Troll

Watched for the first time in preparation for TROLL 2. Rating: B I've always appreciated how Roar Uthaug manages to ground high-concept disasters in human emotion, so I went into TROLL hoping for that same balance applied to folklore. What we get is undeniably a patchwork of Hollywood's monster movie tropes — you can feel the DNA of GODZILLA and KING KONG in almost every beat — but Uthaug elevates the material through a distinct Norwegian atmosphere. While the narrative is formulaic and the supporting characters often fall into the trap of making frustratingly dumb decisions, the visuals are genuinely spectacular, delivering a tangible sense of scale and weight to the creature that puts many significantly more expensive blockbusters to shame. Nevertheless, where TROLL truly succeeds for me is in its thematic resonance, which saves it from being just another creature flick. It's not merely about a monster smashing buildings; it represents a violent clash between tradition and modernization, where the industrial expansion of the present literally awakens the suppressed ghosts of the past. The film incorporates a fascinating layer of commentary regarding the Christianization of Norway, erasing pagan history and painting the creature not as a villain, but as a tragic, displaced king fighting for a home that has been paved over. TROLL turns a familiar premise into a surprisingly emotional defense of nature and heritage, reminding us that some legends aren't meant to be conquered, but respected.

I found this movie to be entertaining. It reminded me of Trollhunter, another movie on the same subject, but which was perhaps smaller in scale as it involved a small group of troll hunters rather than the entire government of Norway and its military. When it comes to science fiction or fantasy I tend to give more slack for the writing and I found this to be fairly well written and well acted. There were a few clichés about government leaning on the military as their first and only response to a crisis, but in an odd way it is a relief that it is some country besides the United States being portrayed as doing that. I thought the special effects of the creature and the scenes of destruction were pretty good, though I do not profess to be all that knowledgeable about the world of special effects. The ending of the movie seemed a little anticlimactic and not quite believable to me as far as the final plan to neutralize the troll went and the final scene of there being more trolls feels a slam to the earlier assertions that this was indeed the last troll in existence. But as I said at the outset, the movie held my intention and was entertaining overall. So what more could I ask for?

There's nothing very original about this, but it's got some likeable characters and really solid special effects. The explosions and fire of the military's offensive against the giant troll being the most impressive.