Sisu – Road to Revenge and the 4K Edition

And after the Nazis, it's the turn of the ugly, dirty, and evil Soviets to pass under the steamroller of the heroic Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), otherwise known as Sisu - The Nordic Avenger who refuses to die. “Sisu” is a deeply rooted cultural concept in Finland, not a mythological figure but an idea, that of fierce determination, stubborn resilience, courage beyond human limits.

In this new chapter, the story picks up from a wound that never healed. World War II is over and geographical maps have changed, with a part of Finnish territory falling into Russian hands, within which there is also Korpi's house, where he lived carefree years with his wife and two children. At the wheel of a gigantic truck, he crosses the border to retrieve the timber from his house to rebuild it outside the nation that annihilated his progeny.

Pure Vengeful Fury in 4K

When the high-ranking Soviet officers learn of his presence, they unleash their worst hound on him, Yeagor Dragunov (Stephen Lang). Freed from the chains that literally held him in a cage, it will be he who reveals to the avenger who was the architect of his family's demise, unleashing his destructive fury. 

Director Jalmari Helander wastes no time: few premises to immediately enter the heart of the storm. Action dominates the scene from beginning to end, without comforting pauses. It's a cinema that doesn't seek elaborate psychological depths but a direct, physical, almost primordial impact. Once again, Jorma Tommila carries almost everything on his shoulders. His Aatami doesn't utter a word, but every glance weighs like a ton. The violence here is total, dirty, excessive, deliberately over the top with hints of gore, and it is precisely this exaggeration that makes the film spectacularly entertaining.

Whoever presses play on this disc must know what to expect: zero realism, no edifying moral. Just a man advancing against everything and everyone like a meat-grinding steamroller, transforming every obstacle into a battlefield. Sisu the avenger is just like his predecessor, pure overwhelming entertainment.

Given the limited information on the production, it should be native 4K footage with a corresponding 4K DI, hoping to have remained in that scope even when adding the numerous CGI elements. Original image format 2.39:1 (3840 x 2160/23.97p), HEVC encoding on a BD-66 dual-layer disc. The approximately 90 minutes of film flow by with remarkable overall quality, highlighting elements in the background, less luminous transitions such as the moment Aatami burns what remains of his house after dismantling it one beam at a time. Strength of the chromatic extension and a better dynamic range of lights by virtue of Dolby Vision. Deep blacks and a spectacle to be savored, especially on native 10-bit screens. Includes BD-50 with the 2K version.

The Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (16 bit) is of good quality, although in the many moments of warlike fury, one might feel the need to further raise the master volume to improve immersion. In this sense, there is also a certain presence from the rear channels, but far from reference-level. Given the very few dialogues, for superior involvement, it is advisable to switch to the original Dolby TrueHD 7.1.4 (24 bit) with ATMOS objects, or the counterpart DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 here at a higher resolution, also 24 bit, to ignite a spectacle that does not fail to hit the mark, such as the pursuit of the truck by Soviet fighters, or the grand finale on the train to Siberia. And... get ready to annoy the neighbors!

As extras, a short launch clip of the film with interview fragments (3') and the alternative ending. Italian subtitles. Also available in steelbook edition.