“Bigger, louder, and significantly dumber. SISU: Road to Revenge trades the gritty myth-making of the original for Looney Tunes physics and over-the-top spectacle. It’s a fun ride, but don’t expect it to make sense.”
The 2022 sleeper hit Sisu introduced the world to Aatami Korpi, a Finnish legend who refused to die. It was a gritty, violent, and semi-grounded fable about a man pushing past his limits. Its sequel, SISU: Road to Revenge, looks at that grounded tone and says, “Forget that.”
This sequel is an exercise in escalation. It takes the most ridiculous moments of the first film and turns them into the baseline for the entire 90-minute runtime. While the charisma of its lead remains undeniable, the film shifts genres from a wartime western to a live-action cartoon.
The Plot: Moving House (Literally)
The premise is simple, personal, and absurd. Following the war, Soviet forces occupied parts of Finland. Korpi (Jorma Tommila) returns to his land only to find his home destroyed. Rather than fleeing, he dismantles what remains of the house, loads the logs onto a truck, and decides to drive them across the country to rebuild it somewhere safe.
Standing in his way is a Red Army commander, played by Steven Lang (Avatar), who has a dark history with Korpi involving the murder of his family. Lang brings a much-needed gravity to the villain role, providing a “safari hunter” vibe—he knows he is hunting a lion and treats the legend with a terrified respect.
From Top Gun to Hot Shots!
The biggest criticism of Road to Revenge is the tonal whiplash. Where the first film felt like First Blood, this feels like Hot Shots! Part Deux. The action set pieces defy not just gravity, but all logic.
The Highlights of Absurdity:
- The Plane vs. The Truck: In one sequence, a fighter jet tries to crash into Korpi head-on. Korpi releases the tie-downs on his logs, slams the brakes, and the logs slide forward to create a perfect ramp for the jet to launch off of.
- The Tank House: Korpi eventually commandeers a Soviet tank, straps his house logs to it, loads it with dynamite, and uses an explosion to rocket-jump the tank over border traps.
- The Rocket Train: The finale involves a V2 rocket strapped to a train cart, propelling Korpi at hundreds of miles per hour.
The audience laughed during these scenes—not at the movie, but at the sheer audacity of it. It is Wile E. Coyote violence with Rambo gore.
The Legend Still Has It
Despite the cartoon physics, Jorma Tommila remains a force of nature. He barely speaks a word, yet conveys immense emotion, rage, and exhaustion through his eyes. When he touches the charred remains of his home or protects his dog, you feel the weight of his history.
The film also offers a definitive conclusion. Unlike the open-ended nature of the first, Road to Revenge wraps up Korpi’s story (and the fate of the villain) in a satisfying, albeit gruesome, manner. It answers the question: Can this man ever find peace?
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Jorma Tommila: He still commands the screen without saying a word. | Cartoon Physics: The action scenes are impossible and break immersion. |
| Steven Lang: A fantastic addition who elevates the villain role. | Tonal Whiplash: It abandons the gritty tone of the first film for parody. |
| Satisfying Ending: Offers a true conclusion to the Legend’s story. | Missed Depth: Hints at a backstory between Korpi and Lang are never fully explored. |
| The Dog Lives: The most important part of any action movie. | Plot Armor: Korpi survives situations that would kill Superman. |
SISU: Road to Revenge: SISU: Road to Revenge is an "above average" action film that is entertaining if you adjust your expectations. If you go in expecting the gritty, tense atmosphere of the first movie, you will be disappointed. This is a loud, dumb, fun popcorn flick where an old man fights fighter jets with logs. It’s a 6/10 experience—fun for a weekend watch, but it leaves you wondering how much better it could have been if it had taken itself just a little more seriously. – Asmodeus