Troll 2 2025 Movie Review
As in the tradition of an effect-heavy sequel, returning director Roar Uthaug follows the Hollywood formula by doubling down the stakes in Troll 2. At least, it appears to be the way, given the introduction of another troll named Jotun. Or Megatroll, as Andreas (Kim Falck, reprising his role from the first movie) would like to call it. It is he who brings Nora (Ine Marie Wilmann), the prior film’s protagonist, who is now in a self-imposed exile far away from civilisation, back to action. The troll in question is held deep within the power station in Rjukan, and it’s currently in hibernation, allowing the team led by project supervisor Marion Auryn Rhadani (Sara Khorami) to study the creature.
Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know what’s going to happen. And it sure doesn’t take long before Jotun is awake, leading to inevitable destruction and some casualties before escaping the facility. From here, it feels like a deja vu all over again, with the military getting deployed with Kris (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen), previously a captain in the first movie, before he got promoted to a major in this sequel, leading the search-and-destroy mission.
Uthaug delivers some goods here, namely a scene where Jotun invades a ski resort and injects a mix of dark comedy and mean-spirited violence as the troll eats some of the hapless victims like candies. The special effects are top-notch, and the movie has its moments of action-packed stretches, like the earlier attempt of the military helicopters using the UV lights to weaken Jotun during a nighttime attack. But the problem with Troll 2 is that Uthaug and returning screenwriter Espen Aukan don’t do much to expand the Norse mythology to the next level.
Sure, the second half is dedicated to the Indiana Jones and National Treasure-like adventure quest in an attempt to shed new light surrounding the troll’s existence and motivation. But it does so in a rather perfunctory manner before Uthaug succumbs to a been there, done that narrative often plagued in the sequels. That much-anticipated battle between the two trolls? If you are expecting Godzilla vs Kong-like gargantuan level, the clash-of-the-titan moment is surprisingly short-lived. Given the fact that Troll 2 holds its distinction as the largest Nordic film production ever made, I was expecting a lot more monster mayhem here.
The cast is a mixed bag, even though I still root for the two recurring characters played by Ine Marie Wilmann and Kim Falck, but it’s a pity that franchise newcomer Sara Khorami doesn’t get to do much in this sequel. The story may have been predictable, but I do appreciate Uthaug’s sneaky sense of humour and pop-culture references slipping into the narrative every now and then. Some are noticeable, like the one referenced from Alien, and even The Godfather Part III, and some are blink-or-you-miss-it moments, notably one of the famous quotes inspired by Bruce Willis’ John McClane in Die Hard 2.
Like the first movie, Troll 2 maintains a reasonable length, clocking in around the 100-minute mark, although the pace tends to be erratic in some parts. Frankly, after a three-year wait since the first movie, Uthaug could only muster a fairly decent but unspectacular effort. It’s not like Troll is a genre classic by any means since the first one itself is riddled with Hollywood-style clichés, but at least it boasts a novelty factor for a Norwegian creature feature.
A little trivia here regarding the first movie: Apparently, the 2022 film made Netflix history as the streamer’s most-watched non-English movie at the time before KPop Demon Hunters eclipsed the feat this year. Back to Troll 2, the movie concludes again with a mid-credit scene that sets up another sequel.
