Last November, I reported on a follow-up to 2023’s “Sisu,” which had just wrapped filming and was eyeing a 2025 premiere. More recently, we learned that the sequel is titled “Sisu: Road to Revenge” and was scheduled to hit theaters on November 21, 2025.
Suffice it to say, the film has now screened at two different genre festivals — Beyond Fest and Fantastic Fest — within the span of two weeks, and it has been generating considerable buzz. Reviews are nearly unanimous in their praise of the sequel: 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews, and 85 on Metacritic based on only 5 reviews. It’s still too early, but it looks promising.
Many are saying that the sequel is actually better than the original, which is music to my ears as the 2023 film, a deliberately over-the-top viewing experience, had bleak humor mixed with relentless action, often feeling like a 1940s-era Finnish take on “John Wick.” Much like ‘Wick,’ the main character proved nearly indestructible — surviving explosions, gunfire, hangings, and stabbings, always managing to rise again.
A trailer was recently released for the sequel, showing our disgruntled Nazi-killing hero, Aatami, determined to rebuild his house somewhere safe in honor of his murdered family. However, when the Red Army commander who killed them (Stephen Lang) returns, hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless cross-country chase ensues — a fight to the death, no doubt filled with clever action set pieces.
Jalmari Helander is returning as director, with Jorma Tommila once again stepping into the role of the seemingly unstoppable Aatami. Interestingly, while the original was filmed in Finland, production on the sequel shifted to Estonia this time around. It should be noted that Helander recently signed on to helm Millennium Media’s Rambo prequel, starring Noah Centineo.
“Sisu,” which earned $14M globally, was made on a $6M budget. It has since found a following via streaming, especially on Netflix, where the film was seen by millions. The sequel is reportedly operating on more than twice the budget of the original.
The film’s charm, if you want to call it that, lies in its creatively choreographed violence and the performance of 63-year-old Tommila, who played the grizzled, Nazi-slaying hero with minimal dialogue but maximum impact. I look forward to the continuation of this silly story.
It’s now been 13 years since "The Grandmaster,” and it doesn’t sound like Wong Kar-wai will be making another film in the near future. His future seems to be on the small screen.