Khorami) where a massive hibernating troll, the Troll King, has been kept hidden for more than 100 years. Attempting to communicate with the creature Nora accidentally awakens it and it goes on a destructive rampage. Nora, Andreas and Marion meet up with (now) Major Kristoffer Holm (Mads Sjogard Pettersen) who is ordered by the prime minister to kill the troll using newly developed UV-light-based weapons despite Nora's protests. These efforts largely fair so Nora manages to lure the Troll King's offspring out of hiding but the Troll King is not to be stopped…it is seeking revenge for a past wrong.

Though the effects look, if anything, better than in the first film there is not a lot new here: Troll on rampage that must be stopped. Most of the original key cast return with their characters largely unchanged. Fans of the first film will find references back to the original quite amusing and this is played with in this sequel such as the destruction of the same wooden house by a troll simply walking through it – Very much played for laughs as the owner helplessly talking to his wife on the phone about renovation just as he watches the structure being destroyed (then echoed on a television bulletin about how the lack of luck as the same home has been destroyed twice).

The story itself is perhaps slightly more nuanced with a historical twist that, if anything, justifies the massive destruction of the Troll King with a surprisingly dramatic change of mindset from the major as he quickly turns his back on his orders to help underdog Nora to bring events to a satisfactory conclusion. This also seems to be an attempt to capitalize on the “big creature” features of the cinemas in recent years with a few “creature on creature” action sequences where the two big trolls attempt to bash each other to bits. The effects look tremendous and there are some twists on the destruction that we did not see in the first film including the troll attacking a well-lit ski resort at night and eating some of the après-ski revellers – A sequence that features in the trailer.

Still, it is nice to see a film like this coming from somewhere OTHER than the US and it has it's own European charm to it, never mind looking great. The action starts and never really lets up meaning that we are not left a lot of time to think about what is going on, leaving exposition to be quickly thrown out left and right to try to bring the story together. Still, it is a good fun if a tad repetitive…haven't we seen this all before?

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2026-01-25

Directed by: Roar Uthaug

Studio: Motion Blur Films

Year: 2025

Length: 105 minutes

Genre: Fantasy

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29232158/

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• Troll (2022)