Sisu

Sisu (2022)

Somehow, 94% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 116 reviews)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Jalmari Helander

Starring: Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo, Onni Tommila

From: This was released by Lionsgate and Stage 6 Films

Featuring someone pouring gasoline on himself then lighting himself on fire... for no reason!

I hate to be the guy that keeps on spewing hate upon popular modern movies but I'll explain why I did not at least have fun with this like many others did. Whether or not my liking of only the first John Wick film (and not even bothering with Chapter 4) plays any role... in any case, the film irritated me for several specific reasons. To clarify a detail that may explain a lot before even my bemoaning modern motion pictures, unlike most I really did not care for director Jalmari Helander's Rare Exports. Perhaps it is a surprise I even gave him a second chance but to get my money's worth out of the monthly fee I pay for my AMC A-List app, off to the local AMC cinema for Sisu I went.

As nice as it is to see a Finnish legend in 1944 Lapland where a guy who “refuses to die” slaughters Nazi A-holes who want his just-discovered gold, Sisu exemplifies many of the issues I have with modern movie making. “Too much/needless humor” thankfully wasn't present nor was “subverting expectations”, but there was “too many F bombs”, “an indestructible hero”, “multiple plot points that make no sense”, “a political/social/modern message shoehorned in”, “a character doesn't die despite suffering massive amounts of damage” (a particular 2023 problem, something I've partially seen firsthand), and “needless chapter titles”--those were in what I'll describe as “yellow Tarantino font.”

The fact that our hero Mr. Sisu-my name for him-was supposed to be a mythical silent protagonist was known by me beforehand and the movie was still deathly dull when it wasn't insultingly stupid or aggravating. The nadir was Mr. Sisu pour gasoline on himself then light himself ON FIRE... for no reason whatsoever! It only lasted for not even 10 seconds as he escaped the Nazi jerks by jumping into the lake. I was done with the movie there as there was absolutely no reason for him to light his own ass on fire. Did he do it for flair? For the lolz? To be overly dramatic? A human being who performs superhero acts isn't automatically a turn-off; after all, I've extolled the virtues of several modern movies from India... but besides the completely different market, those were typically a lot of fun.

His dog also being indestructible was unexpected but overall the movie was useless aside from the nice score and pleasant Lapland scenery. While I'm glad Sisu worked for many people, honestly it did not for me. No worries-there will never be a lack of old films for me to discover & love, and the trailers beforehand featured some pictures of interest. Even if they're all sequels, the newest editions of Mission: Impossible, The Equalizer and Becky will hopefully be at least fine, though Dead Reckoning has the highest of expectations.