Troll 2

The name Troll 2 carries a specific, almost radioactive weight in the world of cinema. For decades, it’s been the shorthand for "best worst movie ever made," involving vegetarian goblins and some of the most questionable acting ever committed to celluloid. But in 2025, director Roar Uthaug—the man who previously gave us the surprisingly sturdy The Wave and the 2018 Tomb Raider—has reclaimed the title for Norway. This isn't a campy disaster; it’s a high-stakes, fjord-crunching spectacle that understands exactly what it wants to be: a monster movie with a massive heart and an even bigger footprint.

I sat down to watch this on a Tuesday night while my neighbor was seemingly auditioning for a heavy metal band in the apartment above me, and honestly, the rhythmic thumping of his bass drum actually added a weirdly immersive 4D layer to the troll’s footsteps. It was the most productive use of a thin wall I’ve experienced in years.

A Sequel with Scales

Picking up after the events of the 2022 breakout hit, Troll 2 finds Nora Tidemann (Ine Marie Wilmann) trying to live a quiet life, which is always a cinematic death sentence. You don't cast an actress with Wilmann’s ability to project intelligence and grit just to have her look at rocks. When a new, more aggressive threat emerges from the Norwegian wilderness, the "Troll Team" is back in action.

What I appreciate about this contemporary era of creature features is the shift away from the "dark and gritty" filter that plagued the 2010s. Uthaug and cinematographer Jallo Faber embrace the stunning natural light of Norway. The action sequences aren't obscured by rain or shadows; when the monster shows up, you see every mossy crevice and ancient scar on its hide. In a streaming landscape often cluttered with murky, under-lit blockbusters, Troll 2 feels refreshingly bright and tangible. It’s essentially "Godzilla Minus One" with more moss and fewer metaphors, focusing on the immediate terror of a living mountain coming to dinner.

Crunching Metal and Practical Magic

The action choreography here is a significant step up from the first film. There’s a sequence involving a mountain pass and several unfortunate military vehicles that feels remarkably grounded. Uthaug uses a blend of virtual production techniques—similar to the LED volumes used in The Mandalorian—to place the actors in environments that feel vast and oppressive.

However, the real soul of the film lies in the physical stakes. Mads Sjøgård Pettersen returns as Captain Kristoffer Holm, bringing a necessary level of tactical weariness to the role. The stunts feel heavy. When a troll swiped at a helicopter, I didn't just see pixels colliding; I felt the displacement of air. The production team reportedly leaned into more practical explosive elements this time around to offset the CGI, and it shows. There is a "crunch" to the destruction that makes the threat feel imminent rather than just digital noise.

My one gripe? The pacing in the second act hits a bit of a lull. We spend a little too much time in high-tech command centers looking at screens when I’d much rather be back on the ground with Kim S. Falck-Jørgensen’s Andreas, who provides the much-needed "everyman" perspective to the chaos.

The Streaming Giant in the Room

As a 2025 release, Troll 2 is a fascinating case study of the "Global Netflix" model. It’s a film that feels tailor-made for an international audience while remaining fiercely proud of its Norwegian roots. It doesn't try to "Hollywood-ize" the folklore; it lets the mythology speak for itself. We are currently living through a bit of franchise fatigue, where every superhero movie feels like a homework assignment for the next one. Troll 2 avoids this trap by keeping the stakes personal. It’s a legacy sequel that actually cares about the legacy of its creatures rather than just setting up a cinematic universe.

While some might dismiss it as "just another monster movie," I think that does a disservice to the craftsmanship on display. Behind the scenes, the budget was a relatively modest $11.2 million—a pittance compared to the $200 million behemoths coming out of Burbank. Yet, the screen looks twice as expensive. This is the democratization of the blockbuster: talented regional filmmakers using top-tier tech to tell their own stories better than the major studios.

Troll 2 is a lean, mean, and surprisingly green adventure that proves the first film wasn't a fluke. It respects the audience's time, clocks in at a tight 102 minutes, and delivers exactly the kind of giant-scale mayhem you want on a weeknight. It won't redefine the genre, but it’s a damn good time that makes you want to go hiking—and then immediately change your mind once you hear a rock slide. If you’re looking for a spectacle that feels human-sized despite its thirty-foot-tall antagonist, this is your best bet on the current scroll.