Troll

Roar Emmerichsen relied on some pretty good tricks and respect for the theme and genre, but in trying to measure up to his more famous German colleague with tendencies towards American patriotism, he often slipped into childishness, clichés, and cheap imitation. Avoid the F-35, mam! After all, Lieutenant Spock will hack it from her laptop in a few minutes. (12/09/2022)

Troll is a Norwegian fantasy movie for eight-year-old boys. We see more of the soldiers, tanks and helicopters than we do of the titular troll, all in a Hollywood formula with the typical clichés. And that predictability and the attempt to create cool moments are irritating. However, the troll looks good and the Norwegian landscape is beautiful and atmospheric. It’s still possible to enjoy that. The film falls apart in the second half, when some of the characters want to bomb the troll and others simply don’t know what they want, but they have some sort of affinity for it. A worthless derivative of the King Kong theme. (12/03/2022)

While Øvredal's Troll Hunter dealt with similar mythology in an inventive, imaginative and humorous way, here the filmmakers just followed the beaten path of typical clichés of films about giant monsters à la King Kong, half-heartedly and without the necessary "wow effect" that would at least somehow cover all the predictability and unoriginality. (12/30/2022)

The Norwegians deliver a decent European blockbuster here. They draw from Norwegian mythology, which is great, but then rely on standard film clichés to appeal to everyone. If I didn't know this was made by Norwegians, I'd almost think Roland Emmerich directed it, which is a compliment. However, in the end, it only earns two stars from me. (12/21/2022)

A long time ago, I saw Trollhunter, and I was impressed by the visuals and the idea, so I was looking forward to another Norwegian troll adventure. There is a pervasive inspiration of kaiju films in Troll, but at the same time the film, at least in the first half, retains that mythological, folkloric feel. It's a pity that (as other have mentioned) they didn't leave Troll in a mountain setting, and that they had to drag it to Oslo, thus making the film closer to Hollywood blockbusters and neglecting the natural beauty of Norway. The portrayal of the characters was unsurprisingly flat and clichéd within the genre, and by the end it was a bit of a pain in the ass. A weaker three stars! (12/04/2022)