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It's 1944, the last days of World War Two. Nazi German soldiers are retreating from Finland while burning everything in their path as part of the scorched earth policy.
On their way, they find a Finnish gold prospector who recently succeeded in his quest, so the soldiers decide to claim the gold for themselves and kill the prospector. Little do they know what havoc this old prospector will unleash upon them for the next few days: a one-man death squad who is ruthless, determined and willing to protect his gold at the cost of every Nazi killed.
This is the story of Sisu, a recent Finnish film inspired by Rambo: First Blood and combines it with the Second World War.
The film's antagonist is Bruno Helldorf, the SS commander of a 30-men Nazi Wehrmacht division. He and his troops are retreating to Occupied Norway, as Germany is losing the Lapland War against Finland. They are burning towns and houses, killing any men that come in their way, and taking women hostages as the spoils of war. On their path, they meet prospector Aatami Korpi, who is on his way to sell his previous newly discovered gold.
Bruno's troops decide to kill him and his gold sniffer dog and take the gold for themselves. Bruno also agrees as he can take the spoils to set up his and some of his close comrades' lives after Germany's defeat.
Well, they did not know Korpi was no simple old man. He was a Finnish commando during the Winter War who killed over 300 Soviet soldiers all by himself. He isn't letting go of his gold easily, so he starts a one-man stand against Bruno and his Wehrmacht troops: firing, slashing, and luring the Nazis into a minefield and other death traps.
The fight scenes in Sisu are spectacular. Director Jalmari Helander leaves no stone unturned to depict the Korpi carnage against the Nazis as brutally as possible.
Bruno is also a stubborn and ruthless commander who will fight Korpi at any length to claim the gold, even after knowing his inhuman abilities. When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, the chaos becomes suspenseful, fun and brutally entertaining.
Korpi fights the Nazis on a dangerous minefield, slashes their throats underwater, frees the captured Finnish women who aid in his fight and jumps on Bruno's plane with a hatchet just to kill him— all to make sure no one can take his gold. His vendetta against his enemies for killing his family makes him just too angry to die.
Jorma Tormilla isn't a buff actor like Sylvester Stallone, but his macho aura makes him a worthy Finnish Rambo. His character is also inspired by Simo Häyhä, the real-life WW2 Finnish sniper with 400+ Soviet kills.
The film was released in Finland in January until Sony and Lionsgate received the rights to distribute it worldwide. Since April 28, Sisu has overtaken the world and established itself as the pinnacle of Finnish action films.
After all, no one will stop enjoying the slaughtering of despicable Nazis in action films.