TROLL

This creature feature strikes such a right balance between campy dialogue, fun characters and thrilling set-pieces that it's impossible not to be swept up in this tale about a giant troll running amuck.

There is nothing particularly original about Troll, a Norwegian creature feature that takes one part Jurassic Park, one part Independence Day, adds a bit of Godzilla and mixes it all together in the kind of action disaster flick that were a dime a dozen in the nineties.

And yet, despite Troll's familiarity, director Roar Uthaug and his screenwriting team manage to strike such a right balance between campy dialogue, fun characters and thrilling set-pieces that it's impossible not to be swept up in this tale about a giant troll running amuck in Scandinavia.

It also helps that the overarching theme of man versus nature is handled surprisingly deftly, while the casting for all of the main roles is spot-on. Does the movie run out of steam a bit in its final act? Sure, but that doesn't take anything away from the fact that Troll is the most entertaining picture of its kind that I have seen in ages.

It just goes to show that even the most tired of genres can still bring the goods if you have people at the helm who fully embrace its conventions.

release: 2022

director: Roar Uthaug

starring: Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim Falck, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, Gard B. Eidsvold