Netflix’s original movies are often defined by the blockbusters that the streamer releases. Though many fans stay subscribed so they can watch the latest TV show seasons, there’s no denying that movies that at one point would have been summer tentpoles are still finding life on Netflix. Over the last year alone, Netflix has released the likes of Carry-On with Taron Egerton, Back in Action with Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx, and the animation sensation, KPop Demon Hunters. Though their films that have the biggest stars and sometimes the loudest explosions may be noted as their biggest, the streamer has a surprising ace up its sleeve that everyone forgets about.
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Three years ago today, Netflix released a surprising movie. Though the streamer has a robust library of international feature films, its biggest one premiered on December 1, 2022, the Norwegian answer to Godzilla, Troll. As you can imagine, the monster movie is quite literally about a giant troll that terrorizes Norway, delivering a blend of classic folklore from the region with modern blockbuster sensibilities. Now, exactly three years after that movies release, Netflix has given the world the highly anticipated sequel, and kick-started a full franchise.
Netflix’s Troll 2 Premieres After the First Film Sets Records
Upon its release, Troll, directed by Roar Uthaug, earned an impressive 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though many of the reviews noted that it wasn’t exactly reinventing the wheel when it came to a monster movie (let’s be honest, this is clearly a kaiju film), it still used the centuries of Norwegian lore to its advantage to create something totally unique. One critic said the film was “as much fun” as any of the MonsterVerse movies, which is high praise considering the blockbuster appeal they’ve managed to gain.
The critical response wasn’t where the success of Troll ended, though, as the viewership soon followed. As of this writing, and which has been the case for years now, Troll quickly became the most-watched international Netflix movie of all time, with over 103 million views. Though this total isn’t nearly enough to land it on the Top 10 English-language movies from Netflix, it’s still an impressive feat as the second-highest film on the international list at the time of Troll‘s premiere was 2019’s The Platform with 89 million views. Since then, other international movies have found similar success, with movies like Society of the Snow and Under Paris climbing the charts, but Troll remains supreme.
Now, today, three years after the first film’s release, Troll 2 has officially arrived on the platform. Though there are only a few reviews of the film as of this writing, eight total, with six of them positive. Inverse writes that the movie is a “rollicking good time” and “a completely fresh take on the monster movie,” while ComicBook’s own Charlie Ridgley gave the movie a 3 out of 5, praising it for its “solid action between well-designed monsters” but noted that the film has “inconsistent writing” and a shiny “made for streaming look.”
Time will tell how this sequel may be received by audiences streaming titles on Netflix, but the good news is that the film has arrived between new episodes of Stranger Things and just before everyone is fully committed to watching Christmas movies exclusively. Those things may work to its advantage, and may well see us getting something like Troll 3 in a few more years.
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Image Courtesy of Warner Bros
