A Worthy Sequel
Summary
Sisu: Road to Revenge delivers some of the best action scenes you’ll see this year and it’s never less than outrageously entertaining. It may get a bit too silly for some tastes, but I love movies like this and will happily watch it again.
Plot: Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, ‘the man who refuses to die’ dismantles it, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army commander who killed his family comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues — a fight to the death.
Review: I was lucky enough to be at the Canadian premiere of Sisu: Road to Revenge last night as part of the Toronto After Dark Film Fest. I loved the first movie and when I heard a sequel was announced my first thought was, why? Sisu didn’t require a follow-up however, I’m glad they did as this is even more outrageously entertaining than the first film.
Things like logic are long since in the rear view mirror and Road to Revenge ratchets the action up to eleven with some hilarious and at times gravity defying set-pieces. This sequel is funnier than the first film and really just feels like a live action cartoon as our invincible hero Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) faces off against the man who killed his wife and kids, Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang). It is of course packed with over the top kills, limbs being cut off and some of the best explosions I’ve seen in years.
Like the first movie, this is impeccably paced and rarely slows down giving us plenty of bang for our buck. Lang as always makes for a hateful villain although personally I think nobody tops the Nazis for the ultimate antagonists. Richard Brake also has a sizeable role as Igor’s commanding officer and his mere presence makes any movie better.
The music is once again awesome and really adds to the excitement of the action scenes. Speaking of which I think my favourite one is Aatami vs. planes which is truly spectacular.
I don’t think Aatami says one word for this entire movie but Tommila has such an expressive face that you can practically tell what he is thinking and we are always rooting for him all the way.
Some viewers may find it goes a bit too far in terms of silliness, but for me I was smiling the whole way through and our audience were cheering along with it.
Overall, Sisu: Road to Revenge is a worthy sequel to one of my favourite recent action movies and I will absolutely pick this up when it hits 4K. The action is amazing with some incredible explosions, hateful villains and arguably the best action movie lead character in years. It may go a bit too far in terms of ludicrousness but I loved every minute of it easily being one of the year’s best action movies.