Sisu: Road to Revenge is the highly anticipated sequel to Jalmari Helander’s 2022 cult hit Sisu, a film that carved its place in cinematic lore through its brutal, stylised portrayal of resilience and revenge.
As Sisu: Road to Revenge opens, we’re reminded … “Sisu is a Finnish word that cannot be translated. It means a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination. Sisu manifests itself when all hope is lost.”
Indeed, that word defines the film’s unstoppable protagonist, Aatami Korpi, a silent and incredibly skilled ex-Finnish commando who, in the 2023 release Sisu, singlehandedly took on – and decimated – a platoon of Nazis retreating from his native home in Finland, during the last desperate days of World War II. A mix of gritty war drama and extreme and wildly inventive action, Sisu ignited a passionate audience that experienced the non-stop ride in cinemas, and millions more via home viewing.
Now, the legendary Aatami is back, and on the road to revenge. At the end of World War II, we find him entering a Soviet Border Station to continue his journey in the area that had been part of Aatami’s native Finland before it had to cede this territory to the Soviet Union. Desperate evacuees had been forced to flee across the border to Finland. Most of them will never see home again.
But Aatami is on a mission. Driving through a landscape filled with destruction, he returns to the log cabin home in which his family, including two young sons, had been brutally murdered. As a tribute to their memory, Aatami takes the structure apart, log by log, to rebuild it somewhere safe.
Meanwhile, the Red Army commander Yeagor Dragunov (Stephen Lang) has been given a mission – to kill Aatami. The two men have a history: Dragunov and his men destroyed villages that included Aatami’s home, and Dragunov is now on the hunt for the legendary figure, who had killed countless Red Army soldiers during the war.
The tragic and brutal history between the two warriors, and the backdrop of a desolate post World-War II Finland / Soviet Union, sets up a dynamic and electrifying battle for the ages, in which the embodiment of Sisu takes on his greatest challenge, in his most stirring and action-packed odyssey.
After the events of Sisu, ex-Finnish Army commando Aatami Korpi may have been expecting a well-deserved rest. However, writer-director Jalmari Helander knew that there was more of the character’s story to be told. “Sisu: Road to Revenge takes place two years after the first film, with Finland ceding approximately ten per cent of its territory to the Soviet Union,” he summarises. “Aatami has lost his family, and the only thing he has is his home, but the home is now part of a different country. So, Aatami decides to take his home back from the Soviet Union.”
That decision leads to a no-holds-barred journey that sees Aatami pursued by Dragunov and his mercenaries, one of whom is wielding a Molotov cocktail; motor mayhem involving motorcyclists and, eventually, tanks attempting to unleash hell on Aatami; planes opening fire – and dropping bombs – on him; and, finally, Aatami wielding … a missile … in a last-ditch attempt to turn the tables on Dragunov.
Petri Jokiranta has produced Helander’s feature films over the past seventeen years and has been a close partner in developing the two Sisu pictures, for their joint company, Subzero. ‘Petri was invaluable in putting this film together,” Helander explains. “My original idea was to have Aatami called up by the army for another mission, but Petri argued that it’s better for Aatami to do what he does best. Trouble needs to come to him, instead of him trying to find it.”
Jokiranta, in turn, points out that audiences identify with Aatami’s challenges, and want to see him succeed. “The starting point for these films must be simple and effective. For the action fans, there must be innovative action. On top of that, the story and mission must be relatable.”
Jokiranta further notes that with the new film, Helander has created another epic adventure for Aatami, taking the stoic and heroic figure’s journey to the next level. “An action hero must face great obstacles to overcome uniquely,” he states. “Aatami’s defining traits are ingenuity and perseverance. With that as our core and heart, we wanted to create inventive, well-structured, and powerful action scenes. Sisu: Road to Revenge is a relentless and uncompromising action story – and one hell of a ride.”
Producer Mike Goodridge confirms that Helander would not have made a second chapter of Sisu without a worthy idea that would build upon and exceed the high bar he set for the original. As Goodridge elaborates, “In this story, our hero goes back and dismantles his house to take it back with him to Finland. This is essential to Aatami’s story and launches a gripping continuation of the Sisu saga.”
Goodridge also notes that it was Aatami’s uniquely heroic qualities in Sisu that thrilled audiences around the world, and he believes that excitement will grow even stronger with this new installment: ‘I think Sisu really caught the hearts and imagination of the global audience because Aatami is such a superb underdog,” he says. “He’s this formidable hero that you root for. With SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE, you care for Aatami even more because you understand what has been driving him all these years.”
For the new film, Helander wanted to further explore the themes of the original. “You have the idea of Aatami trying to get his home back, then you must consider all that he must somehow overcome before he achieves that. That was by far the hardest thing for us to do – building and shaping action sequences that audiences hadn’t before experienced, so they won’t know what is going to happen next.”
As a writer-director, Helander brings many of his influences and inspirations with him to every project – something that, as Goodridge describes, makes him “one of today’s great action directors. But Jalmari also brings a lot of heart to his films. He understands this medium so well and delivers a powerful punch with everything he brings to life on screen.”
Actor Jorma Tommila has collaborated with Helander multiple times and always enjoys their work together. “Jalmari always brings so many fresh ideas about story, characters, and of course, action,” he says. “It is aways a great honor to work with him.”
As a newcomer to the world of Sisu, Stephen Lang was grateful for Helander’s expertise and openness in defining Dragunov. “Before we started shooting,” the actor remembers, “Jalmari and I would talk about the script and his plans. Jalmari was so generous in soliciting my input for the character and the motivations. So, before we even arrived on set, I was enjoying working with him. He’s got a great sense of humor and knows what he wants.”
When Helander was first plotting Sisu: Road to Revenge, he decided he wanted a landscape that was as close as possible to the story’s setting of Karelia, Finland in the late 1940s. But, as he points out, “Modern day Finland retains little, if any, echoes of the country’s post-World War II terrain, so we came to Estonia and found what we wanted in its landscapes, which are breathtaking.
“I wanted to find places big enough to fit the story,” he continues. “I also wanted the landscape to look like it had been abandoned – where the only people are Aatami, Dragunov, and the rest of those who are trying to stop Aatami. We also wanted to have this landscape look like a countryside from long ago, but with wide-open spaces in which we could capture epic action shots.”
With Sisu: Road to Revenge, audiences accompany Aatami on his epic journey home – experiencing, with him, an endless barrage of firepower and a seemingly unstoppable foe.
Tommila, like his on-screen alter-ego, a man of few words, simply hopes that Aatami’s journey will continue to resonate with – and thrill – audiences: “It’s a story with endless action, but I think it will also touch people with its unveiling of previously unexplored aspects of Aatami’s personality and life,” he states.
Goodridge believes that audiences will be blown away by the scale of the film, as well as by its emotional heart: “Sisu: Road to Revenge delivers the kind of thrills and action we expect, but in a more elemental and emotional way,” he points out.
Jokiranta admires Helander’s dedication to the action genre and hopes that audiences can see how much love the filmmaker and the rest of the creative team have put into SISU: ROAD TO REVENGE. “Jalmari continues to do what he does best – making films where the audience will leave with a smile. You know that this is a true labor of love for him, and for everyone involved.”
Lang adds, “The mayhem is so crazy and done with such panache and style because that’s what Jalmari does best. He’s all about style and taste. It has a memorable and fun in-your-face approach.”
Orasmaa says audiences will appreciate the opportunity to delve a little deeper into Aatami’s motives: “Moviegoers will not only experience the heightened thrills we remember from Sisu, but they’ll also understand what Aatami’s life was like during the war and how he came to be the man he is. It digs deeper while also pumping up the volume.”
Helander agrees and concludes, “We go deeper into the main character’s story, and go bigger with the stakes and with the action. This will be epic, emotional, fun and crazy in all the good ways.
“The emotion, the epic landscape and the bigger and bigger action set pieces really demand a big screen and an audience to enjoy it as it should be,” he adds. “The Atmos sound and the furious chase is meant for theaters.”
Sisu: Road to Revenge, a sequel to the original sleeper hit Sisu, is a wall-to-wall cinematic action event. Returning to the house where his family was brutally murdered during the war, Aatami, aka “the man who refuses to die” (Jorma Tommila) dismantles it, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe, in their honor. When the Red Army commander (Stephen Lang, from Avatar and Don’t Breathe), who killed his family, comes back hellbent on finishing the job, a relentless, eye-popping cross-country chase ensues. It’s a fight to the death, full of clever and unbelievable action set pieces.
Written and directed once again by Helander, this follow-up deepens the mythology of its central character, Aatami Korpi—a solitary ex-soldier whose survival instincts and silent fury made him a symbol of Finnish grit. Set in 1946, just after the events of the first film, Road to Revenge finds Korpi returning to Soviet-occupied Karelia, the site of his family’s murder, with the intention of dismantling the house brick by brick and rebuilding it elsewhere as a living monument to memory and loss. But his act of quiet remembrance is interrupted when Igor Draganov, the Red Army commander responsible for the massacre, resurfaces—forcing Korpi into one final, blood-soaked reckoning.
Helander’s inspiration for the sequel draws from the emotional aftermath of war and the personal toll of survival. While Sisu was a visceral survival tale set against the backdrop of World War II, Road to Revenge shifts the focus from endurance to legacy. It’s not just about staying alive—it’s about what remains, what’s worth rebuilding, and what must be confronted before peace can be claimed. The film’s narrative is steeped in Finnish folklore and post-war trauma, echoing the mythic structure of lone warriors who carry both grief and vengeance in their bones. Helander’s signature style—gritty visuals, sparse dialogue, and explosive action—returns with even greater emotional weight, as Korpi’s journey becomes less about killing and more about closure.
The significance of Sisu: Road to Revenge lies in its evolution of genre and character. Where the original film leaned into pulp and spectacle, the sequel dares to be more introspective without sacrificing intensity.
It explores the psychological terrain of a man haunted by history, asking what justice looks like when the world has already moved on. Korpi, played once again by Jorma Tommila, is joined by a formidable cast including Stephen Lang and Richard Brake, whose presence adds layers of menace and gravitas. With a budget exceeding €11 million, the film promises high production value and international reach, positioning Finnish cinema on a global stage while remaining deeply rooted in national identity.
Beyond its action sequences and revenge arc, Road to Revenge is a meditation on grief, memory, and the architecture of healing. Korpi’s decision to rebuild his family home is symbolic—a refusal to let violence erase the past, and a testament to the human need for ritual and restoration. Helander’s storytelling honors this emotional core, crafting a film that is as much about silence and sorrow as it is about bullets and blood.
Sisu: Road to Revenge stands poised to expand the legacy of its predecessor, offering audiences not just another chapter in Korpi’s saga, but a deeper, more resonant exploration of what it means to survive—and to remember.
Jalmari Helander is a Finnish screenwriter and film director born on July 21, 1976, in Helsinki, Finland. He first gained international recognition with Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010), a darkly whimsical reimagining of Santa Claus rooted in Finnish folklore, which showcased his flair for blending myth, horror, and humour. Helander followed this with Big Game (2014), an action-adventure film starring Samuel L. Jackson, further cementing his reputation for crafting high-concept genre films with a distinct Nordic edge. In 2022, he released Sisu, a gritty World War II survival thriller that became a cult sensation for its stylised violence and stoic protagonist, Aatami Korpi. Helander’s work often explores themes of resilience, revenge, and national identity, wrapped in visually striking, emotionally charged narratives. Before transitioning to feature films, he directed several award-winning short films and television commercials, honing his cinematic voice through compact storytelling. He is also closely connected to his creative collaborators—his brother-in-law Jorma Tommila and nephew Onni Tommila have both starred in his films, adding a familial layer to his artistic legacy. In 2025, Helander continues to expand his mythic universe with Sisu: Road to Revenge, and has been announced as the director of John Rambo, a prequel to First Blood, signaling his growing influence in international action cinema.
