Sisu: Road to Revenge Review: A Visceral, Action-Packed Sequel With Stephen Lang’s Antagonist Turn Proves to Be a Worthy Addition

At one point, Stephen Lang’s Igor Draganov radioed in for the planes to unleash hell against Jorma Tommila’s Aatami Korpi in Sisu: Road to Revenge. It is one of the elaborate action set pieces that dominate this long chase movie, which sees the return of ex-Finnish Army commando Aatami being forced to revert to his old, violent ways. Besides, Aatami just wants to drive home to Finland after dismantling his family home before loading the lumber on his truck.

But peace remains a distant memory, as the introduction of Igor Draganov adds a much-needed stakes to propel the sequel to the next level. Igor isn’t just any enemy soldier since he happens to be the one who killed Aatami’s family during World War II. And while the war may have been over, the fact that Igor was released from prison by a high-ranking officer played by Richard Brake means Aatami’s life remains in danger. Igor’s mission is to get rid of Aatami at all costs, and he is even given the full authority to use the army at his disposal.

Jalmari Helander, returning to write and direct the movie, knows well how to elevate a sequel. It helps that he’s been granted a larger budget, allowing him to ratchet up the tension by going all out in the action set pieces. Masked soldiers on motorcycles in pursuit? Helander stages this sequence like he’s auditioning for the next best replacement in case George Miller wanted his Mad Max franchise in the hands of another qualified director. The truck vs motorcycle chase sequence is thrillingly staged with enough verve, and like the first movie, Helander doesn’t shy away from graphic violence and brutality.

And the planes that were mentioned earlier? Again, kudos to Helander for staging an all-out air assault against Aatami’s truck on the road. It’s crazy and it’s over the top, but the director knows it because logic doesn’t apply in the Sisu movies. All matters here are how propulsive this movie can go to keep the audience entertained from start to finish, and for that, Helander succeeds. Not to mention, he improves even better in this sequel by omitting a subplot — something that he previously did in the first Sisu.

Here, he doesn’t distract his sequel’s main storyline by taking a detour into a different direction as he firmly sticks his landing on focusing on Aatami’s survival against the relentless Igor and his army. The story is kept simple and minimal with none of the excess fat. It’s an action movie that wants you to sit back and enjoy the show as Aatami dispatches the army in the utmost brutal and gory manner. The sequel also clocked in at just 89 minutes, coupled with a pace brisk enough to maintain both consistency and efficiency.

The action is as visceral as it gets, mixing practical and CGI to mostly captivating results. And not to forget, some creativity thrown in for good measure, notably a scene where Aatami manages to take down an incoming plane using an unconventional method that you have to see for yourself. Sisu: Road to Revenge culminates in an all-hell-breaks-loose finale, taking place on a nighttime moving train, with Aatami going all guns blazing, even going as far as emulating a John Woo style by taking down the soldiers with a pair of Tommy guns. It’s an ultimate bloodbath riddled with bullet holes and gore, and the eventual face-off against Igor? Helander makes sure the showdown is worth the wait.

Tommila once again is one of the key factors that drives the success of the Sisu franchise, with his nearly wordless, no-nonsense performance anchoring the sequel. You can feel his rage, anger and even tiredness for going through hell and back, trying his best to stay alive while fighting against his nemesis, Igor and the army. Speaking of Igor, casting Stephen Lang as an antagonist may sound like playing it safe. But rest assured, his appearance brings a formidable quality to his sadistic villain character as Igor, whose primary goal is to eliminate Aatami.