At a glance
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Our Verdict
Sisu: Road to Revenge fires on all cylinders from start to finish. Director Jalmari Helander heard our cries for a movie that goes harder than the first, delivering in every aspect with action set pieces that are to die for. Coupled with Jorma Tommila and Stephen Lang’s performances and an impeccable score, there are really very few things to be said against this revenge-ridden sequel.
You ever wonder what would happen if Mad Max Fury Road met the Fast and the Furious franchise? That, my friends, is Jalmari Helander’s Sisu: Road to Revenge.
If I had a week, I couldn’t tell you all of the ways Helander’s sequel goes balls-to-the-wall for nearly every second of its runtime. Though, to be fair, I wouldn’t want to. Road to Revenge is one of those films that is absolutely essential to watch on the biggest screen possible, with the largest crowd that you can find, and with as few actual details as possible.
The first film is good, following Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) on his journey to cash in gold through Nazi occupied Finland, but it’s not great. It delivers on the brutality it promised, but everything about the first film – which, to be clear, I enjoyed – left me wanting more.
Road to Revenge is that “more” and then some, with the primary reason that you need to see it in the theater being that you deserve to hoot and holler at the screen the way the Fantastic Fest crowd did as Aatami absolutely mows through anyone standing in his way. There are at least three items in my notes with about 15 underlines under them because the moment was so big.
Second verse much bolder than the first
Appropriately, Road to Revenge’s journey is a little bit different than the first film’s. It’s more personal, which only makes the violence all the more delightfully earned. Road to Revenge takes place in 1946 – two years after the original. Aatami has returned to the shell of his home, where his family was brutally murdered during WWII. The saddened, battle-tired soldier slowly demolishes the home piece by piece, taking care to meticulously stack the lumber on the back of a truck with the intent to take it to Finland and rebuild to live out the rest of his days with his trusty pup.
And the Soviet Army – particularly Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang) – took that personally.
You see, Draganov is the man who slaughtered Aatami’s family, chopping them up piece by piece to save ammunition. He was captured at the end of the war, and he doesn’t take too kindly to the fact that Aatami has become a legend across the land. Draganov is released and granted the full weight of the Reds in order to stop The Koshchei (The Immortal) from achieving his goal of peace. Can’t have a guy who embarrassed your soldiers keep breathing when you’re living in a power vacuum, after all. Of course, Draganov is going to find Aatami much more difficult to best than his defenseless wife and children.
…it looks so good that I fully believed that a single man could accomplish all of the things Aatami does with a strong grasp of physics and a can-do attitude
Sisu: Road to Revenge is split into five chapters, each one more delightfully unhinged than the last. The set pieces in this film are impeccable in the most beautifully chaotic way possible. It amps up every single aspect of the first film, both in the danger Aatami and his faithful pup face, and the absolute hell he unleashes on those who wronged his family and dare to stand in the way of his goal.
Most importantly, though, is that it looks good doing it. All of the action is nonsensically extreme, but it looks so good that I fully believed a single man could accomplish all of the things Aatami does with a strong grasp of physics and a can-do attitude. Nonetheless, others may find it harder to buy into.
As I alluded earlier, it’s not just the amplified action that makes Sisu: Road to Revenge bigger and better than its predecessor, but the heart as well. Tommila delivers another completely silent performance (he has a single line at the end of Sisu, but there are no closing words from the warrior this go around), this time with his character’s sadness playing just as critical of a role as his rage.
Before he was a man just trying to cash in his gold. Now he’s a man just trying to rebuild after war ravaged his region and destroyed his family. He’s slaughtered a lot of Nazis and more than a few Reds. He is tired, his dog is tired, and they just want some well-earned peace. That longing plays through in spades, and is beautifully woven with the sadness that comes along with all of his incomparable loss.
Aatami looks on, determined to reach his destination.
Beauty in sound, and the silence
The juxtaposition of violence and sadness in the script require one hell of a score. The composer isn’t listed anywhere just yet (the film doesn’t release worldwide until 21 November 2025) but they did one hell of a job elevating every second of the action. Both sweeping and startling, the music of Sisu: Road to Revenge is essential to elevating its lead’s speechlessness and the action’s explosivity.
While bombastic at every turn, it’s Sisu: Road to Revenge’s ending that ends up being the ultimately pièce de résistance. To give any narrative hints would do both you and the film a disservice, but where the rest of the film is loud, it is quiet. Frankly, it’s also a billion other adjectives that would, unfortunately, give too much away. Suffice to say that you go to war with Aatami across the two films and, in the end, his closing moments are an utterly perfect experience for anyone who’s been along on the journey.
Aatami looks on with his lumber truck idling behind him
Sony Pictures
Should you watch Sisu: Road to Revenge?
Sisu: Road to Revenge ended up being my absolute favorite film of Fantastic Fest, and it was up against stiff competition with the likes of Black Phone 2, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, and One Battle After Another. It is big in every way it needs to be big, and small in the ways that it needs to be small. Jorma Tommila’s performance is both neck and heart-breaking, and Stephen Lang is ever the perfect monster on screen. Jalmari Helander absolutely outdid himself here – just be prepared for a real wild ride.
Sisu: Road to Revenge hits theaters 21 November 2025. UK fans can pre-order tickets from Odeon and Vue, while US fans can get them from Atom Tickets and Fandango.
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Author: Amelia Emberwing, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Amelia is a longtime critic, columnist and host who has spent a decade honing her skills in the industry. Formerly of major outlets like IGN and the FuturePLC portfolio, Amelia is accredited by both the Critics Choice and Television Critics Associations and is currently enjoying her time working independently and snuggling her dog, Rogers. Whether she's championing folk horror, gushing about heroes, or hyping up the smart, strong, exciting women in both fiction and reality, you can find her across social at @ThatWitchMia.