Sisu Review
Sisu (2022) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Jalmari Helander and starring Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo, Onni Tommila, Tatu Sinisalo, Vincent Willestrand, Arttu Kapulainen, Ilkka Koivula, Severi Saarinen and Aamu Milonoff. In the mid 1940’s, while the Lapland War is happening, Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) finds some gold and takes down some Nazis in a fast-paced action film in the vein of Mad Max by director Jalmari Helander, Sisu. This new movie is wall-to-wall with adventure scenes and killings that will make other action movies these days seem like a trip to grandma’s house in comparison. As a man who has lost everything and has a loyal grey dog companion that seemingly feels invincible, Tommila excels in the type of role that could be reminiscent of Stephen Lang’s part in the Don’t Breathe films because of the actors’ ages and the violence that is involved with their characters. Aatami is the type of hero you cheer on throughout and Sisu is a movie experience like no other.
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Bruno (a wicked Aksel Hennie) and Wolf (Jack Doolan) are the key villains who we meet at the beginning of Sisu. When Bruno discovers the gold that Aatami has discovered, all hell breaks loose as Aatami doesn’t take any prisoners in a fight for his life which starts when he runs a knife right through a guy’s face. Mimosa Willamo expertly serves as Aino, one of the raging mad females who have been kept hostage (and more than probably raped) by the Nazis. The women who are with Aino, like Aatami, are mad as hell and aren’t going to take it anymore as the film’s plot progresses in a fast and furious fashion. You’ll want to see Aatami get his fortune and take down every no-good bad guy in the film in the process. It isn’t easy to kill Aatami. You could re-title this movie Die Hard because no matter what the Nazis try to do to him, Aatami comes back with a vengeance. You can’t hang or drown Aatami because he’s relentless with skill sets that would give the best action heroes in Hollywood history a run for their money. Onni Tommila portrays tank driver Schutze who also has a mean streak like the other key villains in the picture. This movie is chock full of heavy villains who you can’t wait to see get their just desserts. This movie is very precise in terms of its staging (and editing) of action scenes which are all done like gangbusters. There are no holds barred in this picture from a scene where our female characters take out some key heavies through rapid gunfire to a sequence on a plane which may be one of the most tense filled action scenes at the movies this year. During the course of this film, you expect that maybe our bearded hero, Aatami, may yell out at one point, “You can’t kill me motherf’ers” just like Samuel L. Jackson did in The Long Kiss Goodnight. That doesn’t happen in Sisu but that concept is on hand all throughout the film when considering the character of Aatami who has nothing left in his life except his dog and his gold and must fight to maintain his newfound fortune. This very violent action picture is not without its flaws. It’s too gory and too violent at times for its own good. It’s almost impossible not to flinch at some of the gross kill sequences in the picture. Still, the acting by Tommila is fine. He makes the audience root for his character who single-handedly kicks the butts of the major villains here in such a way that the movie never stops maintaining audience interest throughout. Although Sisu has admirable non-stop action, it’s a bit light on character development while the plot development is basically the simplicity of a man fighting for survival. But, that’s all you need in a quick, well-paced picture like this one. Director Helander keeps the movie moving at a breakneck pace and it’s like a roller coaster ride watching this picture. Think of the old classic Western movies, only more gory. Sisu ends with a clever conclusion set in a bank that will only make audiences like it even more. The fight for gold has never been more exciting than in the premise employed in this movie. It is certainly on the same level as the Mad Max films in terms of sheer entertainment value and it would be great to see a sequel to Sisu in the not-too-distant future. Rating: 8/10 Leave your thoughts on this Sisu review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, and Flipboard.
