Sisu: Road to Revenge review
The wildest Grumpy Old Men movie yet.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Sisu: Road to Revenge
Directed by Jalmari Helander
Written by Jalmari Helander
Starring Jorma Tommila and Stephen Lang
Sisu: Road to Revenge Review
A little over two years ago the world was introduced to Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) in the action masterclass Sisu. It was a lean, violent and bloody affair that I decided to cover on this horror movie review website because I really wanted to tell everyone about it. At the time I explained the decision under the pretense that Sisu utilized top notch gore effects to achieve its endgame of chaotic good. With the release of Sisu: Road to Revenge…although chock-full of the best gore effects you’ll find regardless of genre…I admit that I’m covering it on this horror movie review website because I really want to tell everyone about it. Hey…I could have reviewed Wicked: For Good if I wanted to. It’s about witches! But I’ll save that to torture my co-host on a future episode of the Scare Value Podcast.
Sisu: Road to Revenge is, delightfully, more of the same from writer/director Jalmari Helander. Normally that could be read as faint praise at best. When it comes to the world of Sisu, however, “the same” means totally unpredictable violence and unexpected comedic moments with zero fat to dilute their effect. Our silent protagonist is, once again, just trying to get home. The most dangerous man in the world…just wanting to retire to a life of peace…and some idiot just has to get in his way.
World War II is over. As a result of a treaty Finland has ceded a portion of its land to The Soviet Union. Korpi lives in the area that now belongs to the USSR…and he wants to movie his home inland to start over. Being the most badass person on the planet…he takes the wooden residence down by hand, loads up a truck, and heads for the new border. Unfortunately, Korpi’s past is about to come calling.
Korpi’s legend revolves around the three hundred Russian soldiers he killed single handedly after his wife and two children were murdered. The man who murdered them is freed from his prison cell with one mission. End the legend he unwittingly started. People believe that Korpi is immortal. As we learned in the first movie…the truth is that he simply refuses to die. Now, with a madman after him, a house to transport and a dog at his side…Korpi wants to get to Finland and put everything behind him. Until, of course, he discovers exactly who is after him this time. Then the revenge mission begins.
Sisu: Road to Revenge doubles down on the violent old man concept of the original. It enlists Stephen Lang as the Russian psychopath who can earn his freedom (and a boatload of money) by killing Korpi. A task that no one has been able to pull off yet…but he is uniquely equipped for. Lang’s Igor Draganov enjoys his work. Especially when that work involves chopping people into little pieces…as he did with Korpi’s family once upon a time.
If you’ve seen Sisu…you know what you’re in for with Road to Revenge. It retains all the best aspects of the original film. That means a serious story combined with extraordinarily enjoyable over-the-top violence and gore. It’s amazing how well these movies keep a simple story grounded with the amount of excess it layers on top of it. It’s equally amazing how funny some of the most violent things you’ve ever seen can be. All while the protagonist of the story remains completely silent. Well…except of the occasional scream of anguish, of course. That’s the magic of Sisu. Road to Revenge serves up another slice of it to enjoy.
If you thought that transporting gold while pursued by Nazis was difficult…wait until you watch Korpi attempt to move his entire home while a madman and various groups of enemies try to end his legend once and for all. The early chapters of Sisu: Road to Revenge see Korpi (and his dog) fending off enemies in their truck. Motorcyclists, truck drivers and airplane pilots launch a vehicular assault from all directions. Eventually, the battle becomes much more personal. Draganov and Korpi are on a collision course. The unkillable force vs the unflinching psycho.
Sisu: Road to Revenge isn’t just another great chapter of Aatami Korpi’s improbable journey…it’s a fitting end to it. The original Sisu didn’t do much to tease a sequel aside from brief moments referencing what happened to his family. Road to Revenge picks up on those threads and makes a meal out of them. It seems equally uninterested in setting up a future adventure. If this is the last time we see the world of Sisu…it goes out on a high note. I hope that it isn’t. This is one of the most entertaining and unique action franchises out there.
Scare Value
Sisu: Road to Revenge is another wonderfully violent time with your favorite silent protagonist. Extreme gore mixed with extreme entertainment somehow wrapped into another simple storyline. In Sisu, Korpi just wants to get home. In Road to Revenge, he has to find a new one while unwilling to give up the one he shared with his family. Watching him transport logs while fighting off an endless supply of antagonists never gets old. These are the best action movies out there right now.
4/5
Sisu: Road to Revenge Link
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