The Finnish title may be untranslatable (think ‘Back-against-the-wall indomitable courage’), but the action, ultra-violence and gore easily cross international borders since director Jalmari Helander makes this WWII chase-and-shoot thriller neatly balanced between mirth, mayhem & absurdity. The look seemingly realistic and stylized; not so much the expected Asian Martial Arts, more like a Chuck Jones Road Runner cartoon. Finland tundra in for South West canyons. Plus a twist: Wile E. Coyote is our heroic alter-ego. With apologies to Ernest Hemingway, it’s THE OLD MAN AND THE NAZIS. Finnish sniper Jorma Tommila (a one-man killing unit) had been taking out hundreds of Russians like a scythe running thru a wheat field early in the war before walking away from battle to mine for gold. But the changing landscape of war in 1944 sees retreating Nazi forces after him and his stash. So now it’s the Nazis’ turn to die in the hunt. A crash landing, a hanging, a drowning, nothing seems able to stop this guy. More than tough, he’s downright immortal. Held to a brisk 91" (any longer and it would collapse from CGI fatigue which it almost does in a flying sequence), but taken on its own terms, it’s effective and weirdly fun.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: *A Finnish production, but made in English.
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