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SISU (15, 88 mins)

Taking its title from the Finnish word for a deep-rooted stoicism and rage, which manifest when all hope seems lost, Sisu is a gleefully overblown action adventure that pits one seemingly indestructible man against the might of the Nazi war machine.

Writer-director Jalmari Helander previously spiked the festive spirit with his deliciously dark seasonal fable, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.

Here, he doesn’t stint on the wince-inducing gore. Everyone is expendable. Helander firmly embraces the madness of his hyperviolent vision, paring back dialogue and exposition to deliver a lean, streamlined 88 minutes of adrenaline-pumping thrills.

In 1944 as the Second World War enters its final stretch, Finland attempts to remove invading German forces from its borders to honour the terms of a recent treaty with the Soviet Union.

The Nazis retaliate with sickening scorched earth tactics. Retired

Finnish commando Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) prospects for gold in the countryside. This solitude is a far cry from his past as an instrument of destruction. En route to the nearest town, Aatami silently passes sadistic German platoon leader Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie), who is murdering indiscriminately with his second-in-command Wolf (Jack Doolan).

The Nazi commandant is instructed to ignore Aatami and evacuate but once he learns the old man is carrying a glistering fortune in his saddle bags, Helldorf foolishly engages the prospector in combat.

Neatly bookmarked into seven blood-saturated chapters with self-explanatory titles Sisu is a selfconsciously ridiculous romp that refuses to shy away from outlandish excess.