Sisu: Camino a la vengaza

Sisu: Road to Revenge is basically a live action rendition of Looney Tunes with plenty of over the top laughs and slapstick worthy kills throughout. It's a bigger, more personal and absurd sequel that knows exactly what it is and executes it efficiently from the moment it starts. Dialogue is generally kept to a minimum, allowing the story to be mostly communicated visually which continues to be extremely satisfying.

Jorma Tommila is once again a man of few words who brings an unwavering determination and steely resilience as he really gets put through hell and back. There's enough context given at the start to understand why he's doing this which keeps it emotionally investing enough. Stephen Lang is perfectly cast as a ruthless villain with no morals so his inevitable comeuppance can land the way it should.

Jalmari Helander's direction delivers another slick yet simultaneously dirty looking film that isn't afraid to get pretty brutal when it comes to its main character's suffering and his writing has an effectively simple structure. The score by Juri Seppä & Tuomas Wäinölä is suitably rousing and Mika Orasmaa's cleanly shot cinematography ensures nothing is missed in most of the action sequences.

I was genuinely excited that Aatami's story continues. I loved the first film, and the moment it became clear there would be a follow-up, I was immediately interested. "Some men fear death, others walk straight to it." that's Aatami in a nutshell, once again.

Right from the start, this film feels bigger: higher budget, more scale, more impact. Bigger, better, bloodier.

What I really appreciated is that the narrative style from the first film remains intact. The chapter structure, the quiet intensity, the mythical way Aatami is framed, all of that returns. "Violence is a language and he speaks it fluently." Aatami is once again portrayed as more legend than man.

Stephen Lang as the antagonist was a real highlight for me. He's simply built to play men who feel dangerous the second they enter a frame. "They thought the legend was over. They were wrong." And that's exactly the vibe the film carries when Lang shows up.

As for the action: uncompromising, raw, and extremely entertaining. The brutality remains, the intensity rises and yes, the ending goes a bit over the top, but that fits this world and the tone completely.

"Pain is temporary, purpose isn't." That line captures the drive behind Aatami's journey.

Thematically, the film also stays consistent: "Revenge doesn't ask questions, it answers them." And the story follows that philosophy direct, brutal, and without hesitation.

If you loved the first film, this is a strong continuation. If you love 80s-inspired action films, even better. And for everyone else, this is a stylish, ruthless revenge trip that knows exactly what it wants to be.

Ok, we can all agree many successful journeys-to-wherever narratives ratchet up the action sequences to crescendo into bigger, better, bloodier, and Sisu 2 is no different. You'll enjoy the passing of each chapter, just so long as you don't think too much about logistics or motivations. The largely dialogue-less screenplay benefits from zero zingers and relies on the emotive countenance and eyes. Grunts, groans and growls aside of course. In short, this is a good use of your movie viewing capital as it delivers a well-paced tale of loss, struggle, and sweet, sweet - and yes, very bloody (though not overly gruesome) - revenge.

Having loved the first film I went to watch this in the cinema worried it wouldn't anywhere as good. How wrong was I?

It's every bit as good as the first one and two of the Sisu moments were so ridiculous they were simply EPIC.

Won't say much more about the actual plot and film as it's not needed just go into this with the love you had for the first one.

Roll on part 3 please.

This was an insane trip from beginning to the end. It blew the first one outta the water on every front. The action, way better. The villain, way more menacing. This movie actually was emotional and made me feel things, especially the end. Effects we're also great. While the story is what it is like with Sisu 1, I think this just has more. Simple but done well.

This is easily the best action flick Finland has made but I think it might be my favorite ever. The action is that good, with some of the most creative kills I've seen.