--- title: "Troll review — The mindless fun of a monster stomping through the countryside" description: "Even as it stumbles into its final act, ‘Troll’ is a silly, satisfying popcorn flick. A unique Norwegian touch, top-tier production values and a goofy, likeable character collective add to the joy." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "WHAT WE’RE WATCHING" author: "Noelle Adams" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/noelle-adams/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-12-08-troll-review-the-mindless-fun-of-a-monster-stomping-through-the-countryside/" published: "2022-12-08T20:00:20" updated: "2022-12-08T16:46:34" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 805 --- # Troll review — The mindless fun of a monster stomping through the countryside > Even as it stumbles into its final act, ‘Troll’ is a silly, satisfying popcorn flick. A unique Norwegian touch, top-tier production values and a goofy, likeable character collective add to the joy. By Noelle Adams · Published 8 December 2022, 22:00 SAST · Updated 8 December 2022, 18:46 SAST ## Content Giant creatures stomping through cities, triggering millions in insurance claims and putting humans in their inconsequential place. We’ve seen this scenario on the big screen for almost a century (arguably starting with *King Kong* in 1933), but it’s usually a special niche genre dominated by two countries: the United States and Japan. Now streaming on Netflix, *Troll* gives Norway a slice of the monster movie pie — and viewers something fun, if not as fresh as it could have been. [YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiohkY_XQYQ) As in *Godzilla*, self-centred human progress and disregard for the natural world once again triggers disaster in *Troll*, which is set in modern-day Scandinavia (the film has English subtitles). While drilling and blasting through the mountains of Dovre to build a new train line, the workers unleash something unfathomable: a giant of stone and earth. Thinking that it’s a prehistoric beast, the Norwegian prime minister and her advisory council recruit palaeontologist Nora Tidemann (Ine Marie Wilmann). Far more helpful, though, is Nora’s estranged father Tobias (Gard B Eidsvold), a disgraced professor specialising in folklore, who knows exactly what the creature is: a troll. Except the reassuring, traditional tales haven’t told the full story about these beings. *Troll* has a lot in its favour. The film features production values that rival any American blockbuster, combining convincing CGI special effects with on-location filming in the strikingly rugged Norwegian countryside. The film looks great, and director Roar Uthaug (who gained international attention for disaster film *The Wave*, and 2018’s *Tomb Raider*) keeps tight control of the pacing and enjoyably coherent action scenes. ![Production still from ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/SUKonyVNbumYZ8DpA1s4IGW82JU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Troll_00_57_43_02_Jallo_Faber.jpg) *Production still from ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix* ![Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen as Andreas Isaksen, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Captain Kristoffer Holm and Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora Tidemann in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/i0J7Sjo5uUwHx8QNW2wY_QnQosQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Troll_00_24_49_12_Jallo_Faber.jpg) *Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen as Andreas Isaksen, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Captain Kristoffer Holm and Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora Tidemann in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix* *Troll*also has an unusually strong sense of humour. There’s no wink-wink self-awareness or parody, but its pop culture savviness comes through in the dialogue. G*odzilla, King Kong*, Greta Thunberg and *Call of Duty* are all name-dropped, reminding audiences that the film is set in our world. And in our world, facing lumbering stone men with a tail is kind of silly. It’s a different kind of energy to that of monster films normally, and the difference filters through in other aspects of the movie as well. *Troll* is also free of posturing machismo, ego and sexism; men and women are equal in the film, there’s no forced romance, and even the “get the job done” soldiers have a physically affectionate camaraderie. This kind of warmth and matter-of-factness is refreshing to see onscreen. When clashes of authority appear in *Troll* they’re age-based, not gender. While the prime minister and her senior advisors (all silver-haired) seek old-fashioned destructive solutions, it falls to the film’s collective of dorky young heroes — including handsome Captain Kris (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen), geeky prime minister assistant Andreas (Kim Falck), and peak *Star Trek* nerd Sigrid (Karoline Viktoria Sletteng Garvang), a skilled government hacker — to save the day by thinking outside the box. ![Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Captain Kris, Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen as Andreas Isaksen, Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora in ‘Troll’. Image Fransisco-Munoz / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/h9RNiJIa67Lf9s-QKU2zzX6bdRQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG0084_Photographer_Fransisco-Munoz.jpg) *Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Captain Kris, Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen as Andreas Isaksen, Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora in ‘Troll’. Image Fransisco-Munoz / courtesy of Netflix* ![Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Captain Kris, Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen as Andreas Isaksen, Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora in 'Troll'. Image Fransisco-Munoz / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/e_CoWhs_I8eYeXXVQPG09kEoxMo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/T_20210901_Unit_02379_Photographer_Fransisco-Munoz_v0b.jpg) *Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Captain Kris, Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen as Andreas Isaksen, Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora in 'Troll'. Image Fransisco-Munoz / courtesy of Netflix* ![Karoline Viktoria Sletteng Garvang as Sigrid in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/XXTY4ySOHWSRmSJg0rsNuJcKVbQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Troll_00_11_38_06_Jallo_Faber.jpg) *Karoline Viktoria Sletteng Garvang as Sigrid in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix* ![Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora and Anneke von der Lippe as Berit Moberg in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/nIFaffsVneuV77nk70ZbOnWhtOw=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Troll_01_01_25_02_Jallo_Faber.jpg) *Ine Marie Wilmann as Nora and Anneke von der Lippe as Berit Moberg in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix* ![Gard B. Eidsvold as Tobias in ‘Troll’. Image: Fransisco Munoz / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/XdThV4Ep7s-OtwlxOeE0BH7KvHM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/T_20210908_Unit_05838_Photographer_Fransisco-Munoz.jpg) *Gard B. Eidsvold as Tobias in ‘Troll’. Image: Fransisco Munoz / courtesy of Netflix* ![Gard B. Eidsvold as Tobias Tidemann in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Br1PxJ-p-LxGosCcMyPpVeU5p20=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Troll_00_30_49_06_Jallo_Faber.jpg) *Gard B. Eidsvold as Tobias Tidemann in ‘Troll’. Image: Jallo Faber / courtesy of Netflix* They’re such a likeable bunch, that you’re willing to stick with them even as *Troll* becomes more conventional, rushed, and short in brain cells during its final act. People insist on unleashing small arms fire at the troll despite its known invulnerability to artillery shells; soldiers do things that would get them instantly court-marshalled; and a number of interesting topics go unexplored, like how exactly humans of yesteryear were able to massacre trolls if they’re so impossibly tough. It stumbles at the end, but *Troll* is still a satisfying popcorn flick with some new flavours sprinkled on top to disguise the three-day-old kernels we’ve been served. If you’re not being too fussy, and even if you’re fatigued with the *Kongs* and *Godzillas* of the world, you’ll find one of the better films of this nature. **DM/ML** *This story was first published on*[*Pfangirl.com*](https://www.pfangirl.com/review/troll-netflix-review/) ![‘Troll’. Image: courtesy of Netflix](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/heCLPWWZIPu69u2oydmbxvZCIbo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/troll1.jpg) *‘Troll’. Image: courtesy of Netflix* *Troll* is available in South Africa on Netflix from 1 December. *In case you missed it, also read*[‘Hocus Pocus 2’ review – a moderate amount of magic](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-27-hocus-pocus-2-review-a-moderate-amount-of-magic/) https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-10-27-hocus-pocus-2-review-a-moderate-amount-of-magic/