In the climactic moment of Sisu (2022), Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) crashes an airplane nose first into the ground, at speed, and walks away from the experience.  I guess this is what the Finnish title word means, which roughly translates as a white-knuckled courage that manifests when all hope is lost.  My knuckles would not be the only thing that was white if I was put into such a position.  Such a concept reminds me of how Father Mike Schmitz preaches against that sort of Christianity.  At the same time, as a Christian there will be occasions when you will witness the unbelievable.  Get ready of more of that in Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025).

It does not seem like Aatami is trying to be ready for much of anything at the beginning of Sisu: Road to Revenge.  It is a year after the end of World War II, and the Finn is crossing into what is now the Soviet Union at the wheel of a large-bedded truck.  The land he is entering had once been a part of Finland.  At the conclusion of hostilities, Russia had annexed the territory known as Karelia and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.  That is not all that happened.  During the fighting, the Red Army moved through this area and one of its officers, Yeagor Draganov (Stephen Lang), had murdered a wife and her two children.  The deceased happened to be Aatami’s family, and in response he had massacred over 200 Soviet soldiers before retreating into the rest of Finland, all of which had apparently happened before the first movie.  It is now 1946, and Yeagor is in prison in Siberia.  He is released by an officer (Richard Brake) of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB), the Russian secret service.  With Aatami back on the Russian side of the redrawn border, Yeagor is told that if he fixes the problem that he created, the disgraced veteran will be handsomely rewarded.  As for Aatami, who is accompanied by his dog, his only concern is getting to the house he once occupied, taking it apart, and transporting it back west.  Unlike what it says in the title, there is no thought of revenge, which had this Catholic thankful for the moment.  It should also be pointed out that there is not a lot of talking in this film, like its predecessor.  Indeed, the main character does not have a single line.  Instead, not long after getting on the road, Aatami begins to be attacked with increasing ferocity by armed men directed by Yeagor.  Aatami defeats each attempt on his life with a great deal of blood, and unbelievability, including taking out airplanes sent to bomb him with his truck.  To avoid the last plane, he drives the rig off the side of a cliff and into the sea.  He manages to get out, and float the lumber for his house, all on one breath.  Upon getting to shore, he comes across an old abandoned tank, which is remarkably still working.  What follows is one of the more improbable moments in my cinematic experience.  In order to get past a border check point, Aatami detonates a number of landmines he has strung across the back of the vehicle, which flips it over the fence and guards.  As my laughter died down, Aatami recovers enough to realize he is still short of the line of demarcation.  Thankfully, the dog gets away.  He is captured and tortured while being sent by train to Siberia.  Along the way, Yeagor reveals that he had been the one responsible for murdering Aatami’s family.  This is a mistake, of course, as the eponymous abilities kick in and Aatami proceeds to kill a few car loads of Soviet soldiers as he makes his towards Yeagor.  Hearing the danger before it arrives, Yeagor uncouples his carriage.  I almost hesitate to write what follows because it is almost more unbelievable than the tank gymnastics.  The car on which Aatami is left is transporting a ballistic missile.  Somehow, Aatami initiates its rocket and catches up with Yeagor in a hurry.  After a brutal and protracted brawl, Aatami unleashes the missile and that is how Yeagor dies.  From there, the severely injured Aatami manages to make it back to Finland where he reconstructs the family home.

The fact that Aatami’s primary mission in Sisu: Road to Revenge is to recover his family home slightly mitigates all the other awfulness.  Slightly.  Further, for much of the first half I wondered why the title had the word “revenge” in it.  I guess it makes more sense once Aatami learns Yeagor’s identity.  Before this, though, he is mostly just minding his business and trying to return to Finland.  Once he has his motivation for murder, then it clarifies everything else.  Because I have seen too many of these movies, and likely said the same thing about them, I will give the obligatory reminder that Catholicism does not approve of revenge and move on.  Outside of this reminder, I am not sure what else to say.  This cannot entirely be blamed on me.  Yeagor has the most lines in the entire movie, and the bulk of these are spent cursing Aatami.  I guess I could say that foul language is not Godly?  Of course it is not, but that should be unsurprising.  Instead, the best part comes at the end, and I do not mean when the credits roll.  Aatami is busy rebuilding his house when a group of people walk up to the construction site carrying tools.  He suspects they have come with ill intention, but instead the offer to help with the project.  Aatami is moved to tears by the gesture and accepts.  The only thing to add is that it is a grace that this should happen to him.  Some might argue that he is undeserving based on all the killing he has done.  Thankfully, God views things differently than we do.

Actually, “different” is probably the best way of describing Sisu: Road to Revenge.  Its gore and violence are not unique, which is why it does not get a full recommendation.  It is further diminished by the over-the-top stunts.