Although it seems pointless to remake a classic Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick, 2025's The Running Man had potential because director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz) sought to create a more faithful screen adaptation of the 1982 novel by Stephen King (writing under the pseudonym Richard Bachman). But despite a promising creative team and a generous budget, the resulting picture is surprisingly underwhelming - an overlong slog that runs out of steam long before the climax arrives. Some aspects of the movie work, and there is no denying the technical proficiency on display, but the lack of a strong cinematic personality is unfortunate.


In 2025, an authoritarian media network known simply as the Network controls the United States. With most citizens living in poverty, the Network receives a steady influx of desperate volunteers to appear on dangerous game shows and reality TV. The most popular program is The Running Man, in which runners can win $1 billion if they survive 30 days on the run, while hunters and ordinary citizens set out to find and kill them. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) needs money to buy medication for his sick daughter, and does not want his wife (Jayme Lawson) putting herself in danger to support the family. With no other options, Ben tries out for the Network, and executive producer Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) selects him for The Running Man. Although Ben does not want to appear on the show, Killian convinces him by promising to protect his family. With show host Bobby T (Colman Domingo) overseeing the carnage, Ben flees into the country as the hunt begins.

1987's The Running Man bears little resemblance to King's novel, only using the game-show premise as a springboard for a violent, gleefully goofy action film that showcases Arnie in his prime. Meanwhile, for this new version, Wright and co-writer Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) adhere closely to the book's narrative beats, but the result feels overly episodic and bloated, juggling too many characters who receive insufficient development and depth. Most egregious is the inclusion of two Anti-Network activists who serve identical narrative functions, while Amelia is awkwardly shoehorned into the story's final stretch, and her abrupt shift from hostility to Ben's ally is entirely unconvincing. The material might have been better served as a television miniseries, where its sprawling structure could allow for proper character development. As it stands, this iteration of The Running Man underscores the importance of making changes while adapting books for the big screen.


It's disheartening how generic and ordinary this version of The Running Man feels, as there is scarcely any inventiveness or shrewd humour that we expect from Edgar Wright. The television game shows and ads contain some effective satire, and Wright scatters a few funny moments throughout the flick, but it mostly feels like a generic action blockbuster. Even the dystopian setting and themes feel well-worn after so many years of comparable science-fiction movies, from The Hunger Games and Divergent to Mad Max: Fury Road and Ready Player One, and much more. Unfortunately, Wright's take on dystopian sci-fi does not feel compelling or fresh. There is a nugget of an interesting idea in the biased media creating propaganda and controlling the narrative, but it feels like Wright is hesitant to condemn contemporary media outlets properly.

At the very least, The Running Man is an R-rated action movie, a rare beast in contemporary cinema. The picture comes to life in fits and starts, particularly during the brutal action set pieces that look slick and expensive. One standout sequence involves Elton (Michael Cera), an Anti-Network activist whose booby-trapped home kills plenty of armed assailants in creative and brutal ways. However, the hunters feel like a missed opportunity. The 1987 feature contained a selection of colourful, distinctive hunters with their own quirks and badass names. Here, the hunters are generic soldiers in generic uniforms.


Although Glen Powell is usually a perfectly serviceable leading man, he is out of his depth here, struggling to create a compelling or consistent character. His Ben Richards never quite gels as either an everyman pushed to desperation or a defiant anti-authoritarian figure. By contrast, several supporting players inject more energy into the film. Michael Cera and Martin Herlihy (a dead ringer for Lewis Pullman) bring some much-needed pep and eccentricity, while Colman Domingo clearly relishes the chance to play the smarmy host, injecting the film with a theatrical flair it sorely needs. Josh Brolin is reliably solid as Dan Killian, but the character never achieves the menace or complexity required to anchor the story's moral conflict. Elsewhere, strong actors like William H. Macy, Emilia Jones and Lee Pace are left stranded by thin characterisation, reinforcing the sense that the ensemble is simply too large for the film to handle effectively.

The Running Man is not as dire as the remakes of Total Recall or RoboCop, but it feels like a wasted opportunity. Wright battles with immense overlength as he struggles to maintain interest and energy, particularly during the beefy second act, when the pacing slows to a crawl. The decision to soften King's bleak ending in favour of something safer and more formulaic only exacerbates the problem, forcing the movie to limp through an extended finale that overstays its welcome. While the film is competently made and occasionally entertaining, it lacks the bite, invention, and confidence necessary to justify its existence. In the end, this new The Running Man proves that fidelity alone is not enough and that even a great director can stumble when they fail to properly reshape material to make a compelling film.

5.6/10

At this point, any non-Hallmark festive film offering is a refreshing change of pace, and 2025's Tinsel Town further stands out because it is a British Christmas comedy flick. It's familiar territory for director Chris Foggin, who previously helmed the surprisingly enjoyable and endearing This is Christmas back in 2022. Although Tinsel Town is a step down compared to Foggin's previous festive flick, it remains a fun and funny picture that works more often than not. It's also an affectionate ode to pantomime theatre, the boisterous British Christmas tradition incorporating slapstick comedy, topical jokes, songs, cross-dressing, and audience participation. Any viewers who are unfamiliar with the longstanding tradition will get an amusing crash course here.


After finishing his work on the blockbuster Killing Time VII, Hollywood superstar Bradley Mac (Kiefer Sutherland) finds himself out of work when the studio cancels plans for future sequels. Bradley's options for acting work are limited, as the performer has been blacklisted and typecast after years of poor on-set behaviour. Bradley's agent (Katherine Ryan) suggests theatre work in London, but upon arriving in the United Kingdom, the superstar soon finds he has been tricked: he'll be playing Buttons in a pantomime production of Cinderella in the small town of Stoneford. Unable to wiggle out of the contract, Bradley starts rehearsing, while his bitter ex-wife, Grace (Alice Eva), forces him to spend time with his daughter, Emma (Matilda Firth). Bradley also bonds with choreographer Jill (Rebel Wilson), who is dealing with a troublesome ex-husband, Kieran (Danny Dyer).

The way that Tinsel Town skewers major Hollywood stars is amusing, from the tongue-in-cheek film-within-a-film snippet in the opening sequence to Bradley's reputation as a difficult, demanding diva who refuses to do his own stunts. Casting the gruff Sutherland in the lead role is inspired, as the actor rarely does comedy, but he approaches the material with delicious zeal and enthusiasm, openly mocking his own tough-guy image and leaning into the material's absurdity. Another standout is the always-brilliant Derek Jacobi, a theatre box office attendant who used to perform in pantomimes before a personal tragedy forced him offstage permanently. A key scene involving Jacobi and Sutherland is one of the most poignant moments in the whole feature, displaying more care and sincerity than the usual Hallmark dreck.


The narrative trajectory is unsurprising, as the screenplay deploys many recognisable tropes: an absent father bonding with his child, an abusive ex-husband who provides some trademark conflict, a third-act complication that threatens the performance, and so on. Unfortunately, Tinsel Town begins to lose its way in the third act when it piles on the complications, leading to a court case that slows down the pacing. Luckily, it soon picks up, and the climactic performance is wonderful. There are ample laughs throughout the picture, particularly from Jason Manford and Asim Chaudhry as David and Danny, two flamboyant actors who play the stepsisters in the panto performance of Cinderella. Mamford and Chaudhry routinely steal scenes with their sharp wit and strong personalities. Less successful is Rebel Wilson, who is impressively low-key here, but she is unable to mask her native Australian accent.

It's refreshing to see a Christmas movie that doesn't have the chintzy, low-grade look of a Hallmark movie. Tinsel Town has a more nuanced visual style and looks more cinematic, while the English scenery is far more intriguing than studio backlots, artificial-feeling sets, or rural American locations. Foggin shot the movie on location in the English town of Knaresborough in North Yorkshire, and this gives the production a welcome sense of authenticity. Foggin also fills the picture with festive music, from the Christmas-tinged soundtrack by Kara Talve and Sami Goldberg to the several recognisable Christmas songs that appear.


Do not let the trashy, AI-looking poster fool you - Tinsel Town is worth your time and attention because its heart is in the right place. Beneath the celebrity satire and broad jokes is a genuine affection for performance, community, and the strange magic of live theatre at Christmas. The feature's understanding of pantomime as both gloriously silly and quietly meaningful gives it an emotional backbone, elevating it above many formulaic festive fares. When Tinsel Town leans into this sincerity rather than overcomplicating its plot, it mostly succeeds, delivering enough laughs, charm, and seasonal goodwill to justify its existence.

6.7/10

Santa Jaws is precisely the novelty, one-joke, Z-grade Syfy original movie that its title suggests; a low-budget affair with drab visuals, cheesy scripting, campy action scenes, hammy acting, and phoney digital effects. It's also astonishingly fun, as shark-enthusiast director Misty Talley (Zombie Shark) leans into the tongue-in-cheek absurdity with gusto, turning it into a comedy rather than something more serious. Santa Jaws may not become an annual tradition for many households, but it's more enjoyable and rewatchable than most festive Hallmark slop, though your mileage may vary.


Cody (Reid Miller) and his best friend Steve (Hawn Tran) are comic book enthusiasts, and they spend their time working on a goofy comic entitled "Santa Jaws." As Christmas approaches, one of Cody's drawings gets him into trouble when it goes viral online, attracting the attention of his school principal. With his parents grounding him and Cody developing severe resentment toward his family, he wishes for help from Santa Jaws... and the universe grants his wish. Suddenly, a large great white shark manifests itself and starts feasting on Cody's family. As Cody's extended family becomes hapless fish food, Cody and Steve work with attractive classmate Jena (Courtney Lauren Cummings) to find a solution and kill the shark.

Merely describing the content of Santa Jaws without critique will either persuade or dissuade you from watching this Yuletide masterpiss. This is a movie about a shark with glowing red eyes like Rudolph's nose that wears a Santa hat on its fin. The shark also uses Christmas string lights to lasso victims, and she gains a candy cane horn to impale hapless folks in her path. Jingle bells accompany the shark's every appearance, Christmas things attract it (but not iconic songs that are too expensive to license), and only Christmas things can harm it, including exploding baubles. Writer Jake Kiernan, scripting his first and only movie to date, fills the screenplay with hysterical puns - "See you in Jingle Hell," "Santa Jaws is coming to town," and "Ho, ho, ho, you son of a fish" are among the film's arsenal of gut-busting one-liners.


If any of this sounds appealing, Santa Jaws is for you. If this stuff makes you cringe, give this one a skip.

Do not approach Santa Jaws expecting award-winning special effects - after all, we are dealing with the Syfy channel here. The CGI is not always aggressively terrible in terms of texturing, but the movement is a different matter: the shark never moves naturally or believably. However, the Santa-hat-clad dorsal fin is at least a practical effect, which is rare in such productions. The attack scenes are uproarious, and director Talley compensates for the awful digital effects by keeping the movie's tongue firmly planted in cheek. I mean, one victim loses his legs when the shark pushes a boat into him. One would also think that characters could survive by staying away from the water, but that's clearly too difficult.


Not everything about Santa Jaws works, and the screenplay is the clearest example of how the film both succeeds and fails. Kiernan's script understands comedy far better than drama: the Christmas-themed puns and sight gags land consistently, but the connective tissue between attacks is burdened with flat exposition and rote family conflict that feels imported from a more earnest holiday movie. When it's funny, it's very funny. But the pacing tends to drag in between the attack scenes due to the actors and the unspectacular scripting. Reid Miller gives it his all as young Cody, but the supporting cast is notably hit-and-miss - Jim Klock and Carrie Lazar are especially awful as Cody's parents, who sound like they are reciting their dialogue from cue cards.

Santa Jaws is one of those self-promoting, critic-proof movies - no matter how many critics try to tear it to shreds, there will always be a curious audience who will watch the movie based on the title alone. It's completely ludicrous - but I enjoyed virtually every second of it, and I'm glad I watched it.

5.3/10

There is something inherently amusing about watching a heist movie like 2025's Now You See Me: Now You Don't that unironically adheres to the convoluted formula Rick and Morty cleverly parodied in 2019. Although it's nice that this long-delayed sequel reunites the original cast - including Isla Fisher, whose pregnancy prevented her from returning in Now You See Me 2 - it's disheartening that the picture is so lifeless and tepid, unable (or unwilling) to rectify the issues that let down its two predecessors. The film is undeniably slick and well-executed by director Ruben Fleischer, who takes over from Louis Leterrier and Jon M. Chu, but the polish cannot overcome the clunky pacing, as the movie becomes weighed down by yet another overstuffed, twist-heavy plot.


A decade after the Horsemen's performance, three young magicians - Charlie (Justice Smith), Bosco (Dominic Sessa), and June (Ariana Greenblatt) - use holograms and deepfakes to pull off a heist, draining thousands of dollars from a shady crypto bro. The stunt catches the attention of J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), who invites them to join a mission assigned by the enigmatic Eye: steal a valuable diamond from Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), whose company helps launder money for criminals. Travelling to Belgium, Daniel soon encounters the other three original Horsemen: Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), who reveal that a mysterious tarot card summoned them. They need all the assistance they can get to disrupt Veronika's criminal empire, with Lula May (Lizzy Caplan) also answering the call, and the team reuniting with Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman).

For a movie about magicians, Now You See Me: Now You Don't is too short on actual magic. Just like the last two movies, many of the acts depicted on-screen are absurdly over-the-top, and there's nothing special about watching digitally-enhanced magical illusions. There are isolated scenes when the picture comes to life, including an extended single take in a booby-trapped mansion showcasing intricate sleight-of-hand without the aid of CGI. However, such moments only highlight how artificial the rest of the illusions feel. And when Veronika finally catches the Horsemen unaware by trapping them and forcing them to improvise, the timing of their escape still perfectly aligns with their overarching master plan. Spontaneity simply does not exist in this universe; everything is always part of the plan.


This point neatly leads into the sequel's major downfall: its stubborn unwillingness to shake up the trademark formula. The climax involves an elaborate, immaculately orchestrated plan that unfolds with mechanical precision, and the magicians apparently possess endless time, money, and resources to construct flawless props and environments without any outside assistance, scrutiny, or even the faintest hint of logistical difficulty. At least heist films like Ocean's Eleven show the construction of replicas, whereas everything here appears out of nowhere. Rather than feeling exhilarating, the movie's intricate scheme feels preordained - another demonstration that the Horsemen's victories are the result of narrative inevitability instead of cleverness. And because the script cannot resist cramming in additional double-crosses, red herrings, mythological teases, and character subplots, the rhythm grows lumpy and erratic. It moves quickly, yet somehow drags.

However, there are positives here. When Now You See Me: Now You Don't finds momentum, the jazzy score and crisp editing give certain set pieces a playful energy, and the globetrotting locations and elaborate production design are undeniably handsome. However, Fleischer lacks a signature style or flourish, and the picture looks like a generic blockbuster rather than anything more eye-catching or distinctive. There's even a blatant nod to Christopher Nolan's Inception in a rotating corridor scene, underscoring the movie's derivative nature.


Isla Fisher's return adds a welcome spark, and Lizzy Caplan also drops in. (This is the first entry in the series without Michael Caine, who retired in 2023.) Meanwhile, Rosamund Pike is clearly having great fun here as a broad, cartoonish villain with a South African accent. She is the only performer who seems to understand that this series works best when it embraces its own silliness. But Pike's deliciously over-the-top energy only highlights how flat some of the returning cast dynamics have become. Woody Harrelson's familiar shtick feels reheated, Jesse Eisenberg's brooding control-freak routine has long since worn thin, and the ensemble's once-snappy chemistry mostly goes through the motions. Even the humour feels inconsistent, with jokes either landing out of rhythm or leaning too heavily on self-satisfied winks. Additionally, the younger magicians feel underdeveloped, more functional than charismatic, and never quite form a dynamic that justifies their narrative prominence.

Now You See Me: Now You Don't enjoys deploying twists in typical heist-movie tradition, while the mythology involving the Eye remains frustratingly muddled - expanded in some areas, ignored in others, and never clarified enough to justify its continued presence. Worse yet, the film cannot stand on its own: the third act pivots into setup for a fourth entry, dangling a new conspiracy and a fresh roster of adversaries, because apparently a self-contained story is the one illusion this series refuses to perform. Now You See Me: Now You Don't is watchable and even sporadically entertaining, but it feels less like a daring new trick than a familiar routine performed one too many times.

5.2/10

Writer-director Rian Johnson subverts the expectations of his own murder-mystery formula with 2025's Wake Up Dead Man, ditching the buoyant, tongue-in-cheek tone of Knives Out and Glass Onion for something darker, stranger, and narratively denser. Seemingly determined not to repeat himself, Johnson relocates the action to a small-town church and constructs a mostly compelling instalment that feels like a genre hybrid - part whodunnit, part religious thriller. It's a clear improvement on the preceding sequel, but Johnson still falls short of recapturing the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of the 2019 original.


Former boxer Jud Duplenticy (Josh O'Connor) shifts away from violence to pursue a life of faith by becoming a Catholic Priest, though he still cannot control his temper. After punching a rude deacon, Bishop Langstrom (Jeffrey Wright) moves Reverand Jud to upstate New York, working at a church alongside Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (John Brolin). Wicks becomes more volatile during his sermons, which drives away most attendees and only leaves a small, loyal group: town doctor Nat (Jeremy Renner), disabled cellist Simone (Cailee Spaeny), lawyer Vera (Kerry Washington), enthusiastic YouTuber Cy (Daryl McCormack), and best-selling author Lee (Andrew Scott), while Martha (Glenn Close) works as Wicks's dedicated right-hand man. After Wicks ends up dead with a knife in his back during the church's Good Friday service, everyone is quick to blame Reverand Jud, including local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis). The case soon grabs the attention of detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), who believes the police are pursuing an innocent man.

Wake Up Dead Man initially feels nothing like a Knives Out mystery. Blanc briefly appears in the movie's opening minutes but is otherwise absent for the first act, which delves into Jud arriving at the church, clashing with Wicks, becoming acquainted with the regular attendees, and dealing with simmering tensions, leading up to the murder. Aside from a handful of stray comedic beats - Wicks's graphic confessions about masturbation being the most memorable - the first third plays things relatively straight, leaning heavily into religious drama. However, Johnson takes too long to get anywhere, and the film's pacing issues begin here: the setup is sturdy but unnecessarily protracted.


Once Blanc arrives, the film snaps into sharper focus. His investigation is the most engaging and compelling stretch of Wake Up Dead Man, buoyed by a typically eccentric ensemble. Johnson's casting remains impeccable: Josh Brolin brings thunderous authority, Glenn Close is reliably commanding, and Thomas Haden Church steals scenes as the church's gruff groundskeeper. Andrew Scott, Jeremy Renner, Cailee Spaeny, and Kerry Washington all add texture to the mystery's shifting alliances, and it's a pleasure to see Daryl McCormack - who was such a charismatic standout in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande - in more movies. At the centre of it all, young Brit Josh O'Connor turns in a terrific performance, finding nuance in a character torn between faith, fury, and fear.

The mystery itself is layered and ambitious, with the third act introducing yet another twist that pushes Blanc's deductive powers to the limit. Johnson parcels out answers with care - even cheekily interrupting Blanc's trademark "reveal" speech - but indulges in several false endings. At 140 minutes, this is the longest Knives Out film, and it simply doesn't earn the runtime. The final stretch becomes especially baggy and overextended, disrupting the narrative flow just when the tension should be tightening. All the puzzle pieces eventually lock into place, but the journey meanders more than it should.


Johnson relies on his usual collaborators to help bring the picture to life, including cinematographer Steve Yedlin, who dials back the retro filmic look for something more straightforward. (Let's not forget that Knives Out had deliberate wobbling to emulate imperfect film projection.) The atmosphere is certainly thick, particularly during the shadowy third act, as a storm moves in at a crucial moment, giving the movie an almost horror-like feel. Nathan Johnson's score, meanwhile, deepens the sombre tone without overpowering the drama.

Wake Up Dead Man is a clever, competently mounted, and often gripping third instalment that demonstrates Johnson's refusal to coast on formula. However, its excesses - chiefly its bloated runtime and slow build - prevent it from matching the elegance and effervescence of Knives Out. It's a strong and memorable addition to the series, just not a definitive one.

6.7/10

After a nine-year break from feature films, director Derek Cianfrance (The Light Between Oceans, The Place Beyond the Pines) returns with 2025's Roofman, another dramatic romance with criminal undertones. Co-writing the screenplay with Kirt Gunn, Cianfrance turns his attention to a real-life crime spree whose details are almost too bizarre to be true, and the story is a terrific fit for the director's trademark tendencies. Darkly funny and tinged with nostalgia, Roofman is one of 2025's most unfairly overlooked movies.


Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) is a U.S. Army veteran who struggles financially, leading to problems with his ex-wife, Talana (Melonie Diaz), as he tries to provide for his three young children. Turning to a life of crime, Jeff begins robbing McDonald's restaurants, earning the nickname "Roofman" for breaking into buildings through the roof. Although his crimes eventually catch up with him, Jeff is unwilling to stay in prison for long, soon staging a simple escape and eluding the authorities. Jeff creates a makeshift home in a Toys "R' Us store, where he notices an employee, Leigh (Kirsten Dunst), a single mother without a positive male presence in her life. Jeff soon forms a relationship with Leigh after meeting her at a church toy drive, complicating the fugitive's plan and threatening to blow his cover. Planning to eventually flee the country and start afresh elsewhere, Jeff hopes to receive help from fellow veteran Steve (LaKeith Stanfield), who makes a living on the side creating fake IDs.

While constructing the screenplay, Cianfrance interviewed Jeff for several days a week over four years to hear the Roofman's stories, some of which were so unbelievable that the writer-director consulted the arresting officers, who corroborated everything. Roofman is a full meal, clocking in at over two hours as it traces a significant period in Jeff's life. However, the deliberate pacing of the midsection might not work for all viewers, especially due to the director's trademark stylistic restraint. The movie is not entirely accurate, as the script changes a few details to create a more effective dramatisation. For example, Leigh did not work at Toys "R" Us in real life, and Jeff did not hack the store's computer system, among other things. Streamlining and slightly altering the story, luckily, helps the narrative flow without undermining the core facts.


Roofman is brimming with early-2000s nostalgia, functioning as an effective time portal to an era when people still shopped in toy stores, smartphones did not exist, Blockbuster Video stores still attracted regular customers, and McDonald's restaurants still looked exciting and colourful. The production crew lovingly constructed the Toys "R" Us store from scratch for filming, even filling the shelves with actual early-2000s merchandise, and the illusion is so convincing that unsuspecting members of the public reportedly wandered into the building hoping to buy toys. Anybody who shopped at Toys "R" Us during their childhood will get a heartwarming kick out of this meticulous recreation.

Cinematographer Andrij Parekh (Blue Valentine) shot Roofman on 35mm film, resulting in a textured, grainy visual aesthetic to further evoke the early-2000s. Shooting on film and eschewing a glossy digital aesthetic is enormously beneficial, as the decision helps the film visually stand out in 2025. Another impressive detail is Cianfrance's casting of several people who actually participated in the real-life events, including most of the arresting officers and the truck driver who unwittingly helped Jeff escape from prison.


The role of Jeffrey Manchester is an ideal fit for Channing Tatum, who gets the opportunity to flex his unmatchable strength as a charismatic, likeable leading man. Even though Jeff continually shoplifts from Toys "R' Us to pawn video games, and his Boxing Day robbery goes sideways, Tatum still makes us root for him - we want to see Jeff successfully disappear and move to another country without an extradition treaty with the United States. Additionally, Tatum adds an emotional, human core to the story, delivering some of the most resonant and nuanced acting of his career. Thankfully, the supporting cast is equally effective, from the disarming Kirsten Dunst as Leigh to the always-reliable LaKeith Stanfield as Jeff's friend and former sergeant. Meanwhile, Peter Dinklage and the superb Ben Mendelsohn add further colour to the ensemble.

Engaging, emotional, and often humorous, Roofman is a terrific return for Cianfrance, whose cinematic voice has been sorely missed. He approaches the material with sincerity rather than sensationalism, crafting a character study that is both odd and unexpectedly affecting. An offbeat examination of loneliness and reinvention, it's full of small, human moments that accumulate into something quietly resonant. For audiences willing to embrace its gentle pacing and unconventional tone, Roofman is one of 2025's most rewarding discoveries - an unpredictable gem that deserves a broader audience and lingers on the mind long after viewing.

8.2/10

An unexpected but not unwelcome follow-up, 2025's Sisu: Road to Revenge sees writer-director Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Big Game) returning to helm another exciting, badass period action film on a sensible budget. Whereas most action franchises seek to evolve in subsequent entries as they deal with lore and world-building (John Wick, Mission: Impossible, Mad Max), Helander sticks by the same formula that made the original Sisu such a standout: it's another brisk round of brutal, blood-soaked mayhem with minimal set-up and dialogue, and it does not want to waste time developing a larger universe. But instead of feeling like a stale retread, Helander achieves the seemingly impossible: Sisu: Road to Revenge recaptures the lightning-in-a-bottle appeal of its predecessor, and it's actually a superior movie. Bigger and gorier, this sequel is a godsend for fans of masculine action flicks.


In 1946, after the end of World War II, Finnish ex-commando Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), "the man who refuses to die", crosses into a Soviet-controlled part of Finland to his former home, where his family was brutally murdered during the war. Dismantling the house, Korpi loads the wood onto a truck with the intention of rebuilding it somewhere safe in their honour. When the Red Army learns about the border crossing, a KGB officer (Richard Brake) turns to Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), the Soviet Red Army officer responsible for murdering Korpi's family. The KGB break Draganov out of prison to stop the legendary ex-soldier as he makes the dangerous journey towards the Finnish border with his precious cargo and beloved dog. Korpi soon begins slaughtering the soldiers who stand in his way, while Draganov remains committed to the cause, even sending bombers to kill the man who refuses to die.

Helander wastes no time here, briskly establishing the time period and observing a broken Korpi at his former home before the KGB send Draganov into battle. The action starts almost immediately, and Sisu: Road to Revenge hits the ground running with an extended chase that takes up the first two acts and rarely lets up. The first Sisu was all about simplicity, and this follow-up is equally simple, but the storytelling is nevertheless efficient and effective. Watching Korpi mourn his lost family is more powerful than any stretch of dialogue about the event could be, and it wordlessly establishes what has occurred. With Helander dedicating much of Sisu: Road to Revenge's brisk 85-minute running time to brutal, no-holds-barred action, the flick effortlessly recaptures the spirit of 1980s action cinema with more verve and boldness than modern Hollywood.


Visually, Sisu: Road to Revenge is extremely distinct, as it does not look like a bright, slick mainstream blockbuster. Instead, the cinematography is shadowy and moody, with skies looking dark and sullen. Plus, instead of looking clean and glossy, the picture carries actual grit, with a fine layer of grain coating the image, furthering the old-fashioned aesthetic. Helander was playing with nearly double the budget of the original Sisu (reportedly $12.2 million, as opposed to the original's $6-7 million), which allows for a broader scale and more mayhem, including aeroplanes pursuing Korpi's truck for a bit of variety, as well as a climactic showdown on a moving train. Helander largely relies on practical effects and stunts, including real locations and vehicles rather than relentless green-screen, though there is some mild digital enhancement that thankfully never proves distracting.

The action is the big draw here, and Sisu: Road to Revenge consistently delivers - the set pieces are astonishing here, and Helander continues to up the ante and stage engaging battles without it feeling repetitive or boring. Like its predecessor, the film is boldly R-rated, and Helander pulls no punches during the visceral bloodshed as soldiers are shot, stabbed, and maimed. There's also a touch of gallows humour that runs throughout the movie - in one scene, for example, Draganov obliterates a hapless soldier in his vehicle and simply uses the windscreen wipers to wipe away the blood spray. Some of the action is ridiculously over-the-top, such as a moment with a tank jumping over a barricade, but it's all delivered with tongue firmly planted in cheek.


Korpi remains an impossibly strong force of nature who cuts his way through scores of anonymous soldiers in increasingly creative ways, and always comes out on top. However, there are still subtle vulnerabilities to the character, and he certainly does not execute everything perfectly. Jorma Tommila is note-perfect in the role once again, convincingly handling the physical action scenes and the poignant emotional moments without uttering a single word. One must also commend the adorable dog, alongside Tommila, who endures a lot throughout the film. The most recognisable addition to the cast here is Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don't Breathe), who's sinister and authoritative as the villainous Draganov. Meanwhile, terrific and distinct character actor Richard Brake (Game of Thrones, Barbarian) also submits a memorable performance as a KGB officer.

It's easy to see why Helander landed the job of helming the upcoming Rambo prequel - the action throughout Sisu: Road to Revenge is gloriously old-fashioned in its simplicity and brutality, while the director also effectively uses outdoor environments to stage compelling set pieces. For genre fans, Sisu: Road to Revenge is a home run - a thrilling, exhilarating action flick that deserves a spot on the Blu-ray shelf right next to the first Sisu. Count me in for any further sequels.

8.3/10