The government recruits Nora Tidemann (played by a very capable and likeable Ine Marie Wilmann), a palaeontologist, to investigate the so-called "geological anomaly". She is joined by Andreas, an advisor to the Prime Minister, and Captain Kris, a soldier. Realising the creature matches ancient myths, Nora seeks out her estranged father, Tobias (played by Gard B. Eidsvold), a former folklore professor who was previously institutionalised for being a "fruit-loop" and discredited for his obsession with Trolls!
Our Troll comes out of deep sleep in the rocks, then, and Tobias attempts to communicate with it, believing it to be nice and friendly rather than a monster! It all goes tits-up, as you'd expect, after it starts clumping all over the landscape destroying people and property (mostly, it seems, at least at this stage, by accident) and the military decide that the best route (instead of listening to Tobias and Nora) is force. So they open fire, pointlessly, as it only serves to make the creature angry!
Skip to Oslo's Royal Palace, which was built on the site of the Troll King’s castle. Centuries ago, Christian settlers led by King Olaf massacred the Troll population to "cleanse" the land. The current Troll is actually the last Troll King, returning to his ancestral home to find his family. Nora finds the skeletal remains of baby Trolls in the basement, which she decides to use as bait, luring the grieving Troll King into a trap.
Meanwhile, the government are getting really pissed off and plan a nuclear strike to stop the beast, but Nora and her team intervene. They set up a circle of powerful UV light machines (since Trolls turn to stone in sunlight). As the Troll enters the trap and begins to suffer, Nora has a change of heart. Realising the creature is a tragic victim of history, she turns off the lights and begs it to run back to the mountains. As a result of this showdown, we get a satisfying finale and setup for Troll 2...
Troll 2
...which takes three years to arrive on our screens. So, the sequel was released again on Netflix, in which Nora has become a recluse - apparently as obsessed and fruity as her father! But we have a new, even bigger Troll turning up and the government see fit to whisk her back into action to sort it out, alongside the same core bunch of characters (and actors) as the first film.
Unlike the first Troll, this "Megatroll" is much more aggressive and is actively seeking revenge against the religious fruitcakes who have forcibly taken over the Trolls' land and kingdom. In Nora's reintroduction and briefing session, she is shown a top-secret government research facility that houses a hibernating, chained-up Troll. They also meet a smaller, more peaceful Troll whom Nora has secretly been communicating with. (Hope you're keeping up!)
They realise that the new Troll is following an ancient pilgrimage route toward Trondheim, the ancient capital of Norway. They discover that King Olaf didn't just kill trolls - he built a cathedral over a site of extreme significance to them to erase their history. At this point, the film turns into a more Indiana Jones style presentation than what's gone before, as they get into ancient discovery: rooms hidden behind walls, special keys to open up caverns and passageways, underground pools of water, and so on. Turns out that King Olaf wasn't such a cad after all, by the way.
Anyway, we head towards the final showdown between the big, bad Troll and the underdog, not-so-big Troll as they scrap it out Godzilla style, smashing up the city below them! And, of course, we're set up with another mid-credits scene for a third outing, should they decide to make it.
The second film certainly took the emphasis in a different direction, making it more of a high-octane adventure yarn than the first one, which was somewhat more serious - WarGames (1983) style or the like. They have tried to inject much more humour into the second film than the first and it just feels much more "tongue-in-cheek" throughout.
The actors and characters are generally likeable, the script is alright, and there is some nice scenery on show which the camera makes the most of (assuming it's not special effects). The sets are pretty well done, as is the CGI for the Trolls, and yes, production values across the two are better than I thought they might be. It's all good rip-roaring fun and I spent an enjoyable evening with the double-bill. The time flew and I didn't clock-watch at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment