Director Jalmari Helander’s Sisu sequel successfully layers emotional appeal over a passion for brutal violence, which is sure to tickle the moviegoers’ fancy.
Jorma Tommila once again steps into the boots of Aatami Korpi, a 1940s Finnish war veteran, in the Sisu (2022) sequel Sisu: Road to Revenge.
Tommila is a man of few words on screen and in public, but on the red carpet in the private screening in late October, he tells me just enough to get me excited about what’s coming.
In Sisu: Road to Revenge, Korpi returns to former Finland ravaged by war, to his once blooming home—now reduced to a decayed wooden shack, old faded portrait, an empty bed, and a teddy bear longing for a hug.
Russians soon hear that “the legend” who slew over 300 Nazis in the first film and faced Soviet soldiers in World War II, has crossed the Russian border. A ruthless killer, Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), is released from prison to hunt him down. Draganov has executed countless soldiers and civilians. One more kill, and he will be rich and free; he has a “job to finish.”
Tommila redefines rage on the silver screen. Whether threatened by a gun, tank or a fighter jet, his inner boils in explosive fashion. Viewers sense it, but many short-sighted Russians don’t realize it until it’s too late.
Speaking to director Jalmari Helande before the screening, he promised the sequel would be faster, more emotional, bigger, and more fun.
It’s all that and more.
But can Draganov finish his job?
