To me, this movie is perfection.

Simply A Masterpiece

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I will start by stating this is a review about a movie, not about the conflict itself. I am sick of reading peoples personal opinions on the conflicts themselves, this site is about discussing movies not actual conflicts so you should watch a movie with a neutral standing. And you should certainly post without prejudice, because at the end of the day, it is just a movie!Although I watched this movie and to an extent enjoyed it, I can't really recommend this movie to anyone. Again let me illustrate the fact I am basing all my opinions on the movie itself, not the war it is based on! I don't wish to offend anyone, but the characters were mostly annoying, there was no cohesion amongst the soldiers or the commanding officers and the soldiers didn't for one second convince me that they were soldiers. Added to this there was zero discipline shown which even the poorest American war movie has a little of. I'm not sure if it was poor casting or poor script but it was unconvincing. And to me this was a let down.This is a 90% drama 10% action war movie, which needs seriously good plot, scripting, acting and very strong characters to keep you enthralled. It almost pulls it off, but there is something missing, as such this is a good movie - not a great movie. Also if the film was made to showcase the little known war, then it failed, because I am non the wiser now as I was before the movie. Also, these guys went deep into enemy lines to do re-con yet I failed to see any re-con being done? And the only way they could get word back to HQ was to send injured people back?I am married to a Finn so I watched this because I am interested in Finland, however to anyone who doesn't have ties to Finland, I think this is just another uneventful war movie. Which there are hundreds if not thousands of. Although as I said, this movie had the potential to be great, but something let it down, I can't put my finger on what, but after the movie I was left a little empty inside. For this reason I rate it 7 out of 10.It is worth a watch, but I couldn't say to people "wow, you must watch this film" because it brings nothing new to the table, there is nothing here that stands out or that hasn't been done before.

I liked this movie. However I do not understand people who rank it as a masterpiece. This is an ordinary war movie. Not bad but nothing else. Hovewer it has really funny moments which will make you laugh, for instance Finnish soldier pierced by a dozen of bullets was not only still alive but was able to run and fight. Or a booby trap made of a black powder with such a primitive fuse that was obsolete I think in 16 century. Or a bunch of Finns who assaulted and kicked asses of an entire Russian battalion in a Rambo style. Sorry to say that but it was not very pleasant for me to look how my fellow countrymen were represented in this masterpiece. The stone age barbarians must have had better and cleaner cabins then "Russa". It was laughable for me but almost all my friends who watched this film felt a little bit offended. As a conclusion: I am glad that I watched it but saved my money and didn't buy DVD. Peace.

"Ambush" had me interested for about the first half of the movie, but after that I realized that not much more is coming. The film is dragging on occasion and doesn't really get to the point. The end is also a little too over the top with a handful of Finnish soldiers taken on hundreds of Russians. The director seems to have put a great deal into the details, which I liked. However, the storyline is very thin. You mostly watch a platoon of Finnish soldiers walking around for the better part of the movie, which makes you tired pretty quick. Nevertheless, to have never seen a Finnish movie before, it was much better than I expected it to be. Like I said, the movie itself was done well, but the story could have been much more interesting. Not a whole lot happens in that movie. Maybe if they had cut about 30-40 minutes from that movie then it would have been more fast pace and easier to watch. In the end I have to say that this movie is O.K. to watch once, but definitely not worth buying the DVD.

"Rukajärven Tie" is set in the opening stages of the "Continuation War." In 1941, the Finns sought to take advantage of the German invasion of the Soviet Union to seize back--with interest--the territory the Soviets had captured from Finland in the Winter War of 1939-40. The main protagonist is Eero Perkola, a subaltern commanding a platoon of Finnish bicycle infantry which is participating in the invasion. Once in Russia, Perkola is surprised to run into his fiancée, Kaarina, whom he thought to be safe in Helsinki, but who has joined the women's auxiliaries. Perkola requests his battalion commander to transfer the auxiliaries away from the front. The battalion commander agrees, but asks Perkola to take on a special mission in return; Perkola's platoon is to reconnoitre forward of a gap in the Finnish lines to ensure the Soviets are not preparing to counter-attack in that sector.This puts "Rukajärven Tie" into the "Lost Patrol" (as in the 1934 John ford film) category of war movies: a small unit making its way through hostile territory, harassed by groups of hostile fighters. Of course, this film is about Finns. It helps to have some knowledge of the historical situation to comprehend this film, but it's not vital. The soldiers do not see the war as some "crusade against godless communism," they're looking for payback, and while ideological differences within the unit are touched upon, the Russians (note: the Russians, not the Soviets) are clearly the common enemy, and the bitterness (in varying degrees) of the Finnish soldiers is clearly evident. War movies of this kind depend on suspense rather than spectacle, and this film has suspense in spades.The soundtrack contributes to the highly evocative atmosphere in the movie, from the excellent musical score to the buzzing of mosquitoes whenever the action takes place near any body of water. Otherwise, this film is an anorak wargamer's delight, featuring weapons very rarely seen in war movies (such as an SVT-40 Tokarev rifle in the hands of a Russian sergeant, and several Lahti-Saloranta M26 light machineguns), bicycle-mounted infantry (ubiquitous in many early 20th-century armies, but rarely seen in movies), and displaying the highly informal nature of the Finnish armed forces (the only salute in the film is a mark of respect, not of regulations). Incongruously, the platoon behaves amateurishly on occasion, e.g. bunching up while exposed to possible enemy machinegun fire, etc. but this is a minor distraction.This film has almost everything most people could ask for; sex, violence and though the plot is a little thin in places, there's lots of character development to make up for it. I loved it.