2022 - SISU, apparently the first in a series of two films.

Probably should have watched this film first instead of Sisu: Road to Revenge.  However both films are essentially the same plot our hero kills a hell of a lot of people but he does it very creatively.  

As it turns out the guy's name isn't Sisu.  Sisu is evidently a state of courage or something. The film is set in Finland.  Our hero, Aatami Korpi digs up a load of gold.  Unfortunately for him a German patrol finds out about his stash of gold and we are off and running as Aatami fights them off with probably some of the most graphic violence possible.

Is Aatami tough?  Well at one point he takes off his shirt and his body is covered in very large scars.  He's also clearly been working out at the Helsinki YMCA because he is very buff and he's got a dog just like The Road Warrior.  Those German soldiers are clearly outclassed in the brutality department.

 

This mayhem is once again orchestrated by the director Jalmari Helander.  Heander is very skilled at staging the action stuff in his films.  He has an interesting sense of humor, the violence at times gets mighty ludicrous.

Sisu is recommended for the action movie fans who like it tough and fast.

The film was written by Jalmari Helander, the running time is 91 minutes.  

 

2025 - SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE aka SI2U

From Finland comes the second in the Sisu series a film about one really pissed off citizen from Finland. He's about to raise holy hell on some of the Russian military after (what else) his family is murdered by them.  Apparently in the first film he took on the Nazi's but I guess he's an equal opportunity killer.

 

The film's rather sketchy plot has our hero transporting what is left of his family homestead by semi-truck.  In hot pursuit are the Russians led by the man who killed his family naturally.  The first half of the film is a road chase that is very reminiscent of The Road Warrior except this film wants to really top that film by being a lot more brutal.

 

In the second half of this film, the Russians finally catch this guy, put him on a train to transport him back to Russia.  Bad mistake, this Sisu guy after being tortured escapes from his railway car prison cell and wreaks even more havoc if that's possible.

 

What can you say?  The film is extremely well made.  The mayhem inflected on the cast is considerable.  If you are looking for a lot of graphic bloody violence but well staged graphic bloody violence this film should satisfy you.  The ending seemed a little over the top but in reality the whole film was over the top.

Written by the director Jalmari Helander, the running time is a brisk 89 minutes.

2014 - BIG GAME, far fetched but entertaining

After sitting through the disappointing and frankly ridiculous Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters I was reluctant to take on another tall tale of a film.  To my surprise Big Game for all it's outrageous story elements is actually very entertaining.

The film is set in Finland and involves a young boy on his first hunt.  He's desperate to prove to his father that he's got what it takes to be a hunter.  For reasons really confusing to explain he stumbles on to a plot to kill the President of the United States played by the always game Samuel L. Jackson.  After Air Force One is shot down by terrorists over Finland, the President must rely on the boy to evade the terrorists as they race through the forest for help.

 

The film manages to have it's tongue firmly in it's cheek but still walk the line as an entertaining action/adventure film.  This is no easy task but the director manages to orchestrate the action and story elements in some quite clever ways.  The young boy hunter played by the Finnish actor Onni Tommila interacts with Samuel Jackson very well.  Tommila makes a great action hero in the tradition of an Indiana Jones adventurer and Jackson seems to enjoy his sidekick role.

 

This film is a very tall but entertaining tale.

The film was written by Jalmari Helander and Petri Jokiranta the running time is 90 minutes.