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When Royalteen premiered in 2022 on Netflix, it did leave behind a sweet aftertaste, despite not being perfect, and an open ending in the linear and simple premise. The sequel from Ingvild Søderlind was always going to arrive, and it did on May 11, 2023. Titled Royalteen: Princess Margrethe, the new film changed the dynamic of the story and focused on the titular Princess Margrethe (Elli Rhiannon Muller Osbourne) after her scandalous drug habits forced a big error for the royal family.
Centered around the premise of teenage drug usage, the weight of expectations, and the pressure of always putting up a bright facade as a part of the royal family, Royalteen: Princess Margrethe had enough material to top its original film but failed to do so quite visibly.
The sloppy storyline and the unrealized material were enough to prove that the new Norwegian film not only lagged behind the original but failed to make any impact whatsoever with its half-baked story.
Royalteen: Princess Margrethe had the avenues to be much better but failed to even stand beside the original film
With a Crown-esque premise about a young lady forced into the world of aristocrats and kings, this story about Princess Margrethe had the perfect opening to focus on many important things in society. Instead, it chose to try out the conventional lonely, misunderstood princess way, which does not come off well in the end.
The Netflix film begins directly from the ending of the previous one, with Margrethe's drug habits forcing a looming scandal over the family. Soon, an unmotivated villain is introduced in the form of Gustav, who has a video of Margrethe doing cocaine. His storyline is neither convincing nor rewarding, which is also true about Prince Alexander's (Sammy Germaine Wadi) arc.
Moreover, the central plot of Royalteen: Princess Margrethe was not strong enough to carry a one-and-a-half-hour film. Whatever this film focused on could have been a small part of the previous movie, but as a standalone, it did not have the matter to tell a wholesome story.
Elli Rhiannon Muller Osbourne was one of the brighter parts of the film, bringing a lot of conviction to an otherwise poorly written character. Moreover, most of her storylines fell flat as the film progressed, but the actress did remarkably well to convey the emotions that the character felt.
At just above one and a half hours, Royalteen: Princess Margrethe is a breezy watch, to say the least. It is fast-paced and does not ever feel clunky. However, that is something that did not work out well in the favor of the film, making most of its plotlines unfulfilling.
The story tried to break boundaries and portray some intricate problems that plague society in this day and age, but the film could only portray things on the surface, making it quite hollow. Moreover, the side plots and the deviations also seemed very forced. All in all, this is quite a downgrade from the 2022 original, which itself wasn't the finest of films but did have some material to capitalize on.
Royalteen: Princess Margrethe is now streaming on Netflix.
