You ain’t ever seen Lapland like this.

Sisu is one for the action-addicted, and if you enjoy Nazis being persistently hunted down and killed, or exploded, or various ways well, this is for you. You can even hear the distant echoes of Brad Pitt’s Lt. Aldo Raine stating the centre of everything Sisu, which is “…we’re gonna be doin’ one thing and one thing only… killin’ Nazis” but with a little added well, why not?

Set during the last days of World War II, with the Germans on retreat from northern Finland, we follow a man named Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila – who leads the entire film), a war veteran who’s very much alone and looking for gold in the Lapland wilderness. While he discovers some, his joy is short-lived because as he ventures back to his old hometown to cash in his findings, he crosses paths with retreating Germans who try to steal his gold and kill him. But you see, our main man isn’t any old villager minding his own business, he’s got a particular set of skills and a big part of that is staying alive whatever they do to him.

Written and Directed by Jalmari Helander, the film is set and filmed in Finland, but they decide to run most of it in English and that’s fine for the wider market. And why ‘Sisu’ you ask? It’s a Finnish word that doesn’t really have a specific translation but more or less describes someone who embodies unimaginable determination in the face of tremendous odds – something our lead man definitely encounters.

Spilt across seven chapters – or more so an intro, five chapters and an epilogue – that echoes a favoured approach from a certain Quentin Tarantino – the films really kicks off after those Nazi soldiers try to take his gold, because they fail quite gloriously, and all end up dead by Korpi’s hand. Think messing with the wrong guy in the vein of John Wick or Taken, but in the middle of nowhere and more rudimentary weapons to gather or implement, when the moment strikes.

From minefield antics, to below water throat-cutting invention, he really is one tough dude but the film is also layered with ‘legend’ stories, and genuine reasons for not only his fight for revenge, but also some story depth regarding his skillset and what’s happened for him to not only be in the situation, but also how he’s survived for so long.

Don’t misunderstand me, Sisu is genuinely batshit crazy, but the production team have implemented the talents of Finland-based Troll VFX, so as well as really brutal fight scenes, there’s numerous effortlessly smart demise setups and resulting scenes that feel oddly real, considering how unhinged the situation really is. And while the deaths can be quite gruesome, there’s definitely a dark comic effect embedded, unusually finding a balance between the reality of war and its destructive nature but also funny Nazi demises, which surely everyone welcomes.

Helander’s film is also helped by a guttural, even tribal (and that sense of Robert Eggers The Northman), and earthy score, from Juri Seppä and Tuomas Wäinölä, which enhances the scene and reflects the brutality of the atmospherics. So, in the setting of beautiful sweeping Finnish landscapes and striking scenery, with magnificent work from DOP Kjell Lagerroos, you’ve got a non-stop fight for survival in vast, open settings.

While, later on, the killing does start to get a little tiresome, and the big finale is a little bit silly in pushing the believability factor, you’ve got to admire the commitment and desire for truth from the co-starring cast that includes Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, and Mimosa Willamo, with lead spirit-fuelled ‘Sisu’ Jorma Tommila offering us a brutal performance of epic proportions.

Sisu is out now to buy or rent on Digital: https://amzn.to/3NWofwT

You can order it on Blu-ray: https://amzn.to/46Oj7Un or 4K UHD: https://amzn.to/3DeOZnp