WFG RATING: A-

Shout! Studios, Raven Banner Entertainment, and Black Lion Pictures present a Frozen Flame Pictures production in association with Kajawood Studios. Directed by Jesse Haaja. Produced by Mikko J. Norvanto and Timo Puustinen. Written by Pehto Lehtosaari; based on characters created by Jesse Haaja. Cinematography by Tero Saikkonen. Edited by Pekka Lehtosaari, Mikko J. Norvanto, Mikko Löppönen, and Timo Puustinen.

Stars Kris Gummerus, Sean Cronin, Bruce Payne, Jessica Wolff, Kaitlyn Boyé, Mikko Nousiainen, Juha-Matti Halonen, Jonah Paull, Jari Manninen, and Jarmo Mäkinen.

The Finnish superhero finally returns in this long-awaited sequel that may have had issues, but still holds as quite a follow-up.

The VALA Corporation, creators of the NH25 vaccine, has a new head in Christopher “Smiley” Cox, who brings a sense of ruthlessness behind the scenes to anyone who does him wrong. However, Smiley does have someone who has been under his skin for a while now. And that is Rendel, who nearly took down the company a year ago when they destroyed his life by killing his family and leaving him for dead. 

Rendel relies on two allies to help him as he suspects VALA is up to something that could be more dangerous than ever before. One is Kurrikka, a former member of the company who was responsible for Rendel’s former alter ego Rämö getting a job with the company before his discovery of VALA’s truths led him to become the masked vigilante. The other is Nina, a local reporter who also has suspicions of the company. When Smiley’s agenda involves bringing the dead back to life, Rendel must fight not only the company again, but fight the demons within himself as his quest of revenge could lead to serious consequences. 

Announced in 2018 after a successful international run, this sequel to FInland’s first superhero film would soon be known for its problems plaguing production. The creator of the character, director Jesse Haaja, promised a better film than his original film and began production in 2019. When the COVID-19 pandemic caused production to halt with the script incomplete, tensions rose between Haaja, producer Miika J. Norvanto and screenwriter Pekka Lehtosaari. Haaja would end up being fired from his own creation and this would lead to his eventual retirement from filmmaking. Despite Haaja having sole credit on the film, credit goes to Norvanto and Lehtosaari, who finished the film. 

Kris Gummerus returns to the role of Rendel, and despite the use of flashbacks from the first film, the film is more than just revenge. We see Rendel wrestle with the guilt and demons inside him as revenge is the only thing he can think about. His first scene involves him saving a young boy, played by Jonah Paull, who witnessed a hit by Smiley and his crew only to fall and suffer from amnesia. When a tragic event happens later in the film, Rendel once again grapples within himself as he is not a superhero but someone who constantly takes a beating and keeps going, even when a stabbing against him will bring out another side of him in Marla, who compared to Rendel, uses a more stylized style of fighting. Marla is played this time around by Jessica Wolff and she sports more of a look reminiscent of “the gift” in the AMC series Into the Badlands. 

One of the highlights of the film is that of the lead villain. Where the original film had a lead villain in the bratty son of VALA’s CEO, the villain this time is more ruthless and is the current head of the company. British actor Sean Cronin was born to play the role of Smiley, who in front of cameras for interviews, brings a sense of charm. However, behind the cameras, he is as ruthless as ever, especially when he has a hidden agenda and using low-level goons as guinea pigs for his experiments, all conducted by German engineering duo Horst and Gert, played by Jarmo Mäkinen and Jari Manninen. In flashbacks, his grandfather, the founder of the company is played by a legendary villain actor in Bruce Payne. 

Mikko Löppönen once again serves as fight coordinator of the film and while Rendel used a more street fighting style in the previous film, he’s given a more technical fighting akin to kickboxing as well as escrima, using two sticks against the VALA goons. As for his alter ego Marla, she comes in with a kickboxing style that employs lots of side kicks and even some decent legwork a la Taekwondo. There’s even swordwork in the film as we see Smiley have a style combining bare-knuckle brawling and bushido, as he has a mentality involving the ways of the Samurai and Yakuza. 

Despite the behind-the-scenes issues that plagued production, Rendel: Cycle of Revenge is actually a pretty good sequel that’s almost as good as the original. It’s refreshing to see a hero grapple with the demons within himself to complete his mission at hand. Some great action as well and an excellent performance by Sean Cronin as the villain will make you want to see this.

Now available On Demand and will be released on DVD from Shout! Studios on July 30.