‘Troll 2’ review: Mythological Monsters Return in a Slick If Unsurprising Sequel to Global Netflix Hit

After putting a neat Norwegian spin on slasher horror (“Cold Prey”) and 1970s-style disaster thriller (“The Wave”), Roar Uthaug turned to the rampaging-giant-monster genre with “Troll,” and was no doubt as surprised as everyone else when that swiftly became Netflix’s most popular non-English-language movie to date in 2022. Inevitably, now there’s “Troll 2,” already a hit for the international streamer since its launch on Dec. 1. The sequel reunites most of the original’s major participants for another race to stop a second behemoth from running amok on human terrain. It’s slick and fun in just the same way the earlier film was. Though given the parting promise of a third installment, one hopes Uthaug and writer Espen Aukan come up with some new twists — inspiration is beginning to run a little thin here.

An opening animated sequence illustrates the purported origin of trolls, their peaceful coexistence with mankind…