‘Road to Revenge’: an ode to classic action movies

[‘Sisu,’ from Et]

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tenacity and grit. But subtitles aren't necessary. This story is told through explosions and gunfire, glares and smirks. Lang’s Russian heel speaks English; Tommila’s Korpi says nothing — the character doesn’t talk.

But he does outrace a pack of motorcycles and an airplane. You should see what he does with a train.

“Sisu: Road to Revenge” is an ode to high-throttle classics like “Die Hard” and Buster Keaton’s “The General.” Helander’s unabashed homages may as well be spelled out in gasoline and set ablaze. I’m positive I saw “Jaws” and “Looney Tunes” in there, too, and now is a fine time to mention that his next project is a reboot of “Rambo.”

Yet, Helander’s most impressive stunt is that he’s made a movie that’s still very much his own. His mashup feels fresh, just as the bombastic score by Juri Seppa and Tuomas Wainola boldly borrows Ennio Morricone’s soaring horns and wah-wah-waaah squawks while adding its own gargle of Finnish throat singing.

The adventure is structured like a serial with each segment starring a seemingly impossible threat. Quickly, a couple things become evident. First, Korpi is stubbornly hard to kill and Draganov knows this chase can't end until he sees his enemy’s corpse. (Anything shy of that means Korpi has escaped and is figuring out his next move.) Second, Lang’s hilarious Draganov will crush anyone who gets in his way. Running over one of his own Russian bikers, he grunts in annoyance. How dare the guy become a speed bump?