‘Sisu’ Review: Sweat Wicking

With “Sisu,” the John Wickification of motion motion pictures continues. This brisk, bloody World War II shoot-‘em-up follows the graphic rampage of a taciturn countryside gold prospector and former commando (Jorma Tommila) who, according to local legend, lost his family in a massacre and so “became a ruthless, vengeful soldier,” a “one-man death squad” with more than 300 confirmed kills to his name. Brutal and efficient, our grizzled hero has the blithe, stolid invulnerability of a video game character, dismembering limbs, snapping necks and patching up his own wounds without breaking a sweat.

“Sisu,” written and directed by the Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander, is the kind of thriller that’s normally described as “lean.” The setup is austere: During the ultimate stretch of the conflict, a retreating Nazi platoon occurs upon our solitary hero within the barren fields of Finland and steals his gold. They attempt to kill him. He will get away. The remainder of the film is about him attempting to get the gold again. Nazi troopers are shot, stabbed, crushed, impaled, decapitated, run over and blown up, photos that the film shows with grindhouse glee. You wince to think about the movie’s finances for pyrotechnics and blood results.

To a sure sort of viewer, 90 minutes of Nazi-killing violence could also be inherently enticing. And “Sisu” feels designed with an viewers’s fervent enthusiasm in thoughts: It appears to pause for applause after its most gratuitous kills. But 90 minutes of over-the-top mayhem means little or no if the mayhem hasn’t been conceived with a lot wit or creativeness, and what prevents “Sisu” from hitting the kinetic stride of an important exploitation flick is a method that feels pedestrian and oddly reserved.

For all its gung-ho violence, the movie by no means feels fraught or nasty sufficient: It by no means dangers true offense or tastelessness, by no means takes a big gamble on something that could possibly be interpreted the improper method or that may sidestep expectations. Somehow it makes killing Nazis really feel fairly tame. Take as an illustration the hero’s canine. It’s a cute hound. Improbably, it manages to keep away from hurt. It’s not that the film can be higher if the canine died — however it’s attribute of the movie to spare the viewers the potential discomfort of seeing the results of all this violence fall onto something aside from anonymous Nazis.

There’s one thing vaguely feeble about this cautious strategy to what’s ostensibly an unapologetic gore fest. By the time a liberated band of younger feminine prisoners takes up arms towards Nazi captors and blasts them to smithereens — the enemy’s destiny by no means for a second having been forged doubtful, the prisoners’ victory preordained — you’ll in all probability really feel exhausted. This second, like a lot of the movie, is expressly designed to make you hoot and holler. You’re extra prone to groan and cringe.

Sisu
Rated R for ugly carnage, over-the-top mutilation, dismemberment and a few robust language. Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes. In theaters.