Sisu: Road to Revenge – Review: The Platonic Ideal of a Popcorn movie Supercharged With Finnish Fury
Story
Jalmari Helander returns with a sequel that is leaner, louder, meaner—and somehow sweeter—than the original. Sisu: Road to Revenge picks up in 1946, as finland cedes territory to the Soviet Union after World war II. Among the 420,000 Finns displaced from Karelia is Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), the mythic “Man Who Refuses to Die,” still mourning the family he lost. But instead of surrendering his past, Aatami crosses into Soviet territory to salvage the foundation stones of his destroyed home, hoping to rebuild his life—literally and symbolically—on Finnish soil.
Word of his return reaches the Soviet military quickly, triggering a chain reaction of revenge. The KGB dispatches Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the very sociopath who butchered Aatami’s family and now rots in a Siberian prison. A revenge-off is set: one old man haunted by loss versus another old man corrupted by cruelty versus yet another old man angry about losing 300 soldiers. In classic Sisu fashion, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds—and exactly as entertaining.
Performances
Once Draganov is cleaned up, shaved, and unleashed, the film shifts into a hyper-propulsive chase akin to Mad Max: Fury Road. Aatami remains stoic and nearly silent, but Tommila sharpens the character’s physicality into something almost mythical—an aging warrior who absorbs bullets, survives tanks, and walks through explosions with the resigned annoyance of a man who just wants to go home.
stephen Lang, meanwhile, is having the time of his life. His Draganov is deliciously evil in a way that feels both terrifying and darkly hilarious. The accent may be terrible, yet it adds to his comic-book villain charm. richard Brake, as the KGB officer pulling the strings, continues his streak of gleefully menacing character work.
Together, Tommila and Lang form the beating heart of the film: an unstoppable force slamming against an immovable object, each driven by grief, rage, or pure madness. Their final confrontation—set across several train cars—ranks among the most electrifying action showdowns of the decade.
Technicalities
If the first Sisu felt like a stylish short film stretched to feature length, Road to Revenge corrects every structural flaw. The chapter divisions actually matter this time, signaling pivots, emotional beats, or outrageous set pieces. The pacing is relentless—but never exhausting.
Cinematographer Mika Orasmaa evolves the series’ visual identity from Spaghetti-Western minimalism to full-throttle post-apocalyptic carnage. finland and Soviet borderlands are rendered as a frozen wasteland littered with rusted metal, broken ideology, and deranged soldiers. The world feels harsher, but paradoxically more fun.
The action? Dialed up to eleven. A motorbike chase that rivals Furiosa. A plane-lift stunt so bonkers it feels like a Looney Tunes homage. A tank trick so absurd you can’t help laughing. And the bravura train sequence—complete with rockets, shattered glass, and impossible physics—is a masterclass in controlled chaos.
The returning composers, Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä, heighten the film’s pulpy grandeur with a thunderous score that feels tailor-made for blood-pumping heroics.
Analysis
Sisu: Road to Revenge triumphs by embracing its identity as a pure adrenaline fantasy. It doesn’t chase emotional profundity or political subtext—though it occasionally brushes against both. Instead, it doubles down on myth-making, turning Aatami into a Finnish folk deity of vengeance and resilience.
But crucially, the film’s heart is intact. Beneath its geysers of blood and cartoonish spectacle is a surprisingly tender core about grief and reclamation. Tommila’s quiet, damaged presence adds just enough emotional grounding to offset the absurdity.
Helander’s direction is sharper, bolder, and more confident. If Sisu hinted at greatness, this sequel delivers on it. No wonder hollywood handed him the upcoming Rambo prequel—this is the work of a filmmaker who understands brutal action as both art and entertainment.
What Works
• Breakneck pacing with zero dead zones
• Inventive, insane, wildly entertaining action set pieces
• Aatami vs. Draganov rivalry that actually feels mythic
• Stephen Lang is devouring the screen with unhinged glee
• Sharper structure and better momentum than the first film
• Visual and musical upgrade that elevates the entire world
What Doesn’t
• Accents so bad they unintentionally become comedic
• Logic so broken that even cartoon physics blushes
• Minimal character depth for supporting roles
• Occasional tonal whiplash between brutality and sweetness
⭐ Ratings (Out of 5)
Story: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5)
Performances: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Action: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
Technical Craft: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (4.5/5)
Entertainment Value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
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