Sisu

Sisu is a complicated concept. In a way it is pure stoic perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, but it is important to note that it is not just determination. It is also cleverness, that manifests itself when you most need it. Sisu is finding the solution to a problem, no matter what. This movie is definitely about that. Aatami, our "hero", finds the way.

Being old enough Finn to have known many people of this generation, this isn't even that much of an embellishment.

The movie is quite simplistic. The Finnish characters don't even talk until very late into the movie (which is actually another insight into Finnish culture). You have a goldminer with gold and a company of Nazis hunting him. You can't really go wrong with this storywise. You just have to make the characters and the action interesting enough. Do they? Yes. This might me kind of mild in the age of superhero movies and the more traditional action movies copying the superhero movies, but it works. In some ways kind of refreshing to keep it all more grounded.

While this might be more meaningful to me as a Finn, I would assume that if you enjoy mid-budget action, this will be right up your alley (although, at 6 million euros, the budget was much lower than what would be considered midlevel in bigger markets).

Who doesn't enjoy seeing evil Nazi's beaten to a pulp, torn limb from limb, and generally getting what they deserve? (Answer: other Nazis). Director Jalmari Helander dedicates Sisu to the art of killing goose-stepping fascists, pitting the despicable jack-booted German's against Aatami (Jorma Tommila), a hard-as-nails Finnish commando who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quit'. After Aatami strikes gold in the wilds of Finland, he makes his way back to civilisation to cash in his hoard, but crosses paths with a Nazi platoon - and we all know that Nazis like to steal gold!!

However, trying to take Aatami's treasure proves to be a big mistake: no matter what the German's do to him, he simply won't give up until he has gold back and every last Nazi is dead. The fact that the Finnish soldier is so indestructible takes some swallowing, until it becomes clear that his nickname - The Immortal - is to be taken at face value: this bloke has more lives than a cat. Once you wrap your head around the fact that Aatami simply does not die, the film becomes all the more fun, as the enemy come to realise that taking an immortal's hard-earned riches is an even dumber move than nicking a leprechaun's pot of gold.

In terms of style, the film is very Tarantino-esque, split into 6 chapters, each introduced with a big bold title; the violence is graphic, with lots of blood and guts. There's even a group of female Finnish POWs who lend Aatami a hand in killing the baddies - and there's nowt more Tarantino than a gang of women unloading machine guns into a truck of Nazis. The ending takes the craziness up to eleven as the nastiest Nazi, Bruno (Aksel Hennie), makes his escape on a plane, unaware the Aatami has hitched a ride. The action ends with a bang for both Bruno and Aatami, but only one of them is immortal...

One might argue that the plot is slight, and the film derivative in terms of execution, but if you're after a bit of mindlessly violent popcorn entertainment and found John Wick 4 needlessly overblown and overlong, this one should do the trick: it clocks in at a far more reasonable ninety-one minutes.

Sisu is about a gold miner who finds the richest of golds in an underground pit. He must trade the gold for cash to a bank. Although, he lives thousands of miles away from a bank and must travel on foot. On the way there, he encounters German Nazis along the way who want to steal it from him. He must fight throughout all of them in order to deposit his gold.

The first impressions of Sisu gave me that it was a bloody, fun, and good time of a gold miner killing Nazis. Since John Wick was heavily inspired by director, Jalmari Helander, that this movie is basically the German 1940's war version of John Wick. Jorma Tommila's (main protagonist) acting skills were badass from his creative surviving skills to kill the Nazis. The deaths were entertaining with the special effects and CGI of them. Overall, Sisu is good with its acting, kills, and story. I would recommend Sisu in theaters for a good action watch.

This was a pleasant surprise! We have Tarantino-inspired bloody action, silent and very charismatic protagonist, beautiful imaginery from actual locations in Lapland, really good soundtrack and some innovative fighting and survival scenes, and of course Finnish Sisu.

Jorma Tommila as the leading man does a phenomenal job. He has only one line in the whole movie (an instant classic), but he is acting very well just by using his face and body.

"He is not immortal, he just refuses to die."

Congratulations for the writer/director Jalmari Helander, the movie looks really good, flows forward easily and is overall very cool and original, despite the overused tropes of evil nazis and action. With just 6 million budget this looks much bigger.

Some nitpicks: the nazis speak English, even when talking with each other, which is kind of weird. But it makes sense for scenes with some Finns.

I really hope this gets much views all over the world.

Don't take the movie or events too seriously, just enjoy the ride :)

Heard this movie was an awesome old school action movie so checked it out, and it is good. Even if it is very over the top.

On the plus side the movie gives the audience what its been starved off. Brutal, adult action with minimal CGI. And with plenty of lines like "we're lucky he didn't kill more of us" it'll put a smile on your face if you miss 80's/90's style action.

On the negative side all the bad guys are terrible shots, and the hero is almost indestructible. Which maybe takes a bit of suspence out of the movie. Especially at the end. Much like modern superhero movies then? At least it got it half right.