After a mysterious explosion during the excavation of the Dovre mountains for the construction of a rail tunnel leaves environmental protestors dead, the Norwegian government assembles a task squad to determine the source of the explosion.  One expert tapped is Nora Tidemman (Ine Marie Wilmann), a renowned paleontologist.  As more details about the disaster come to light, it is discovered that it was not an explosion, but rather a massive Troll that was disturbed in the cave, and now that it is awake it is intent on destroying Oslo. 

Roar Uthaug directs Troll for Netflix from an Espen Aukan script.  The 101-minute action film has all the schlock expected of a little fan-fared, straight-to-Netflix dump, but it still manages to be an enjoyable film which is the main goal of these empty-calorie exercises.  With both action and myth, Troll casts a wide net to capture an audience, and while it certainly delivers on both fronts, it also scratches at some really great narrative concepts that it, unfortunately, does not expand upon. 

Opening with a brief flashback of a young Nora (Ameli Olving Sælevik) and her father, we learn that there is a distinct tie to what we see influences what we believe and vice versa as they sit atop a mountain range and look out to see the faces of ancient giants in the rock formations surrounding them.   Given the title of the film, it is expected that there will be a clash between science and fantasy, but it is interesting to note that this clash will be handled more on the family dynamic as Nora will have to learn to re-accept her father’s belief in these monsters. The film then cuts forward to Nora, now an adult, on the precipice of a fossil discovery only to be forced away from her achievement by the government to help investigate the Dorve explosion.  This will be the first of many instances within the film that government meddling works against the narrative interest.  

Simply put, when given the option of myth or the military, the myth will almost certainly be the more interesting plot line to follow.  It is not that the military scenes in Troll are bad, per se, they are just redundant and offer nothing new.  The sets, the pacing, the characters; it has all been seen before and it is not fair to ask Troll to reinvent the wheel, but when given the freedom of mythology and a rich history of folklore, taking the safest route through the military strategy of annihilate at all costs is a boring thread to follow.  This is only magnified as Nora and her team: secretary to the Prime Minister, Andreas (Kim Falck), and military captain, Kris (Mads Sjøgård Pettersen), discover the cause of the explosion was, in fact, the titular troll.  Uthaug’s action sequences even seem to know this as the troll quickly dispatches with the various tactical arms used against it like they are nothing more than a slight nuisance.  The troll does not belong in this modern world so it needs to be met on the basis of myth and legend.   

There is little excitement the film is able to drum up regarding what caused the explosion because the film tips its hand a little too early.  Knowing this, Uthaug instead opts to keep a full glimpse of the creature just out of reach of the audience instead, opting to show the troll through obscured footage, massive footprints left in the mud, and guttural roars picked up in audio clips.  It is a good strategy to have – one which Gareth Edwards similarly used in his update to Godzilla (2015) – especially since the creature design is solid but nothing spectacular.  The troll’s size is certainly large enough to be formidable, but there is little that is unique about it. 

As was mentioned briefly before, Troll takes the easiest approach in terms of script, almost unaware that it scratches some very interesting concepts.  Not only is it very clearly an allegory for being good stewards of the environment, but the roots in myth also seek to dismantle the glorification that has been heaped upon missionaries that have all but eradicated local cultures and traditions.  Nora’s endgame does touch on some of the myths that said the trolls would hurl boulders at churches because they did not like the sound of the bells, so they use some of the backup alarms on a fleet of trucks to corner the troll before blasting it with UV light to take the place of the first light of dawn which is said to turn the trolls to stone when it touches their skin. 

The troll’s endgame is also somewhat rooted in myth, though it does not really come into play.  Nora learns that, as was tradition, the Royal Palace was built upon the ruble of the conquered kingdom that came before it.  In this case, it was built on the ruins of the Troll King’s castle and the bones of the Royal Troll Family still rest as they fell underneath the current Royal Seat.  The inclusion of this all just leaves audiences hungry for more because there was clearly thought put into the script and the actual progression of the narrative is not bad, it just keeps hinting at the more interesting story here that goes untold for the sake of mindless Hollywood-stylized action.  To be fair, the action sequences in this film are engaging in the moment, but ultimately interchangeable with any of the Gerard Butler starring [Codename] Has Fallen films or similarly schlocky series. 

With a clear affinity for natural disaster films and action set pieces, Troll feels at home in Uthaug’s filmography. At the end of the day, asking it to develop and defend a thesis on the environmental impacts of creating mass transit infrastructure, or how the expansion of Christianity shaped the modern world is ascribing way too much to a film that really just wants to be a fun action romp, and that is exactly what it is. Uthaug’s creature feature feels like a leaner version of Roland Emmerich’s widely panned Godzilla (1998), a spiritual cousin of sorts, albeit with a better script and performances not entrenched in the late 90’s action style, but not on the same level as Ishirō Honda formative work, Godzilla (1954) which has a great blend of allegory, plot, and destruction. There is so much potential here, but the narrative consistently takes the easiest routes, and the result is a film that feels lazy. With any luck, Uthaug can find a solid script for his next project that can present ideas of which he is clearly passionate about, and still allow the director time to showcase his skill in delivering exciting set pieces.