Star Cast: Jorma Tommila, Stephen Lang
Director: Jalmari Helander
Sisu: Road To Revenge Movie Review Synopsis:
SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE is the story of a man who cannot die. Two years after the events of the first part, that is, in 1946, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) travels to Soviet-occupied Karelia to his residence. It is also the place where his family was brutally murdered, thus turning him into a killing machine. Aatami dismantles his old family house, loads the wood onto a truck and decides to travel to Finland to rebuild it in the honour of his wife and children. Meanwhile, the Red Army discovers Aatami’s presence on their soil. A top KGB officer (Richard Brake) summons Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang). Igor is languishing in jail and he’s the one who killed Aatami’s family. In short, Igor made him ‘Koshchei’, aka the Immortal. Hence, Igor is asked to finish Aatami and the legend associated with him once and for all. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Sisu: Road To Revenge Movie Story Review:
Jalmari Helander’s story is exciting. Jalmari Helander’s screenplay is captivating and this time, the cinematic liberties are there but not too extreme, unlike last time. The dialogues are very minimal.
Jalmari Helander’s direction is exemplary. Yet again, the protagonist is mute and certain scenes don’t have any dialogues whatsoever. Moreover, the stakes are higher and hence, even the scale is many notches higher. This means that the action scenes are more exciting and, in some scenes, even more gory. The initial chase scene is gripping, but the one involving airplanes is clapworthy. The scene involving the tank at the Soviet Border Station is also quite imaginative. Jalmari doesn’t give out his best initially; he reserves some for the final fight. The very last scene is unusual and heartening.
On the flipside, a few cinematic liberties, though not as extreme as those present in SISU [2022], are still there and they are very unconvincing. Gore is the USP of the film, but in some places, the makers go to insane lengths. The glass breaking in the train bogie scene had no relevance. The moment anyway was quite nail-biting and the glass needlessly added the bloodshed to the sequence. Lastly, the first part didn’t find many takers in India and hence, a question mark arises on the prospect of the sequel.
Sisu: Road To Revenge Movie Review Performances:
Jorma Tommila is simply unbelievable. To enact without any dialogue and just through the eyes is a feat and Jorma pulls it off effortlessly. This is a performance that perhaps deserves an Academy nomination. Stephen Lang is a welcome addition and he performs aptly. Richard Brake does well in a small role.
Sisu: Road To Revenge movie music and other technical aspects:
Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä’s music is energetic and much-needed in a film with such few dialogues. Mika Orasmaa’s cinematography is exemplary and adds to the film’s scale. The action is extremely disturbing and not for the faint-hearted. However, the imagination of the action team deserves kudos as a few stunts will leave viewers amazed. Troll VFX’s VFX is top-notch. Pille Küngas’s costumes and production design are authentic. Juho Virolainen’s editing is slick.
Sisu: Road To Revenge Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE is a brutal yet gripping sequel that scores with its imaginative action, striking visuals and Jorma Tommila’s phenomenal, near-silent performance, but is weighed down by excessive gore and some unconvincing cinematic liberties. With virtually zero following in India for the first film and such a niche, hyper-violent treatment, its box office prospects here are extremely limited, appealing primarily to a small segment of hardcore action buffs.