This is currently the number one movie on Netflix in more than 86 countries

It’s impossible not to compare it with the first part

Despite Troll 2 making a strong entry into the popularity charts, its momentum appears to be slowing. According to FlixPatrol, the film has begun losing ground in several countries, including Spain, where it has been overtaken by a superhero movie. Interestingly, this rival title underperformed at the box office but has found renewed success and a warmer reception on streaming platforms.

The numbers for Troll 2 are undeniably impressive, but when compared to those of Troll, they suggest that the original phenomenon may not be fully repeated. While Troll enjoyed a monumental debut, the sequel needed seven days to reach just over half of its predecessor’s view count. This contrast raises questions about the franchise’s long-term staying power and overall impact in an increasingly content-saturated market.

However, despite the criticism and the noticeable dip in popularity, Troll 2 leaves the door open for a potential third installment. The film’s ending hints at further developments, and as audiences continue to engage with the mythical world established by the franchise, anticipation for what comes next remains high. While viewer interest is still solid based on current data, it remains uncertain whether the series can recapture the same magic that originally captivated audiences with Troll.

Reviews

Troll 2, the sequel to the popular 2022 Norwegian giant-creature film, struggles to justify its existence due to a noticeable lack of action—both monster-driven and otherwise. While it follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, the film competently recreates the inclusive, family-friendly action-adventure formula popularized by Steven Spielberg and the Amblin Entertainment era, even if it falls short of delivering the spectacle audiences might expect.

Unlike the original film, Troll 2 lacks a steady stream of dramatic or comedic moments to make the story feel truly eventful. The sequel follows disgraced troll expert Nora Tidemann (Ine Marie Wilmann) and a specialized government team as they track a massive, rampaging troll and his estranged son. While clashes do occur, they’re too few and far between to fully immerse viewers, especially given the film’s polished yet limited creature effects. The human-centered storyline fares no better—though it never becomes outright dull, it also never quite evolves into something compelling enough to elevate the experience.

Unfortunately, enjoying Troll 2 largely depends on whether viewers enjoy spending time with Nora and her team. These character types can be entertaining in theory, and the ensemble cast does a decent job of fitting into familiar, movie-friendly roles. However, what ultimately undermines this good-natured, cheesy B-movie is its consistently generic dialogue. The lack of distinct voices makes it difficult to connect with characters who, despite surface-level differences, all end up sounding remarkably similar. This issue becomes especially noticeable in a story that once again brings Nora back to assist the Norwegian government with its ongoing experiments on the magical troll Jotun—dubbed “Megatroll” by her primary government contact, Andreas.

Andreas serves as one of Nora’s narrative foils, standing in contrast to her pragmatic yet compassionate interest in Jotun. He’s portrayed as an awkward enthusiast, trading overly cute pop-culture banter with his pregnant and largely sidelined wife, Sigrid—including a particularly groan-inducing reference to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. His flights of fancy are nominally checked by Marion, the no-nonsense project supervisor who initially dismisses Nora as overly credulous. Yet Marion’s skepticism quickly fades once she becomes the target of flirtation from Captain Kris. With no real chemistry or meaningful conflict to anchor these interactions, the characters drift through predictable motions, suggesting that even the film itself isn’t fully invested in their roles.

In short, everyone is simply too pleasant for a sequel that attempts—rather weakly—to raise the stakes of the original premise. The film introduces a handful of supposedly personal conflicts, but none are developed in a meaningful way. Andreas and Sigrid’s baby is briefly mentioned and quickly forgotten, while the potential tension between Marion’s skepticism and Nora’s long-standing belief that trolls are more than just monsters is introduced only to be almost immediately dropped. Nora also alludes to unresolved feelings about her father, whose influence shaped her fascination with trolls and quietly inspired Andreas, though this thread receives little attention.

Even the trolls are given emotional baggage this time around, including a historical grudge against Saint Olaf, the legendary Norwegian king known for driving trolls into exile—a legacy challenged by Jotun’s latest rampage. Jotun also has a son, inevitably leading to conflict that feels more obligatory than organic. Captain Kris, too, is assigned a personal connection, but it’s so thinly constructed that elaborating on it would only highlight how little surprise or substance the film ultimately delivers.

Many of the character-driven conflicts fail to gain real momentum, largely because nearly everyone cooperates without much resistance. Even pressure from the Norwegian president does little to raise the stakes as Nora and her team attempt to understand what’s troubling Jotun. Adding to this, most characters share the same wide-eyed naïveté, slipping easily into familiar genre clichés with the occasional self-aware nod to the audience. This lack of focus and conceptual caution also extends to the troll-centered sequences, which frequently hint at grand ideas but rarely follow through on them.

Interestingly, the film is at its strongest when it minimizes individual character drama altogether. Reducing both humans and trolls to functional figures in a larger mystery allows the story to briefly tap into a buried, underdeveloped history linking King Olaf to Jotun and his ancestors. A touch of Indiana Jones–style puzzle-solving helps keep the narrative moving, but the film seems to run out of creative energy once the characters reach Trondheim—Norway’s former capital and the home of the iconic Nidaros Cathedral. While Jotun’s reawakening appears to gesture toward an uncomfortable truth about Norway’s national myths and heroes, the filmmakers never linger long enough on this idea for it to leave a lasting impact.

The film spends so much time reintroducing its familiar, likable protagonists that its one truly distinctive idea—a loose reexamination of a nation’s relationship with its foundational legends—often feels like an afterthought. Visually, Jotun remains impressive, and his son is convincingly realized as well. Yet both creatures are largely reduced to running amok, causing minor chaos, and vaguely hinting at greater catastrophe if left unchecked. It all suggests a more ambitious story waiting to be told—perhaps in a future installment.