Sisu [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Jalmari Helander

Cast: Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan

Release Date: July 11, 2023

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

During WWII, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover he is no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu,” the legendary ex-commando will embody what it means: a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds. And this one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back — even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path.

Please Note: Lionsgate provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘Sisu’ follows a lone man and ex-soldier during WWII who after leaving the war to live a quieter, more peaceful existence miraculously discovers a wealth of gold underground that could set him up for the remainder of his life. Heading out to begin anew with his riches, the man’s plan quickly changes after he is confronted by various Nazi factions that end up taking the gold for their own and leaving him beaten and alone. But unfortunately for the Nazis, they chose the worst possible man to rob and they soon discover in the most brutal and bloody manner possible that he’s no ordinary gold miner and a man not known for letting those who take from him go unpunished.

Written and directed by Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports, Big Game) who does a fantastic job at the helm of ‘Sisu’ guiding along the fast-paced fun and blood-soaked action with a sense of style and unique charm. The film’s cast includes Jorma Tommila (Rare Exports), Aksel Hennie (The Martian), Jack Doolan (TV’s The Boys), Mimosa Willamo (Lake Bodom) and Onni Tommila (Big Game) with the majority offering capable and fitting performances for the most part in each of their respective roles.

‘Sisu’ is a splendidly insane, wildly violent and delightfully ridiculous action flick that takes viewers on an unforgettable and massively enjoyable, carnage-laced and darkly humorous ride through the horrors of WWII. The film accompanies one man who has had enough with the fight and been left with nothing as he embarks upon a blood-drenched killing spree while fighting to reclaim what is his, and have a bit of fun along the way. It wisely never makes any real attempt to keep things grounded in reality and instead fully embraces it’s over the top nature in order to deliver some of the wilder, hilariously graphic and unforgettable kill sequences in recent memory, and rarely allowing the pace to slow down throughout its refreshingly brisk ninety minute runtime.

Somehow the goofy and unapologetic approach of ‘Sisu’ just works better than most would expect it to and it consistently excels due in large part to its unique approach. Director Jalmari Helander does a fantastic job guiding along the crazy fun from his own screenplay and his work behind the camera is perfectly boosted by a quite spectacular performance by Jorma Tommila who does a tremendous job in the lead and nary uttering a word throughout; all the while still doing an impressive job of making every emotion, struggle and painful moment unmistakable along the way.

Overall, ‘Sisu’ is a wild, brutal and incredibly entertaining ride through Nazi territory during WWII with one man who refuses to let them steal his livelihood and simply ride away. Filled with splendidly ridiculous action and no shortage of blood and body parts flying about, all complemented by some pitch black humor that helps it to quickly evolve into something special. ‘Sisu’ easily earns of my highest possible recommendations, especially for anyone who is intrigued by a wildly over the top and massively violent action flick that fully embraces its ridiculous nature and just lets the action-packed fun take over, regardless of whether or not it might always be entirely believable. If you’re already at all excited or interested in this one then I can’t urge you strongly enough to make a point of checking it out; it should easily prove well worth your time and the price of a rental at the absolute least.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Sisu’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks fantastic as a whole and provides a sharp, clean and beautifully detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues along the way. It shows impressive detail and clarity across the board in everything including facial details and clothing, along with the expansive landscapes and other backgrounds; while even the fast moving action sequences look consistently sharp and smooth, as do the few darkly lit moments occurring throughout. The Dolby Vision addition contributes a nice color palette on top of it all that delivers sharper, brighter colors in some of the outdoor backgrounds and elements, as well as the blood and other tidbits; all nicely boosted by deep, problem-free blacks. Overall, this is a great Ultra High Definition video presentation that holds up splendidly every step of the way and should easily please fans and first time viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD soundtrack, something that’s a bit curious considering that the Digital release features a Dolby Atmos presentation making it somewhat of a rarity to see that option not also included on the physical 4K release. Fortunately, this multichannel soundtrack still delivers a clean, crisp and fairly aggressive audio presentation throughout that doesn’t disappoint. It repeatedly takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send gunfire, mines and resulting debris, along with vehicles, aircraft and plenty more regularly zipping throughout the various speakers, while never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously becoming distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that sounds quite good as a whole, even if some fans may be understandably disappointed by the absence of an Atmos offering.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Sisu’ features a couple of nice extras in the way of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore bringing the film to life, featuring interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. Included is ‘Indestructible: Making Sisu’ (running approximately 24 minutes in length), and ‘Pushing the Boundaries of Reality: The Visual Effects of Sisu’ (running approximately 11 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

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‘Sisu’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Stage 6 Films & Lionsgate

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