After seeing Sisu in 2022 and talking to writer and director Jalmari Helander slightly thereafter, there was never a world where I thought we would get a sequel with star Jorma Tommila and the best companion in his dog, but alas we got Sisu 2: Road to Revenge. A movie that simply cannot be fathomable to exist, and has a figurative mountain to climb in regards to maintaining the energy excitement and adrenaline of the first movie, and somehow by magic essentially Sisu 2 somehow not only manages to create a worthy sequel but is arguably one of those very rare instances where the sequel is better than the first. So, strap yourself in and prepare for the gnarliest, most gruesome, cheer inducing and chaotic movie of 2025, SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE.
Jorma Tommila is back at Aatami Korpi, the silent killer after the end of World War II returns to his now Soviet owned Finnish home to dismantle his home log by log and bring it back to Finland to rebuild the home and family he has lost. Should be an easy enough roadtrip, but the Russian’s are mad at him laying them out along with some Nazi’s before so they enlist the help of prisoner Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang) to hunt down and kill Korpi – so he can kill the monster he created as he slayed his family. This sets off a turn of events between the two men that culminates in the most Looney Tunes Will E Coyote vs Road Runner antics (complimentary) seen outside of a Looney Tunes movie that will have the audience uproar with laughter and glee. While the journey to the ultimate third act is one that is brutal, there is nothing better than watching Tommila dismantle his enemies in new and creative ways – and that is what the entirety of Sisu: Road to Revenge is a dismantlement of body and form to ensure he can return to the life he had and wants to resume as best as possible.
To talk about performances in Sisu: Road to Revenge is near difficult because Tommila does not say a singular line of dialogue in the entire feature. He is speechless throughout, but the emotion is clear on his performance and expressions that he needs not to speak. There are moments of pure anguish that he displays perfectly, and satisfaction in his complete destruction of his enemies. While on the other hand Stephen Lang may be the most terrifying and bone chilling ‘villain’ of the year. His pure evil that he conveys is simply haunting and does it so meticulously and excellently it is no wonder why he typically does play the ruthless bad guy, it’s simply because of how good he is at it.
While there wasn’t a world where anyone thought Helander could make a sequel to Sisu, Sisu: Road to Revenge is a worthy, and even better sequel than anyone could have anticipated but the story appears to have run its now course. If this means the end of our story and world of Sisu, than so be it but if Helander can find a way to make a logical third, fourth, or even fifth installment than rest assure we will be seated because the level of the entertainment and pure adulterated bliss that comes from these movies is unmatched. Just unrelenting violence and vindication from start to finish makes Sisu: Road to Revenge the ultimate road movie, and one definitively worth the trip.
