Sisu: Road to Revenge – A Journey of Vengeance

The original Sisu made a splash when it first debuted in the Midnight Madness section of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, before making a solid profit at the box office and gaining further praise along the way. Sisu: Road to Revenge takes place following the aftermath of World War II, picking up with Aatami Korpi (Tommila) returning the home where his family was brutally murdered during the war. After dismantling the house, and loading it on a truck, he heads to Finland to rebuild it in a safer environment. At the same time, Red Army commander Igor Dragunov (Lang), who killed his family, comes back hellbent on finishing the job and wiping out Aatami for good, sending both men on a cross-country chase to the death. Action packed, this sequel is a bloody blast and a slight improvement over the already solid original.

The main reason why audiences flock to a film like Sisu: Road to Revenge is the action, and just like the original, it delivers in spades, offering up one chaotic, hyper-violent, and explosive sequence after another. The action here gets so over-the-top, ridiculous, and nonsensical to the point where one will think they are watching a live action R-rated Looney Tunes cartoon. Nevertheless, it all works so well, and just adds to the overall fun. Coming back for the sequel, writer-director Jalmari Helander has stepped up his game, and clearly shows that he has a grasp on how to helm action. Meanwhile, he showcases a variety of styles of action throughout from shootouts, to hand-to-hand combat, to chases sequences, shooting them all so effectively and efficiently. The result culminates to an awesome final act that increasingly grows bigger and becomes more off the rails (both figuratively and literally) in the best way possible.

Tommila reprises his leading role as Korpi, once again proving that he is a complete badass on screen. Despite now being in his 60’s, he is more than up to the task in terms of the physicality of the role, but he can also deliver so much emotion and nuance through his facial expressions and mannerisms alone, without the need of a single line of dialogue. Similarly, Stephen Lang’s Dragunov might not be the most well developed or fleshed out of characters but in spite of that, makes for a solid villain and a perfect foil for Tommila’s Korpi.

All that being said, for audiences who enjoy these kinds of action flicks, it is hard not to appreciate the film for being a non-stop, relentless action spectacle. However, audiences looking for anything more will likely find themselves sorely disappointed and wanting to go elsewhere, as it has absolutely nothing to offer from a character or story perspective, opting for a more barebones approach, for better or worse. Also, as fun as it is to watch how silly and over-the-top the film can often get, there are a few moments where it perhaps takes its over-the-top nature a bit too far.

While the film isn’t perfect by any means, Sisu: Road to Revenge offers up a highly enjoyable action flick filled with adrenaline fueled, intense, and brutal action sequences that will more than satisfy fans of the original. Ending on a surprisingly beautiful note and one that would suggest the end of our fateful protagonist’s journey, perhaps if the film were to do well enough at the box office, a sequel can be greenlit, if only to make this story into a trilogy.

still courtesy of Sony Pictures

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/