Sisu: Road to Revenge Movie Review
One of the out-of-nowhere surprise hits of 2022 was Sisu, an English language action film set during WWII, in German occupied Finland, about a dialogue-less one-many army who has a very bloody encounter with Nazi’s who want to steal his gold. It was awesome. And now, writer-director Jalmari Helander reunites with our wordless hero played by Jorma Tommila for the sequel, Sisu: Road to Revenge.
Following his violent encounter with the gold stealing Nazi’s, Aatami (Tommila) returns to his vacant family home, which was once a safe haven for his wife and children, who were brutally murdered by a Red Army commander, Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang). Wishing to put his violent past behind him, Aatami dismantles his home and begins to transport the wooden beams toward Finland in the hope of a new start. But, Igor, hellbent to finish what he started, relentlessly begins to track Aatami down, leading to an explosive and bloody cross country chase.
The first film showed that Helander had some pretty wild ideas for action set pieces and inventive kills, and he doubles down on the insanity in Road to Revenge. Forgoing any forms of physics, logic, or realism, this sequel wears the inspirations of 80s B-grade action movies on its sleeve with some of the most ridiculous action scenes that will grace cinema screens in 2025. Using dynamite to front flip a tank and propelling a train with a missile are just the tip of a bloody iceberg that is as exciting as it is impactful. Even a baddie getting a scratch results in an abnormal amount of blood flowing from the wound. It’s such a heightened, relentless style of action that will absolutely excite those looking for an over-the-top action hit.
The relentless nature of the action only works in favour of the film’s relentless pace. At 89 minutes long, Road to Revenge wastes little time reintroducing the audience to Aatami and setting up his emotional arc and bringing in the thick Russian accented Igor before catapulting them into the film’s extensive action scenes, leaving little room for rest until a slight break in pace before the film’s climax (which still manages to be on of the most violent, non-action moments of the film). Helander’s script gives just enough context for Aatami’s rage without having to hammer it over the audience’s head every chance he gets.
Once again, the stoic, dialogueless performance from Tommila as our hero is the glue that holds the film together. Tomilla’s ability to convey Aatami’s immense rage through his eyes (and then subsequently his insanely violent actions) is a great, unique way for a protagonist to be presented on screens. Even if you haven’t seen this first film, the story does a great job of getting you emotionally involved into his character that it makes every punch, kick, knife, bullet, and electric wire whip he takes feel that much more visceral.
The only thing that mainly differs between Sisu and the sequel is that the former has a bit more cohesion narratively, whereas Road to Revenge mainly plays out as an extended action montage. It’s cool, but lacks a little bit of the juice the first film had. Stephen Lang is also criminally underused in this film. Stereotypical Russian bad guy accent aside, Lang’s performance as Igor is reduced to “slight menacing presence” who calls Aatami motherf*cker every chance he gets. There just feels like there was a missed opportunity to really utilise the gravitas of an intense performer such as Lang.
Physics? Logic? Realism? Sisu: Road to Revenge says “no way” in favour of a wildly entertaining revenge flick full of the most insane, bloody action scenes of 2025. It doesn’t necessarily do much different to its predecessor narratively, but if Jalmari Helander just simply wanted to make a sequel because he had more inventive ways to kill bad guys on screen, then who are we to stop him!
Sisu: Road To Revenge is in Australian cinemas November 20
