Time: 91 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Bloody violence, cruelty & offensive language
Cast:
Jorma Tommila as Aatami Korpi
Aksel Hennie as Bruno Helldorf
Jack Doolan as Wolf
Mimosa Willamo as Aino
Onni Tommila as Schütze
Director: Jalmari Helander

From the few reactions I saw of Sisu, it seemed that it would be an over the top bloody action thriller, and it certainly delivered on that.

Sisu is a pulpy genre revenge flick about a Finnish miner killing the Nazis who stole his gold. Comparisons have been made to John Wick, and I guess you could call him the Finnish Baba Yaga. The movie really focuses on the will of the main character, and how he will never give up and will continue on despite everything that happens to him. The movie is insane, ridiculous and bonkers for sure, definitely requiring a suspension of disbelief to get into. At 90 minutes, Sisu is the right length for a movie like this, but even then, it’s perhaps paced a little too steadily. The movie doesn’t offer a whole lot, there’s not much plot wise, and it doesn’t have much of an emotional pull. However, it works in its simplicity and leanness.

Jorma Tommila gives a great leading performance as a man literally too angry to die. While he’s largely wordless, he has a great on screen presence, and his physicality and demeanour makes him intimidating. The actors playing the nazis do a good enough job playing evil villains for the lead character to plow through.

Jalmari Helander’s direction is strong, and there’s a lot of good technical work here. The cinematography is stunning, taking advantage of the landscape, and makes good use of the fog and lighting. The action is entertaining and satisfying, with plenty of creativity and gore on display in these sequences.

Sisu is an over the top, entertaining and bloody action revenge flick. It knows exactly what kind of movie it is and absolutely delivers on it.