Troll

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. (2022-12-21)

A Norwegian woman tries to stop a troll that was awakened by railway workers digging a new tunnel. This take on Emmerich's Godzilla-style American disaster romp knows how to poke fun at itself, but it also goes a little more serious at times, which creates a strange contradiction that some viewers may not be able to stomach. Uthaug is a skilled director, not entirely distinctive, but he knows his craft. The effects are decent, the action is good, almost unexpected for the Norwegians, and the jokes are often lethal. (2022-12-10)

I loved the Emmerich-like grasp of kaiju-inspired disaster concepts, but Troll was a big disappointment except for the promising first half. While in the beginning I was quite entertained by the clichés connected to Norwegian fairytale mythology, the story gradually diluted into blatantly ripped off and unfortunately boring lines and sequences that my brain almost froze. The production design is decent and Troll has charisma, but Uthaug lost his creative charisma somewhere between a trivial blockbuster homage and a harmless allegory about bad people and two good people. Next time, I’d rather watch something from Roland. 50 % (2022-12-08)

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. (2022-12-30)

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. (2022-12-03)