By George & Josh Bate
If you’re looking for 90 minutes of bonkers, unfiltered, innovative action, look no further than Sisu: Road to Revenge.
Screening at this year’s Fantastic Fest, Sisu: Road to Revenge serves as a sequel to 2023’s action spectacle soaked in the blood of Nazis. This time around, writer/director Jalmari Helander returns to tell a story following World War II. Aatami Korpi (played by Jorma Tommilia) returns to Soviet-occupied Karelia after the massacre of his family to dismantle their old home and bring it to a place he can safely rebuild it. Korpi, known by his enemies as “The Man Who Refuses to Die,” has become a target of the Red Army, who are determined to kill him due to the humiliation he inflicted on them. The Red Army sends out Igor Draganov (played by Stephen Lang) to finish the job, although killing the legendary ex-soldier proves far more difficult than expected.
Requiring no prior knowledge of its predecessor, Sisu: Road to Revenge wastes no time plummeting audiences into a movie-long carnage-filled chase sequence. Mad Max: Fury Road is all over Helander’s sequel, a film that, like Miller’s iconic action film, takes place almost entirely on the road as Korpi is chased by arrays of Red Army soldiers. Although broken up into chapters marked by phenomenal, grand on-screen text, Road to Revenge unfolds as a continuous journey that seldom ever pauses to catch its breath. The movie, much like Korpi himself, keeps moving.
A lean action movie with the pacing of a speeding bullet, Sisu: Road to Revenge features comically implausible, crowd-pleasing kills and death-defying maneuvers. What initially feels like it will be a somewhat grounded adventure is upended entirely upon the first action sequence, which only slightly previews the insanity to come. Helander crafts an array of wild, intricate action scenes, each punctuated by a last-minute, laugh-out-loud maneuver that the term ‘over-the-top’ doesn’t begin to describe. Think Mad Max: Fury Road with shades of Inglourious Basterds and the ludicrousness (ludicrous, not Ludacris) of the Fast and Furious movies. As a result, there’s a silliness and lightness to Road to Revenge as, despite the sheer violence on display, we know that the silent and seemingly immortal protagonist is going to withstand whatever comes his way. If any longer, the film may have overstayed its welcome, but, thanks to a tight 88-minute runtime, Road to Revenge neve runs out of gas.
The silliness of Road to Revenge’s action shouldn’t downplay the extraordinary filmmaking that brings this action to life. Helander shows a true command of the screen with each and every action sequence meticulously engineered, choreographed, and shot. The camera movement is fluid, the shot composition is pristine, and the tension is palpable. There are action scenes in this movie destined to be rewatched in isolation on YouTube for years and years to come.
Jorma Tommila spearheads the action, featuring in nearly every moment of this murderous romp. Tommila doesn’t utter a line of dialogue in the film but manages to provoke care from the audience through quieter moments of reflection regarding his family and sweet interactions with his cute dog. Unfortunately, the film makes no attempts to build Korpi out in any emotionally meaningful way, rendering him an extremely by-the-numbers action movie protagonist. Tommila delivers a committed, physical turn and yet we know so little about Korpi that there is nothing to Sisu: Road to Revenge other than its admittedly well-crafted action. The plot is as straightforward as it gets, there are no twists and turns thrown in the mix, and emotional depth remains firmly on the side of the road. Those satisfied by pure carnage alone will come away having a great time, although those wanting something more substantial will likely have a rather hollow viewing experience.
Opposite Tommila is Stephen Lang, a formidable antagonist determined to make The Man Who Refuses to Die no longer live up to his namesake. Like Korpi, very little is known of Lang’s Draganov, other than he is motivated to kill Korpi as completion of the mission will see him freed from a Siberian prison and given a handsome amount of money for compensation. Lang definitely has fun here, sporting a fittingly over-the-top Russian accent like he’s been pulled right out of an ‘80s action flick. Like Tommila, Lang commits to the role, engaging himself in all kinds of extreme physical activity along the way.
Also featuring in the movie is Richard Brake, an always welcomed addition to a movie. Brake, who is known for his roles in Barbarian and Batman Begins, brings an unnerving quality to every performance, and Sisu: Road to Revenge is no exception. Brake plays Draganov’s boss, who commissions the murder of Korpi. It’s disappointing that a lack of narrative depth does not afford Brake more time on-screen.
VERDICT: 6.5/10
Susu: Road to Revenge is 88 minutes of comically implausible, crowd-pleasingly hilarious kills and death-defying maneuvers. Filled to the brim with silly and over-the-top yet intricately crafted action sequences by director Jalmari Helander, the sequel to the 2023 Finnish hit draws heavily on Mad Max: Fury Road for an action movie encompassed by one long chase with few, if any, breaks. Those eager for well-choregraphed action alone will come away more than satisfied, although viewers seeking a more substantial narrative with emotional weight will find themselves disappointed at the rather hollow viewing experience. Star Jomma Tommila commits to his role as the silent, seemingly invulnerable protagonist, while Stephen Lang and Richard Brake play effective, yet run-of-the-mill, villains. Propelling forward with the pace of a speeding bullet, Sisu: Road to Revenge never ceases to entertain, which, for those fed up with dark and overly serious stories, may be exactly what you’re looking for.