Image courtesy of Netflix
“Troll” (2022) is a somewhat refreshing take on the “big monster wreaks havoc” genre of film. The director, Roar Uthaug, brings the audience on a journey of familial drama and growth, less explored Norwegian mythology, and plenty of pop culture references.
Starring in the film is Ine Marie Wilmann as paleontologist Nora Tidemann, Kim Falck as Andreas Isaksen, Mads Sjøgård as Captain Kristoffer Holm, and Gard B. Eidsvold as Nora’s estranged father and resident fairy tale expert Tobias Tidemann. The acting wasn’t terrible and the writing was…okay. However, I must commend the chemistry the stars had with each other. Especially Ine Marie Wilmann, whom no matter who she shared the screen with, always brought a presence and tone that fit the current story beat.
The film opens in a beautiful mountain range with the caption, “The Troll Peaks, Romsdalen.” We’re given a scene with a younger Nora and Tobias as they climb to the top of one of the mountains. Tobias asks Nora if she remembers the fairy tales and she is quick to respond by saying “Papa. Come on. I still don’t believe in fairy tales.” Immediately we’re given our first driving question: will Nora prove to be wrong in her disbelief of mere fairy tales? Within the next ten minutes we do find out that she’s wrong, although it will take more time than that for Nora to finally believe that it is in fact a troll that is terrorizing the country.
The troll is the main spectacle of this film. Afterall, it is what the film is titled. The art design and CGI of the troll is, in my opinion, purely gorgeous. It captures the essence of what one might think of after hearing more of the backstory for the troll, although I won’t spill the beans on that as I think it’s one of the more interesting parts of the story. Whether you grow attached to the troll as I did or not, the film never shies away from showing the absolute destructive power this creature holds, both in nature and in civilization.
I called this a somewhat refreshing take on this genre of film. It very much still follows the same predictable plot of events as any typical Godzilla movie might. It differs from other films in this genre by having a new monster with its own real life mythology to back it up. That being said, overall “Troll” is a pretty average film. It could have been worse, but it could have been better. It looked visually pretty, but the writing was reminiscent of any film in this genre. If I had to rate it I’d give it 3/5 Ninja Turtles.
I want to end with this quote that gets repeated throughout the film, which is critical within the film itself, but I think also important to keep in mind while living through our daily lives: “You have to believe in something to see it.”
