Sisu: Road to Revenge 2025 Movie Review
I am sorely remorsed to say I had more fun with the Nazis than I did with the Russians. They felt more dirty, had more personality and were ripe for the killing. The Russians feel more like literal soldiers. Like toys to be slaughter without any character. It got tiresome by the end of it.
Besides the swap of villians and trading gold for wood, this film is really just a cut and paste of the first film, and it shows. The killing is uninspired, the emotions are hollow and the motivation is as wooden as the cargo.
For instance, I understood why Sisu went to such lengths for the gold, as it’s quite valuable. The house on the other hand, seemed too far fetched to redeem. There were several times he could’ve gotten away no problem if he just left the house behind. Not to mention with all of the explosions and gunfire, and literal fire, that wood would’ve been about as valuable as the dirt they were treading. I understand suspension of disbelief, which was a key to enjoying the first one, but this was just stupid.
The violence level for the film also seemed to be taken down a few knotches when compared with the first. The deaths were not quite as gruesome and the russian soldiers just didn’t feel as ruthless as the nazi villians from the first film. Not to say the film isn’t violent, because it definitely is. Just saying it’s not quite on par with the first film.
Acting wise, it was on par with the first one. Loved the inclusion of Richard Brake, even if he’s on screen for a short amount of time. He’s one of my favorite D-list actors of all time! Stephen Lang does what he’s know for best and that’s having a commanding presence. I will say, he wasn’t quite reprehensible enough to me. It’s not Lang’s issue, more so an issue with the way his character was written. Jorma Tomilla is again the embodiment of Sisu. He is a great actor and owns the screen with his badassery almost the entire film.
Cinematography was pretty on point, and the director has a keen sense for keeping the camera on the action, which I appreciate more than the typical shaky cam quality we get with these kinds of films. I will say the location was better in the first film. Not to say the scenery wasn’t nice in this one, but I enjoyed the vast wartorn fields more than the deep russian forest locations featured here.
Overall, I would say wait til streaming unless you’re a fan. The film is literally a cut and paste from the first film, and the things that aren’t feel like a lesser product of what could’ve been or what was before. A shame, as in the right hands this could’ve been more than just an average copy of it’s former self.
