Sisu (2022)
White knuickled-courage
This apparently isn’t as new as a movie as I thought - that’s how it goes sometimes when a foreign movie finally hits your country you know? A trailer got posted on youtube at one point, i happened across it and said “oh man, that looks like something i’d like” - then saw the trailer again when I went to see Wick 4. Well then, who am I to argue with it, especially when it hit’s streaming before Wick 4 does? Tonight we learn a little about words that just can’t translate properly and enjoy Nazis being punching bags again - on this night we behold Sisu.
Our story follows a man whose just as much a legend as he is a man. After deciding he’s had enough of war, he becomes a miner looking for gold. During World War 2, the Nazis are on the run, adopting a scorched earth policy as they retreat their way back to their homeland. A band of them come across the man as he’s heading in to town to cash in on his find - and what ensues is a long series of events that largely watered down translates to “should have left him alone” or “should have shot him earlier.” Land, water, and air - Sisu is a ruthless wraith of vengeance upon those who cross him, and there’s a pile of dead Russian soldiers buried somewhere out there that could pave a road to prove the point, and these greedy Nazis are about to learn it the hard way.
Acting here is good enough at the least. It’s one of those things where you never really feel like a character doesn’t get the treatment they deserve, from the quite force of nature of the main protagonist to the rather despicable bad guys. There’s some stand out moments here and there, such as the tank driver showing some respect at one scene, or just how often the main actor can really sell the brutal moments when it comes to pain and wounds. Everyone is speaking English here too with the exception of a few lines here and there - so the line deliveries are pretty well on point for what we’d expect going in based on the trailers. At times a scene might come off as a little cartoony - like bits of the mine field segment - but the actors (including the side ones) do a wonderful job of not playing into the cartoony elements and bringing it back down into a situation that’s serious and lethal even after you’ve just laughed over how over the top it might be.
The characters are… I mean, they are there. The main has a range of emotions, but his single-minded focus on what he’s doing doesn’t provide you with a bunch of development. That being said, he does have a past to him that helps you feel for his character more. Not that most won’t be able to connect with a person who beats up on WW2 Nazis. There’s a nice arc from oppressed to oppressors with the lady element of the movie in there, but the Nazi characters never really get passed being them dang, dirty Nazis. Effective enough for the movie - no one is supposed to like them, so just make them despicable. I guess someone could kind of try to dive into things about what makes the main character tick to get more out of the movie - but I don’t necessarily feel like it’s something that’s going to be necessary for the movie, or something most people really care with.
Finding gold is an experience.
When it comes to action, it does a good job. There’s plenty of scenes, with plenty of variances amongst them as far as whats happening. Sometimes it’s running, sometimes slower sneaky things. There’s some vehicle stuff - rather, more like stuff on vehicles than straight vehicle stuff itself. Gun play is here, but largely its a lot more close up personal than that, with knives and picks and fists. That said, most the bullets getting thrown aren’t in a competitive way in so much as one side shoots at the other until they get out of range or die. The minefield probably starts off with the biggest bang (har har), but I think some of the more close in personal stuff carries a good amount of emotion to it given the proximity of things. If you’re here for action, you won’t be disappointed - but I will advise it’s not John Wick, it’s almost feeling more like a western than anything else and the title cards really help intothat.
Really though, from mining gold to the man and his dog opening, there’s a lot of this that will make you feel like it’s a western. The violence might be a notch above what you remember from those old westerns too - this thing gets down right brutal. Yeah, there’s moments where the effects work stands out a little bit as such - like all the dug holes in the opening - but in most cases it’s just glorious for the effects hounds. Weaker stomachs might not appreciate it, as it definitely takes the time to make things look they hurt when it gets to that more personal scale - where as other times it can be a bit comical with things like legs flying about. It won’t be for everyone, and I will point out that although no dogs die in the movie, a horse sure does. That and a whole lot of people. Absolutely brutal.
Music is good here. The tune that first plays when the Nazis are introduce is pretty cool - probably the only part of the Nazis that should be called “cool.” The rest of the music plays into the moments for tension and peace, and it doesn’t sound bad at all. Line deliveries are good, and it certainly doesn’t feel cross-language dubbed at all, so that would probably make a bunch of people happy (even though I’ll still say audio dubbing half the time anyways because I can’t be bothered and i like the word dub). You won’t miss a line at all, and the Finnish lines subtitles work pretty good (as a person who usually leaves subtitles on, they are also pretty good here). Effects work also carries plenty of good sound work, so things like guns, engines of tanks, and explosions all carry a good amount of oomph to them.
Probably the least vicious violence in the movie.
If you like action movies and don’t have a weak stomach you’ll have a blast here. You’ll laugh at some of the on-screen deaths, and you’ll feel some tension for various people or animals on the screen. It’s a bit like a slasher movie where the slasher is the hero, and played out like a western in the middle of World War 2. If it sounds like an interesting mix, that’s probably because it is. I don’t really have a whole lot to complain about with this movie - when the acting is there it’s there, the effects are great, the violence is the hardest-hitting cartoon you’ve ever seen, and I think it’s mandatory to love Nazis getting beat up in anything, be they video games or movies.