--- title: "Sisu: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/sisu/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/sisu" critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sisu (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 72 from 12 reviews: 9 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics take Sisu on its own terms and enjoy it there: a Finnish gold miner against a Nazi platoon, told in comic-book chapters with a spaghetti-western spine, and dispatched with escalating, inventive gore. The praise clusters on two things. One is the violence itself, which reviewers repeatedly find imaginative rather than merely plentiful, likened more than once to a live-action cartoon. The other is Jorma Tommila, whose stony, near-silent lead performance is credited with holding the mayhem together. Jalmari Helander’s confidence and pacing draw approval too. The reservations are consistent but mild: the premise is one note, the killing grows repetitive, and several reviews call it fun that will not linger. The spread is narrow, most landing between good and very good. The clear dissenter is The New York Times, which finds the carnage tame and short on wit, a view almost nobody else shares. IndieWire and Time Out sit in the middle, enjoying the set pieces while noting filler between them. ## Empire — Alex Godfrey Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2023. The critic praises the film as relentlessly entertaining pulpy fun with gnarly, inventive violence that knows exactly what it is. Jorma Tommila's charismatic, granite-faced lead performance as the one-man army is singled out as the standout element that makes the mayhem irresistible. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sisu/) ## Radio Times — Alan Jones Rating 4/5. The critic describes it as a hugely entertaining and goofy action epic that is hilariously gruesome and completely preposterous. It singles out the comic-book chapters and spaghetti-western heart for making it absurdly enjoyable popcorn gore. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-d0dvku/sisu/) ## Variety — Dennis Harvey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2022. Festival review. Helander’s comeback is an outrageously entertaining Finnish fantasy of WWII payback, a gleefully over-the-top one-joke movie that sustains the joke with esprit. It resembles a live-action Road Runner cartoon with graphic gore, a bad-taste feel-good exercise. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/sisu-review-1235375854/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 May 2023. The critic calls Sisu a deserving cult hit that succeeds through increasingly creative and ambitious ideas for dispatching Nazis, turning a standard killfest into something with emotional depth about survival and sisu itself. It is singled out for its gonzo stylization, visual poetry, and blend of the elemental and ethereal. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-in-sisu-a-finnish-loner-takes-on-the-nazis.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 2022. Festival review. It works on its own B-movie terms as a robust old-fashioned action movie with comic-book level violence done with craftsmanship. The film gets a bit repetitive and lacks much beyond its gore but has a refreshing lack of pretension. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/tiff-2022-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline-sisu-blueback) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating C+. 25 April 2023. The critic finds the film a fun, gory riff on Fury Road that pits a grizzled Finnish man against Nazis in a one-note premise executed with some killer set pieces but also filler. It is praised for its outrageous violence and Helander's ambition but noted as overextended at times. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/2023/04/sisu-review-1234831480/) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 3/5. 25 April 2023. The review calls it a fun but throwaway Tarantino-derivative action-thriller whose violent thrills outstrip its surprises and waning stakes. It singles out the inventive grindhouse violence and chapter structure for praise. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sisu-2023) ## The New York Times — Calum Marsh Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 27 April 2023. The film is a blandly gratuitous World War II action movie where a seemingly invincible former commando goes on a rampage. It is brisk and bloody but the mayhem lacks wit or imagination, making the Nazi-killing feel pretty tame. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/27/movies/sisu-review.html) ## Financial Times — Danny Leigh Rating ★★★☆☆. 25 May 2023. Gleefully gory movie translates Finnish stoicism into stone-faced comedy as a lone gold miner takes on retreating Nazis. Energy unflagging with inventive carnage, though fleeting moments of breath are memorable. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/6f82f1f9-3ba9-49c9-a336-b1d49df07498) ## Screen Daily 10 September 2022. Festival review. The review calls it a dark and ultra-violent survival chiller with outlandish gory action that makes up for its lack of nuance. It singles out the escalating extreme violence and Western framing in the Lapland setting. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/sisu-toronto-review/5174024.article) ## Sight and Sound 25 May 2023. The critic finds the film a satisfyingly grisly but surprisingly solemn WW2 action story rooted in Finland’s history. It praises the brisk set pieces, brutal economy and Tommila’s stony gravitas as the protagonist. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sisu-brutal-pulpy-enjoyably-ludicrous-finnish-war-movie) ## The Guardian 24 May 2023. Cheerfully entertaining action film follows a granite-faced Finnish gold miner as he kills Nazis in wildly silly and extravagant ways. The film offers super fun entertainment that feels tongue-in-cheek but is unlikely to linger long in the mind. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/24/sisu-review-nazi-killing) ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey 25 May 2023. Slam-dunks its basic remit of one man versus an entire Nazi platoon with satisfying craft, virtuosic VFX and make-up, and inventive gore. Not spiritually enriching but effective meathead karma. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/sisu-review-this-man-vs-an-entire-platoon-of-nazis/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★☆☆. 26 May 2023. Outrageously gory splatterfest with verve and blood-drenched efficiency from Helander. The repetition of Nazi mayhem eventually becomes tiresome. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/sisu-review-nazi-b-movie-has-verve-but-becomes-tedious-6k8zzjqkh) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 2023. The critic highlights the director's absolute confidence, perfect pacing, and the gruffly charismatic lead performance that makes even the most unlikely action believable, calling it one of the best films of the year so far. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/sisu-2022-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## The Playlist — Andrew Crump Rating B+. 26 April 2023. The critic enjoys the bloody, Looney Tunes-esque gory action and black humor as a Finnish prospector takes revenge on Nazis in Lapland, praising its Spaghetti Western influences and entertaining excess. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/sisu-review-jalmari-helanders-wwii-action-film-makes-history-fun-and-incredibly-gory-20230426/) ## Collider — Ross Bonaime Rating B. 11 September 2022. Festival review. The critic calls the film a gleefully bonkers and ridiculous action movie that revels in its absurdity, with Helander delivering over-the-top violence against Nazis in inventive ways. The lead performance grounds the mayhem as an unstoppable force of determination. [Read the review](https://collider.com/sisu-review-jalmari-helander-tiff-2022/) ## /Film — Erin Brady Rating 7.5/10. 10 September 2022. Festival review. The critic finds the film delivers exactly the schlocky, over-the-top fun of watching Nazis get blown up in a lean, Midnight Madness-style package at TIFF. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1002180/sisu-review-jalmari-helander-reminds-us-of-the-joys-of-seeing-nazis-get-blown-up-tiff/) ## The Wrap 9 September 2022. Festival review. The critic finds the film a polished but shallow action exercise that works best as energetic genre thrills for festival crowds. Cinematography and editing are singled out for keeping the brisk, violent set pieces moving. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/sisu-movie-review-jalmari-helander-wwii-action/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/sisu.md