There’s a scene where the Norwegian prime minister says, “I won’t repeat my predecessor’s mistakes,” which is interesting because you could argue that Troll 2 does exactly that.

It deserves commendation for maintaining the tone of its predecessor, building on its mythology and exploring contemporary themes. However, its attempt at the latter is frustratingly shallow and its ridiculous lack of kaiju action almost feels fraudulent.

Nora and Andreas reunite as the Norwegian government discovers a new troll frozen in ice. Predictably, the troll breaks free and leaves a trail of destruction through Norway. While investigating the troll’s history, Nora and Co. find another troll, a gentler and more empathetic one, that might be able to stop the other from destroying all of Norway.

The Characters

Our characters are the same Hollywood action archetypes they were in the first one. There’s Nora the sympathetic scientist, Andreas the comic relief, Kris the soldier on the ground, and, of course, the bureaucrats and politicians who want to protect the people even if it means killing the trolls.

While this works well in a single film, in a sequel there has to be a sense of change and escalation. There’s almost none of that in Troll 2. All the changes the characters undergo are superficial.

Nora uses more of what her father taught her about troll mythology, which, while great for the film’s worldbuilding, is almost verbatim what she did in the first one. Andreas has a baby on the way, so he can’t act like the pop culture heroes he idolises when out on the field. The politicians and bureaucrats do want to learn more about the trolls, but they drop all that as soon as one breaks free.

The only character who is different in a significant way is Kris. He has a strong friendship with Amir, one of his men. Amir is a practising Muslim, and when (spoilers!) he’s killed by the troll, Kris is devastated. He goes as far as saying a Muslim prayer in his memory. It’s good that the writers are doing something new with Kris when they could’ve easily written him as the same grunt he was in the first one.

This gets you thinking that Troll 2 might be onto something, thematically at least. Unfortunately, like the characters, the execution is shallow.

Themes and Monsters

Troll 2 proved to be quite the history lesson for me. I had never heard of Saint Olaf, the King of Norway from 1015 to 1028, until I saw this monster movie.

In a flashback, we see a young Nora being read a bedtime story by her father. We learn, via this ‘bedtime story,’ that at one point in medieval Norway, humans and trolls lived in harmony. Then Saint Olaf initiated the Christianization of Norway, which led to the extermination of the trolls. The troll rampaging through Norway is doing so out of revenge, Nora and her team learn.

Troll 2 seems to be making a case for multiculturalism, reminding us of Europe’s barbaric history and the bonds we can make with people from other cultures. This is a touchy proposition, not just for Norwegian audiences but Western ones generally.

This is great stuff, but it only emerges in the film’s final act, where the focus is on resolving the conflict. Consequently, this great idea gets lost in a whirlpool of the film’s own making.

Most of the troll action feels like a greatest hits montage of the first one. The shots of the troll storming through towns and cities look so derivative. There are some highlights; in one scene, the troll lifts the roof off a ski nightclub and eats some of the attendees. The scene where Nora and her team discover the good troll, whom they name ‘Beautiful,’ is very reminiscent of when Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson come face to face with Kong in Skull Island.

However, the big letdown is the final battle between Beautiful and the bad troll. The one that all the posters and trailers have been teasing. It doesn’t last two minutes. It is super brief. It could’ve been cut and not affect the climax whatsoever.

I do hope more Troll sequels are produced because I do think this premise has franchise potential. The nationalist and multicultural themes are a big surprise. With a lot better writing and more troll fights, I think Troll 2 could’ve been a solid follow-up.

If we do see a Troll 3, it has to be way crazier and a lot more ambitious than this.

I give Troll 2 a sad 5 out of 10.