Sisu (2022)

Jack Doolan! Haven't I seen that name before? is there one international actor on board with this too? That'd be cool if so.

It's a gritty, grimy, grindhouse movie a la Finland!

It's also possibly the first Finnish movie I see.

The story takes place during the Nazi occupation back in the day, in Finland, where one Finn makes a stand against a friggin' battalion.

It's a fictional story JSYK.

This Finn is not really immortal, he just refuses to die, cause he has that one thing they say they have in Finland but can't translate: Sisu.

Or as we say in Sweden: Jävlaranamma. Guts. Drive. Courage.

The will to not give up no matter what!

They maybe exaggerate the implications of this particular word a bit, and the speech by that one female prisoner was a little excessive and unnecessary - straight up laughing in the face of war-torn soldiers who just might kill her for it. And the enemy troops turn from a real threat to an embarrassment somewhere along the way - though I appreciate that key characters at least all have a suitable way to go, sometimes almost worthily so.

Never mind the lacking team integrity and occasional unnecessary dialog though (which is rare - for the most part there's but a backdrop of bombs or gunfire): It's one bad-ass movie! With a soundtrack just as gritty as the visuals, divided into five chapters of varying means of escape and vengeance, and a will to get that gold back, no matter what.

It's not flawless but for the most part it really is.

Both props and effects exceed expectations - you'd think it was a blockbuster. They managed to get not just a really gritty protagonist but a whole team, and a few of them really look as German as intended too. Ready to die at any moment, hardened by war... yet none have as much 'sisu' as Jorma Tommila.

He's one bad-ass dude.

The characters and feel of this remind me a bit of the Hobo With a Shotgun, or Rambo, or that other movie about an old guy who evens out the odds in unexpected ways. I think I've seen at least one more like it... but it's not really the same at all. This is better.

Main flaw? Lack of realism.

I don't mind the plane bit - if you go overboard you'd best go overboard in a bad-ass way, but you just can't run away in a rain of bullets. Should've at least ducked down for cover there. Some bits... could've been choreographed a little bit differently.

Most bits are just straight up perfect though.

Like the mines. Like the machine guns in the truck. Like the knife. Like breathing straight via a dead guy's windpipe.

There are lots of super grimy but memorable action moments, in stark (and appreciated) contrast to the beautiful natural sceneries they all take place in.

I want to give this a five but...

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome