Roar Uthaug’s "TROLL"
Review by Dennis D. McDonald
Roar Uthaug’s TROLL is a silly monster movie that is consistently entertaining even when borrowing from the classics. There’s a lot to love:
Engaging characters
Drop dead gorgeous scenery and photography
A fun story
No-nonsense female lead characters
Great action sequences
World-class special effects
The story is comfortingly recognizable: modern tunnel building efforts Wake Something Big Up that then goes on a rampage. Eventually Something Big ignores military attacks and threatens Oslo where a Big Showdown occurs.
As with many 1950’s sci-fi and monster movies, the hero is a young scientist. This time it’s a paleobiologist. She has to convince the powers that be that what they face is really something out of legend.
Sets are very well done with a lot of attention to detail both in rural areas (that wrecked house in the valley is almost too real) and in the government’s high-tech underground bunker where Madame Prime Minister leads a motley group of advisors. Integral to the story are how skillfully information presented through large wall displays and cellphones are interwoven.
One technical detail that is worth calling out: color balancing is exceptionally well done in daylight scenes when we view the giant monster in its natural mountainside settings. The effects and photography are seamlessly integrated and contribute to the viewer’s suspension of disbelief.
I watched the film in Norwegian with well done English subtitles. I’m sure that there must be some internal jokes and references I missed that a Norwegian native would recognize. Nevertheless, the story and characters are so accessible that any cultural references don’t intrude on an outsider’s enjoyment. An added plus: we don’t have to watch while often-picked-on New York, Chicago, London, or Hong Kong get trashed; this time it’s Oslo that’s threatened. Finally, when was the last time you heard Grieg’s HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING as a recurring monster movie musical theme?
Review copyright (c) 2023 by Dennis D. McDonald