'Sisu: Road to Revenge' Review: A Craftier, Sillier Finnish Action Sequel With Looney Tunes Energy
In Sisu: Road to Revenge, Jalmari Helander's violent sequel to 2023's sleeper hit Sisu, is sillier but bigger and pleasantly entertaining. Aatami Korpi, the silent one-man death squad known as âThe Immortalâ or âthe man who refuses to dieâ, goes on a Finnish-styled Fury Road. But this time, he's facing Mother Russia's Soviets.
Sony had to go Aatami Korpi-mode themselves for the bloody road-trip action flick. They saw Lionsgate's efforts to cultivate Aatami Korpi as their next John Wick. Like a child in kindergarten who was tired of sharing their toys, Sonyâs production company, Stage 6, screamed, âNO! MINE!â It's pretty funny because Korpi is no John Wick. He's friggin' Gromit if he were human, Finnish, and actually performed fatalities. I know I have an affinity for comparing many live-action works to animation, but Sisu: Road to Revenge is as cartoonish as they come (in the best way possible).
Image copyright (Š) Courtesy of SONY
MPA Rating: R ( For strong bloody violence, gore and language.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 29 Minutes
Language: English, Finnish
Production Companies: Stage 6 Films, Subzero Film Entertainment, Good Chaos
Distributor: Screen Gems
Director: Jalmari Helander
Writer: Jalmari Helander
Cast: Jorma Tommila, Stephen Lang, Richard Brake
U.S Release Date: November 21, 2025
World War II is over, and long after he decimated a whole Nazi occupation, Finnish commander turned gold miner Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) returns to Soviet-occupied Karelia, where he once lost his wife and child. Wanting to move on elsewhere, he dismantles his wooden house, loads countless planks into a truck, and transports a complete set of planks from his home to build it on peaceful soil. Unbeknownst to him, the Red Army Russians realise Korpi is back on their soil and want this hero, whose legend started there, gone. Prisoner Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang with a terrible but campy Russian accent), the commander who killed Korpi's family, birthing âThe Immortal'sâ rage and legend, is hired by a KGB officer (Richard Brake) to finish the Finnish man. As Korpi and his cute, loyal poodle embark on a road trip back home to start anew, he's chased by Draganov's forces, who attack him via planes, trains, and automobiles.
Sisu: Road to Revenge is more cartoonish than Sisu (complimentary).
Jorma Tommila stars in SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE Š 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
In contrast to Sisu, which was a conventional â80s action B-movie that became increasingly absurd as it progressed, Road to Revenge embraces the bonkers energy for both the better and the worse. Helander adopts a whimsical demeanour in contrast to its predecessor. The animated feel of this follow-up is reminiscent of the silent-era cartoons that were popular during Korpi's era, such as Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner from Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry. Korpi is silent; his actions speak for him, and he single-handedly raises hell for the people out to kill him. All this leads to feats of inventive slapstick and set pieces with comical energy. While operating as an action movie, you know the slapstick leads to violent, gory kills. There's a sequence of Korpi aboard a train having to stealthily evade sleeping KGB soldiers across the glass-riddled ground barefoot. This narrative is a simplistic road-trip movie in the vein of Mad Max, yet it plays like an R-rated Aardman flick. The escalating action sequences' fast-paced precision and craft captivate you, much like the enjoyable energy of The Wrong Trousers, characterised by silence and the set piece's imagination. Am I calling Herlander the Finnish Nick Park? Perhaps so.
I mean, this is a film where Korpi uses planks as a ramp for a plane and can trip up Charlie Brown-style before crashing and using a missile as a rocket. The grandiose outrageousness of each set piece, which is deconstructed by chapters, increases as Korpi treks across the occupied terrain. The defiance of physics is enjoyable due to Herlander's directional inventiveness, attention to craft in each set piece, and the memorable choreography and filmmaking, amplified by Tommilaâs entertaining physicality and amazing expression.
I miss Korpi killing Nazis.
Jorma Tommila stars in SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE Š 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
While Sisu: Road to Revenge succeeds as a unique craft, its technical aspects are clunky. I can overlook some of the uneven CG effects on the planes and explosions, given its low $12 million budget. Nevertheless, the editing is choppy, as some of the action sequences quickly transition to the in-action footage, but it always feels as though a shot or two is missing before the big explosion or the graphic kill money shots.
Although I appreciate this film dabbling in historical accuracy and the surprising amount of development â Tommila delivers an affecting showcase of warmth during an oddly emotional finale â the novelty of Sisu is gone due to the lack of Nazis. I may have forgotten Sisu and had no time to revisit, but I remember hooting and roaring in joy over Nazi death. The sequel had me roaring with laughter, which is rather intentional, but I yearn for the tonal grit and Grindhouse-like edge that the predecessor had. Itâs not as satisfying when the villains are Russians. Not even the inclusion of a campy and villainous Stephen Lang could suffice, especially pre-Avatar 3. I find it amusing that the movie became an Unc vs. Unc battle, but you know that being a solid, formidable foe is what Lang does best.
FINAL STATEMENT
Overall, Sisu: Road to Revenge is a fast-paced, bold, and frenetic 89-minute action sequel that never relents, providing a breezy, high-octane ride. It's inspired and confident in its new tone, adding the unique legacy of "The Immortal." But even if the movie is forgettable and loses the grit of its predecessor, Aatami Korpi solidifies his place as one of modern cinema's best action heroes.
In the next movie, let him 1v1 Feathers McGraw. Fight silent fire with fire, and heâs the baddest bitch in all of cinema.
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