"We're going to need more wallpaper turns out to be the Nordic answer to We're going to need a bigger boat, after a 50-metre troll has just swept a leg through someone's soon-to-be-renovated house. When the quips revolve around interior design, you know Norwegian big-budget film-making is taking a softer path than its raucous American inspirations. This is a Netflix sequel to Norwegian horror comedy Troll with the original director Roar Uthaug returning, and home is clearly a theme dear to the franchise's heart."
"With much talk of the country's Christian forefathers imposing uniformity by wiping out the trolls, Uthaug may be implying some rottenness in the state of present-day Norway. The cast is pointedly diverse too, with Sara Khorami joining as a scientist. But if Troll 2 is some kind of allegory for immigration or multiculturalism, then it wears it lightly. Widescreen mayhem is the main preoccupation here, the highlight being when the marauder peels open the top of a nightclub and helps himself to apres-ski amuse-bouches."
"The problem though, is that Troll 2 wears everything lightly. It flits between elements of Spielbergian wonderment, Indiana Jones-esque treasure hunt, and Arrival-style communication with alien entities, without majoring in any of them. The characterisation is token (Nora expeditiously switches from troll-whisperer to firing on them with holy water-filled grenades), and the quip embellishment is weak."
Netflix sequel Troll 2 follows a 50-metre troll rampaging toward Trondheim to avenge itself against King Olaf. Director Roar Uthaug returns, reuniting trollologist Nora and adviser Andreas as they try to prevent officials from incinerating the creature. The film foregrounds home and cultural roots while hinting at historical erasure by Christian forefathers and possible contemporary rot. The cast diversifies with Sara Khorami as a scientist. The movie prioritizes widescreen spectacle and set pieces, including a nightclub dissection, but diffuses tones across Spielbergian wonder, Indiana Jones-style treasure hunting and Arrival-like communication, resulting in token characterisation and weak comic embellishment.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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