I somewhat agree and disagree with this assessment. Longtime fans would have rooted for the two Norwegians seen in the beginning of the 1982 movie, except only one is really shown at a decent length. I agree that they should have had more character development in that direction.

But I think having the Norwegians be separate from the main characters, in a suspicious way as they mumble to each other in a foreign language, was an interesting take on it. The language gap was a realistic barrier.

Edit: Also I made this comment before opening the actual conversation so I didn't know you commented on the language barrier above, though that was in reference to the 1982 movie.