Sisu reminds us how Nazis should be treated.

Every now and then, a film comes along that forgoes nuance in favour of sheer, unrelenting audacity. Sisu, a blistering slice of pulp action from writer-director Jalmari Helander, roars onto the screen as if it has a vendetta against subtlety itself. Set against the stark beauty of Lapland in the dying days of World War II, it’s a revenge thriller, survival epic, and gleeful gore-fest rolled into one – an unapologetically blood-soaked celebration of determination and defiance.

At the heart of Sisu is Aatami Korpi, played with steely, near-mythical resolve by Jorma Tommila. A lone prospector turned one-man wrecking crew, Korpi is a man of few words but an infinite capacity for destruction. He strikes gold in the barren Finnish wilderness – a discovery that should spell salvation but instead sets him on a collision course with a retreating Nazi platoon led by the loathsome Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie). What follows is less a battle of wits and more a series of gloriously unhinged deathmatches.

The barren wilderness of Lapland becomes as much a character in the story as Korpi himself. Its stark, desolate beauty mirrors the protagonist’s unyielding determination. Explosions rip through the landscape in fiery oranges against the muted earth tones, while blood spatters paint the snow-covered vistas like some deranged Jackson Pollock creation. Helander and cinematographer Kjell Lagerroos capture the carnage with sharp precision, creating a visceral spectacle that refuses to blink.

Dialogue is pared to the bone, with characters drawn in broad, archetypal strokes. The Nazis are irredeemably monstrous, the Finnish resistance fighters embody stoic courage, and Korpi looms larger than life – a myth made flesh. This simplicity serves the film well, clearing the stage for Helander’s focus: inventive, brutal set pieces. Whether it’s Korpi dispatching his foes underwater, fashioning improvised weapons, or delivering death from above, the action is as relentless as it is absurdly entertaining.

For all its high-octane thrills, Sisu revels in excess, and that won’t be to everyone’s taste. The ever-escalating absurdity of Korpi’s survival tactics strains plausibility, and the film’s grim tone leaves little room for emotional nuance. But that’s the point. Sisu thrives as a cathartic howl of fury, a raw celebration of grit and determination that demands you leave logic at the door.

At its core, Sisu transforms the phrase “punching above your weight” into a literal art form. With its grindhouse sensibilities and unapologetic love for the grotesque, it’s not a history lesson – it’s an adrenaline-fuelled fantasy of justice, dispensed with a piercing glare and an even sharper knife.

Would Korpi’s exploits survive the scrutiny of physics or common sense? Not a chance. But Sisu doesn’t care. It’s too busy revelling in its own absurdity, piling up bodies, and delivering one of the most ruthlessly entertaining action films of recent years. If that doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, this movie was never meant for you.