“Troll 2” (2025) has all the symptoms of sequel-fatigue. Conceptually, it seems like a mere runoff of its predecessor, unwilling to risk or tread new ground. It’s a toothless vision with peculiarly low stakes. At least, the danger and skulduggery don’t get the nerves racing. All characters are content to fall into templates of behaviour, and the menace itself appears as an afterthought instead of a revitalising mechanism.
The sequel darts among various thematic anxieties and stylistic detours but baulks committing wholly to any, doubting its own capability. It’s hesitant and shy about embracing reinvention, chugging along to a set of affixed registers. Even the monster-marauding doesn’t have the kick or punch of the predecessor. One troll’s wild spree is all that guides the plot along its trail. Nothing else seems to have been considered with much nuance or intelligence.
This time, the narrative works in half-measures. As directionless as the plot is, the characters are too trapped within a tokenistic ambit. They don’t pulse with human contradictions, collapsing in contrivances and misjudged character flips orchestrated for petty surprise. While government authorities spar and battle it out, their fueling decisions struggle and clash with the need for spectacle.
It jars and often fails many a promising set-up. Director Roar Uthaug and writer Espen Aukan tap into broader myths and narratives. The intent is noble and admirable, but it isn’t well matched to the execution on display. A clear lack can be felt keenly, thrumming across various departments. The sequel leaps high and wide, even as it seems scaled back and singularly unqualified to meet its own projection. A mega troll’s bloody path of carnage fires the plot, keeping it going through slovenly plotting turns.
Troll 2 (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
There are the trappings of a massive adventure unfurling across Norway. The myth and trolls have intensified and multiplied, yet characterisation remains thin, random, and startlingly lacking in cohesion. The spectacle magnifies, though emotion and engagement are undermined by a series of bewildering choices in the writing.
The film suffers from an ill-defined focus that could have made things more plausible and satisfying. Where’s the tension that might have driven the material into provocative terrain? No such thing can be expected here, as it paddles through familiar beats, elongated action, and rote characterisation. Nora has a lot of tact and resourceful intelligence in cutting through the State propaganda. She’s determined to do whatever she can so that the troll’s reality is parsed amid the hypernarratives.
What is Nora’s new task?
Disbelief clouds the film more than any impulse to take it through choppy action. Chaos sweeps up characters in a wild mix. Nothing seems to be knit well to keep us arrested to the screen. In Part 1, Nora failed to save the troll that the zealots targeted. She also grapples with her father’s death. The sequel sees her contacted again by Andreas Isaken, the PM’s assistant. There’s a secret mission in which Nora’s services are requested.
Andreas takes her to a power station where he wants her to witness something. Nora is initially unwilling. She meets a biologist, Marion, who’s also working on the project. Nora discovers a troll being kept captive. Somehow, the troll flees. She sees the troll having no empathetic glimmer. This is a troll baying for revenge.
Also Check: Troll (2022) Netflix Movie Review: An Allegorical Monster tale Masqueraded as A Thrilling Adventure Film
The troll rampages through the vicinity, razing the civilians. Andreas, Marion, and Nora all join Kristoffer, who’s been asked to snuff out the threat of the troll. It has been marching wantonly through the neighbouring areas, uprooting everything with glee. Nora realises the troll is eating humans alive. This doesn’t tally with her prior appraisal. A casualty happens.
Nora takes them all to the Dovre mountains. Many years ago, the troll king had fallen into the trap. His son escaped and has been hiding out in the mountains. Nora taps her connection to the creatures. She beckons the troll to come into the open. Nora orchestrates a special moment, but the encounter goes disastrously. Chaos erupts. The troll gathers power and momentum, pursuing the group with renewed vigour.
What is the truth behind the Olaf-Church divide?
Nora and the others manage to make a run for it, chased by the mega troll. It is surging towards Trondheim as he sought exact vengeance on King Olaf for butchering his species. Historian Esther discusses the possibility that the mega troll is after Olaf’s remains, which have thus far remained elusive. But why was the ruler’s burial observed in such a clandestine manner? Nora stumbles into the other half of the Law of Troll decree, which hadn’t been found earlier and was presumed to be perennially lost.
Once the pages of the decree are put together, one realizes the king never desired to kill the trolls. Olaf wanted to give them land. But the church was strongly opposed to it and built a narrative that arrogated blame to Olaf. The mega troll is out to take revenge but is guided by a jaundiced narrative. The church is determined to put down the mega troll. All try to halt the troll using holy water. Nora unearthed this trick with her special intuition. Would it work? Speculation is let loose. Suddenly, Beautiful emerges on the scene and attacks the mega troll.
Troll 2 (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
Is the mega troll killed?
However, the mega troll is bursting with too much passion for retribution. It won’t concede defeat so easily. Beautiful is cast out of the scene. This leads to panic and consternation, but not all hope is lost. The group devises several schemes. Marion tells Nora that a troll could be killed if its heart is targeted. Andreas tries to ideate pouring holy water within the troll’s body and blows it up with a detonator.
It’s a bold plan of action. But Andreas has to leap inside the troll’s body literally. It’s an enormously risky situation, but it’s the only thing worth doing if they hope to succeed. Andreas’ mortal life is at stake. But he does it, and the troll is blown to pieces. The troll was killed, and so was Andreas. It’s a major loss Nora will struggle with for as long as she lives. Andreas saved them all, sacrificing himself in the process.
Beautiful skulks back into the mountains. The film seems to fold everything back into an untroubled future, but the illusion is soon sliced through. In the mid-credit scene, Professor Moller maps the troll’s DNA, clones it, and creates a mini-troll. He is in cahoots with the State; they might have ulterior motives. The military could use the trolls as part of its defence. The State could utilise it to remain rooted in power and strike terror in its citizenry. The ending shows the mini troll slowly growing in size. This sets the stage for the next instalment, as the cloned troll would emerge as a formidable asset in the State’s arsenal.
