A huge admirer of the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ is Finnish director Jalmari Helander. He helmed the truly action-packed Sisu in 2022, which had the grizzled character Aatami, played by Jorma Tommila, have his own personal war with Nazis at the end of WW2.

It was violent, bloody – literally – good fun, with its refreshingly retro homage to eighties action flicks.

Helander, who also wrote the film, clearly thought that Aatami’s story needn’t end there, and sees him make a welcome return in this much anticipated sequel.

Two years on from his personal conflict with Nazis, Aatami (Tommila), he’s decided to return to his family home, where they were murdered, which now, because of the war, finds itself in the Soviet Union.

Once there, he has one thing on his mind, to dismantle, one wooden beam at a time, and take it to Finland where he will rebuild it.

And that’s exactly what he does, loading it all onto his truck, and makes the journey back, with only his dog for company.

Unfortunately for him, the man who killed is family, Igor Draganov (Stephen Lang), has been released from a Siberian prison, to finish the job he started, and will stop at nothing until he’s done so, and stopped Aatami in his tracks.

Helander’s sequel is the perfect bloody bookend to his first feature. In simple terms it’s more of the same; Aatami doesn’t have time for words, as he’s too busy finding creative ways to get rid of his enemies.

He’s a silent assassin, in a film that’s a cross between Mad Max and Rambo, embracing the gloriously over-the-topness of the action that those films had, as it puts its foot down on the action pedal, with no brake in sight, with breathtaking momentum.

Just like the first, it’s dripping with blood viscerally, with a satisfying body count, as all those that cross Aatami’s path, most definitely get what they deserve. It has a cartoonish styling, as if it were putting the ‘graphic’ into a graphic novel, with some outrageous scenes that are likely to satiate anyone with a thirst for blood and guts.

If you enjoyed the first, the sequel won’t disappoint, as it’s a perfect fix of retro violence making it unmissable for fans of action flicks. Bloody brilliant.