The best action films understand that their set pieces aren’t just about escalation of brutality, but a clash of immovable wills. There’s an inherent anguish to combat, as characters labor to overcome not just their own vices but the strengths of their enemies. The movies that allow some of that madness to bleed onto the screen are most compelling, and thankfully, that’s exactly the approach director Jalmari Helander takes with Sisu: Road to Revenge. Sillier and more propulsive than the first, Sisu: Road to Revenge crafts some of the craziest fight set pieces ever put to screen. But it all acts as grisly window dressing for the film’s beating heart: there’s nothing more human than getting revenge.
While the film is a sequel to Helander’s 2022 sleeper hit Sisu, Sisu: Road to Revenge has a story and an entry point that are accessible even if you haven’t seen the original. The film opens with former Finnish Army commando Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) returning home to his house in Karelia, Finland in the 1940s. Korpi is a magnet for pain, even as he seems allergic to dying; his wife and children were brutally slaughtered during World War II, and after the war, Korpi takes it upon himself to dismantle his family’s home, load it onto his truck, and drive off to rebuild it elsewhere with his dog Ukko (canine star Simba) in tow.
But man and his best friend have barely made it onto the uneven dirt roads when they’re pursued by Red Army commander Yeagor Dragunov (Stephen Lang, delightfully hamming it up with an over-the-top Russian accent). Dragunov has been assigned by a KGB officer (Richard Brake) to eliminate Korpi, and relishes the opportunity to kill the man responsible for murdering so many of his troops (the tally will only increase by the time the film ends). Korpi, for his part, has been looking for a vessel to hold his anger and anguish and, in turn, anticipates the showdown with Dragunov.
That’s really all you need to know before Sisu: Road to Revenge literally goes off the rails (a stellar nighttime train sequence houses the film’s most brutal and slapstick moments). Imagine if Mad Max: Fury Road took place in the Finnish countryside, and every conceivable combination of vehicular warfare was brought to life with practical effects and entertaining vitality. If you’re wondering who might win in a fight between a cargo truck and a fighter plane, this film provides the gory, blood-soaked answer — laws of physics be damned.
Another standout moment involves explosives being used to propel a tank over a border protected by Red Army troops; it’s hard to imagine what Helander and his choreography team might have said “no” to when crafting set pieces, as they seem to relish being able to craft every conceivable permutation of conflict. It’s a match made in a sadistic heaven: Dragunov has bodies and machines to spare, and isn’t afraid to throw everything and the bomber plane’s sink at Korpi. Korpi, for his part, is a bottomless pit of rage, and is looking for enemies upon which to inflict it.
Heikki Leis / © Screen Gems / Courtesy Everett Collection
Sisu: Road to Revenge is sustained by its over-the-top set pieces, but what makes it watchable is that it’s unafraid to embrace its absurdity. There’s a tense moment where a bloodied Korpi is making his way through a sleeper car housing Red Army soldiers; one of the soldiers drops a bottle on the ground, and realizing he can’t sidestep the shards without waking up the soldiers, Korpi walks on them. When he realizes a soldier is coming back from the bathroom, he bends down and hides under the bed, only for his hand to get caught in a mousetrap. It’s comical bad fortune worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon, but its twisted sense of humor fits perfectly with the world Helender has made. There’s extreme bloodshed and also extreme whimsy, and those two balance each other out well.
The film occasionally takes a break from severing limbs, shanking arteries and blowing up motorcycles to offer some reflections on how the horrors of war leave all who participate unable to not view violence as a way to solve their problems. There’s also a touching moment near the film’s end when the guarded Korpi has to learn to trust the surrounding community to help him rebuild. These moments are sprinkled in judiciously, so they feel like needed and natural pauses in the film’s narrative rather than forced moments of introspection. Helander knows what audiences want in a second round of Sisu mayhem, and crafts a blood-splattered, kinetic carnage fest that will satiate even the most bloodthirsty viewer.
Sisu: Road to Revenge hits theaters on November 21, 2025.
This review was originally published in September, following the film’s premiere at Fantastic Fest.
Release Date
November 21, 2025
Runtime
89 minutes
Director
Jalmari Helander
Writers
Jalmari Helander
Producers
Petri Jokiranta, Mike Goodridge
You can view the original article HERE.
