SISU was one of the top action movies of 2023, and for the most part, the film offers a satisfying conclusion with its ending. Somehow, though, Jalmari Helander has followed it up with a sequel. In all honesty, I didn’t think a Sisu 2 would work. And you know what? Sisu Road to Revenge doubles down on everything the first film did, and swings for the fences with a bat large enough to take down a plane.
In the first film, the war was coming to an end, and with Finland now turned against the Nazis, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), the immortal known for killing 300 Russian soldiers, spends 90 minutes tearing through Nazi soldiers who are trying to steal his gold.
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Now, in Sisu 2, the war is over, the Soviet Union has taken over Finnish territory, and left many Finns without a home. For Aatami, he’s not quick to leave his home behind. Only instead of standing his ground in now Russian-controlled territory, Aatami is picking it up log by log and bringing it to Finland’s newly redrawn borders.
Sisu Road to Revenge offers bigger action set pieces and louder explosions than the first.
But when a legendary man who has killed hundreds of soldiers on his own appears vulnerable, it’s time to take him out. To do so, they turn to Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang) to get the job done and punish Aatami for his violence. But his nickname “Immortal” is going to get in the way.
Where Sisu offers brutal personal kills, Sisu: Road to Revenge offers boisterous and bloody set pieces. Aatami just keeps moving in a straight line, whether he is on a train or in his truck. While I dislike the trend of comparing everything to cars and trucks, particularly in the context of Mad Max: Fury Road, Sisu 2 is easily the closest film to earning that comparison. As Aatami is trying to return to Finland’s new borders, he’s assaulted by war planes, motorcyclists in armor, and Molotov cocktails.
Sisu 2 is one giant chase up to a finale as Aatmi tries to bring his memories with him to a new life. Each subsequent violent attack that crashes into Aatami is bigger and more absurd than the last. If the first film was a slow-building Western, Sisu: Road to Redemption is a kinetic and unyielding rush toward a finish line that leaves its foot on the gas pedal.
Each mile Aatami moves forward in the film is a firefight.
The duality of director Jalmari Helander‘s action pacing across both films highlights his understanding of the genre. However, the brutality that we saw from the first kill to the last in the original is replaced with over-the-top sequences that prioritize spectacle over the crunching impact of bodies on bodies. It’s not a negative, but it is different.
The two films may be different in their approach to action, but they equally pay off. Aatami Korpi is too angry to die. That’s his schtick. But what makes him endearing is how Helander doesn’t rob him of his emotions, which is more on display in Sisu Road to Revenge.
While the immortal Aatami survives explosions and crashes galore, he’s never just worried about himself, but also for his dog. Throughout the first two acts, his companion is just as essential to him as transporting the logs that made up his family home. The love of his family and his gentle care for his puppy give Aatami depth. But it also highlights how love, in this sequel, fuels his rage.
Stephen Lang is a great counterpart to Jorma Tommila’s Aatami Korpi.
For his part, Stephen Lang does little more than play a mustache-twirling Soviet operative who created the legend of the Immortal, having murdered Aatami’s wife and sons. Where Aatami’s pilgrimage to his old home was a highlight of his grief, once Lang’s revenge comes into focus, everything becomes about revenge. This man is why Aatami became who he did, and why the legend began. Aatami’s streak of being too angry to die starts with avenging his murdered family.
Sisu Road to Revenge is better paced than the first film; it lacks the white-knuckle hand-to-hand fights that gave the first film the resounding gasps. Still, it’s been replaced with some of the most outrageous stunts we’ve seen in action cinema this year.
Additionally, Sisu 2 also captures a slapstick comedic element to its ultra-violence in a way that the first film didn’t. Jalmari Helander has captured comedy in violence and the thrill of the chase without ever sacrificing the blood geysers or impacts that make you look away from time to time.
Aatami Korpi and Sisu 2 belong in the annals of action cinema history.
Finally, as the film’s lead character is once again a vision of rage and resilient grit, his silent performance is excellent and fits perfectly in the annals of this generation of “wear every injury you collect” and still kill every single baddie along the way. Jorma Tommila deserves more action, and his ability to consistently meet the physical challenges in front of him shows a dedication to the genre that can’t be beat.
With little dialogue, Director Jalmari Helander has once again demonstrated that fight sequences can speak just as loudly narratively as words can. While the film may not be perfect in terms of story cohesiveness (or Stephen Lang’s accent), Sisu Road to Revenge is still a movie that prioritizes action, to the point where almost every big set piece received a raucous round of applause from the crowd. It’s just a bloody great time at the movies.
Helander’s love of action cinema and physical comedy is on full display, as well as his creativity for mayhem. While I don’t want to go back on a Sisu journey for a trilogy or prequel, I am anxiously waiting to see what Jakmari Helander does next. I hope it’s action, and I hope it’s Finnish as hell.
Sisu: Road to Revenge screened its world premiere as a part of Fantastic Fest 2025.
