Movie Poster

He's one mean motherfucker that you do not want to mess with.

# Review

“Sisu” is a Finnish term that roughly translates to tenacity and determination, especially in the face of extreme adversity. In this film Aatami (Jorma Tommila), a former Finnish commando, discovers gold by prospecting in the remote and barren Lapland. Aatami demonstrates sisu as he battles a platoon of Nazis who are after his gold.

I would describe Sisu as a quiet film with periods of high intensity. The film takes its time to build atmosphere and there are brutal action sequences which punctuate the atmosphere. As with the John Wick films, the main selling point of Sisu is the creative and violent action scenes. To that extent, Sisu does deliver; my favourite scene is the one involving the pond.

Unlike John Wick, which is polished and elegant, Sisu is grimy and gritty. Tommila’s Aatami is silent but very expressive through his expressions (or lack thereof). The villains, namely Aksel Hennie’s Bruno and Jack Doolan’s Wolf, were evil but also had some nuance. The story is nonexistent and is built around the action sequences, as well as around establishing animosity towards the Nazis by the audience. The script is very corny but the cinematography is good, such as the panning shots of barren Lapland.

# Conclusion

I can see this becoming a grindhouse cult classic.

# Overall rating: 7.3

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