Sisu: Road to Revenge marks the follow-up to the original 2023 film, which breathed new life into the action genre with its bravura set pieces. That spirit continues in this full-throttle sequel.
Road to Revenge doubles down on what made the first movie so absurdly memorable, but this one is an action movie lover’s delight on steroids. The movie features one refreshing, audacious, bold sequence after another, and it still isn’t afraid to go kamikaze with the blood and gore. This could be The Passion of the Christ of action movies.
The movie begins once again with the character of Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), a former Finnish commando who, in the last movie, was hiding his deposits of gold from the Nazis and brutally executing them. He’s known as Sisu, which means an individual of white-knuckle determination. He also still has a canine companion.
Aatami discovers where his family was killed during World War II and tries to live in peace. However, that doesn’t last long as Russian agents spot him in their territory and want him disposed of.
Stephen Lang costars as Igor Draganov, a prisoner in Siberia under Russian command. They hire him to take out Aatami, but there’s a connection between the two men. That’s the plot in a nutshell.
The rest of the movie is a series of audaciously violent action sequences that showcase Aatami’s ability to ambush his enemies. One of which shows a tank being flipped over in the air and another scene involves an extended train sequence that might have a missile hidden somewhere on one of the carts.
At a time when most action movies feel dull and repetitive, the Sisu movies give the genre the freshness, the anarchic spirit, and over-the-top lunacy it deserves. Road to Revenge feels skillful and creative and it’s in love with its craftsmanship. Not to mention the gore factor is ramped up to a ridiculous height that Tarantino would embrace.
Aatami is a character who continues to be stoic and borderline invulnerable, with zero dialogue, and is a relentlessly attacking machine from start to finish. I think having him team up with Mel Gibson’s Mad Max and John Wick would be a triumvirate of action cinema.
The movie looks sensational, it’s ludicrously and unrelentingly gory, and showcases its action in a way that leaves very few franchises of this genre with: Praying for a third installment.
Note: I didn’t place the first movie on my 10 best list back in 2023. This one will make the list.
Grade: A
(Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore and language.)
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