Directed by Roar Uthaug
Written by Espen Aukan and Roar Uthaug
Produced by Espen Horn
Kristian Strand Sinkerud
Starring
Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim Falck, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, Gard B. Eidsvold, Pål Richard Lunderby, Eric Vorenholt
Cinematography Jallo Faber
Edited by Christoffer Heie
Music by Johannes Ringen
Production company Motion Blur
Distributed by Netflix
Troll is a creature feature. As such, the basic plot follows some familiar parameters. Foolish humans go digging and blasting in pristine natural areas, upsetting the locals and destroying nature. A particularly enthusiastic blast of dynamite awakens an ancient terrible and violent being, a full-grown mountain troll. If you’re thinking of the critter Harry Potter gave a swirlie to in the bathroom scene, forget it. This sucker is made of rock and stands about 150 feet tall. This is the Milo Yiannopoulos of Trolls. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)
Enraged, the monster does a number on an amusement park near Lillehammer. Being as big as he is, he doesn’t have to climb the Empire State building to swat helicopters out of the sky. After that, he lumbers off in the direction of Oslo while the Norwegian government slowly comes to grips with the notion that this isn’t an out of control fault line or the Russian army.
The cast of characters might seem familiar, as well; the perky girl archeologist, her completely-daft-but-knows-something daddy, the brave and resolute army captain, the science nerd, and the plucky genius computer girl in glasses who punches above her weight. Add the Prime Minister, who is smart and competent, and her cabinet, none of whom are smart and competent, and you’ve got yourself an Ed Wood movie.
Only it’s nothing of the sort. The acting, writing, pacing and special effects are all well above average, and there is a subtlety and depth usually not seen in creature features. The characters are well-rounded and interact with one another in plausible and human manners. The monster, it turns out, has motives and feelings, but we don’t have some Greek chorus extra to explain that to us (“Look! It seems to like hot lava! Blow up a volcano and we’ll kill it!”). We have to figure it out for ourselves. The monster doesn’t speak or emote, but you find yourself feeling a bit of sympathy for it. It show signs of being something more than just a rock monster. Or Milo. The whole thing is very Norwegian, and that’s always to the good.
This is an engaging and sometimes captivating movie that is much better than it ought to have been, and a lot of fun besides.
Now on Netflix.
Comments
For once, it seems, we are seeing the same movie or show at the same time. This weekend we watched a movie on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening. Troll was one of them.
It kept us entertained, holding together remarkably well for what is all things considered, a bit of fluff and nonsense. And, it felt very Norwegian, mostly down to the small details in the clothes and settings: the Norwegian countryside and Oslo.
Another thing we liked was the humour. So all in all, it showed how a basic story could be delivered in an entertaining fashion.
As for the other two films. We watched Day Shift with Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg was frothy fun. It wasn’t big or clever, but again it delivered what it promised, staking out vampires.
And that third movie I hear you ask?
Warriors from the Future, which should’ve ticked all my boxes having robots, rockets and ray-guns (no actual ray-guns featured, but it had power armour and mecha, so all good), in a story that rocketed along as our heroes tried to stop an alien plant (ecosystem) from expanding and causing more destruction.
Some thought had gone into creating a scenario where an invasive alien biome was actually purifying the Earth’s biosphere, allowing mankind to regroup and save the world. Unfortunately, the physics (technically, but shown through plant growth) broke my credulity meter, and it’s clear that Chinese film makers have no clue either about how a military hierarchy functions, or how to plan an operation, or anything else really.
So, while providing mecha eye-candy galore, Warriors from the Future fell at delivering what it promised.