‘Sisu: Road To Revenge’: A Bigger, Bloodier And Funnier Sequel

As Sisu: Road to Revenge proves, sometimes bigger is better. A sequel to 2022’s WW2-era ‘you-messed-with-the-wrong-guy’ Finnish action movie Sisu that draws clear and heavy inspiration from the John Wick franchise, Road to Revenge is more ambitious, silly and generally more fun than its predecessor.

The film has an incredible premise: two years after his previous adventures, the gold prospector elite soldier known as Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) returns home to the Soviet-occupied Karelia with nothing but a rickety truck and his trusty dog sidekick. His mission? To tear down his old family home from its enemy-infested surroundings and rebuild it with the same wooden planks back in Finland.

Unfortunately for Aatami, dubbed Koshchei the Immortal by his enemies, an old enemy is out to stop him. Enter Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the Soviet officer responsible for killing Aatami’s family and lighting the spark to make him a one-man army. Thus, a hunt with huge personal stakes for both men ensues.

A sequel with a great premise

Although it all sounds serious, the best part about Sisu: Road to Revenge is that it’s honestly quite ridiculous. Compared to the first film, which only dips its toes into true action movie absurdity right at the end, writer-director Jalmari Herlander’s heavily Fury Road-inspired tale of Finnish grit and determination is firmly rooted in the absurd from the word go.

All the best movies in this subgenre of tough guy action movies seem to understand that being a live action Looney Tunes cartoon is the secret key to success, and Road to Revenge is no different. Although the first Sisu is engaging and beautiful, it’s honestly pretty dour and depressing for a majority of the film, making its eventual turn into unreality distinctly more unearned.

But as Aatami silently loads the logs of his family’s home onto a truck lacking battle readiness, the premise strikes the perfect mix of absurdity and genuine stakes. His cargo isn’t just a bundle of wood, but the last remaining memories he has of his family before they died. It gives all the action in Road to Revenge a genuine level of personal investment for our silent protagonist, and every victory feels more earned.

Sisu: Road to Revenge is easy to go for a ride with

Jorma Tommila is once again great as Aatami, never saying a word but conveying a quiet intensity through pained eyes, furrowed brows and – of course – incredible violence… This is a pretty gory movie! Well in his 60s, it really is impressive how much Tommila carries the movie on his back without even a single line of dialogue. Indeed, Stephen Lang does most of the movie’s talking in a predictably enjoyable Russian general role as Draganov.

Equally impressive is Jalmari Herlander’s knack for crafting action scenes, fully utilising his bigger budget to craft some genuinely nuts setpieces. His inspirations from the works of Buster Keaton and franchises like Indiana Jones are fully on display here, and he shows a real comedic streak with some moments of action slapstick throughout.

Compared to other films in the genre, Road to Revenge follows in the steps of Sisu by progressing through its story more deliberately. It’s not going full throttle the whole time, and I did occasionally find myself wishing it would speed up again, precisely because it is a truly delightful film to watch when it goes top speed.

Yet those duller moments are admittedly few and far between, ultimately making this second outing in the world of Sisu an extremely enjoyable one. It’s got a better premise, more impressive action and higher stakes than its predecessor without sacrificing its heart, and that’s pretty much exactly what you want from a sequel like this. That makes it exceptionally easy to strap in and join Aatami on the Road to Revenge.

★★★½

Sisu: Road to Revenge is in cinemas now.