After a remake and three adaptations (Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole) Sucker Punch represents Zack Snyder’s first movie based on original material, his own original idea. The concept is actually pretty good, a looks like it should have come from a comic book, the execution is erratic and has its problems but is generally okay, it certainly doesn’t deserve the backlash it is getting.
Locked up in a mental institution by her evil stepfather, Baby Doll (Emily Browning) has just five days to escape or face being lobotomized. To cope with the horrors of her situation she retreats into a fantasy world where the asylum is replaced by a mob run burlesque club/brothel. Baby Doll plans her escape recruiting other inmates Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung). In order to achieve her escape she must procure certain items, this forms the bulk of the movie and involves four set pieces where the characters descend into a further level of fantasy guided by a wise man (Scott Glenn).
The biggest problem with the movie is the flimsy plot, but broken up the individual elements actually work really well. The set pieces consist of : a sort of Feudal Japan with giant warriors; an alterative First World War with steampunk zombie Hun; a Lord of the Rings type castle complete with Orcs and dragons; and a futuristic train guarded by shiny robots. Each of these is well orchestrated and choreographed and stunningly designed. It offers nothing that new or original, looking like a combination of Mutant Chronicles, Casshern and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. There have been accusations that the real problem of the film is that there is no consequences of the actions in the fantasy therefore there is no real peril or jeopardy (die in Inception and get trapped in Limbo or die in the Matrix and die in the real world too – you get the idea), this is true but it also kind of misses the point, the fantasy world is a representation of what is really happening more like (plot spoiler) Franklyn, therefore if you are getting your ass kicked in the fantasy things aren’t going well for you for you in the real world.
It is hard to fault the design and style of the movie, from the grim bleached opening scenes that pass for reality to the fantasy battlefields via the burlesque reminiscent of Moulin Rouge, the movie is never less than stunning. The absurdity of the contradictions and juxtapositions only serve to enhance the strange beauty of the movie. Whilst visually the movie is as good as any other within the genre it does lack the imagination, originality and perfectly constructed ambiguity of Pan’s Labyrinth. With this in mind it has to fall back on its other strong points, namely action, it more than succeeds on the action front. Where it falls flat is character development. One of the reasons for this become clear later in the movie, but it is a point that seems lost on a lot of viewers and critics alike, this I find surprising as subtlety is one thing that this movie does not contain. That said there is room for more depth of character even within the fantasy and the final outcome, the Sucker Punch of the title.
Had Snyder thought more about the plot to link the four set pieces together in a coherent way the movie good be elevated from not bag to actually quite good. As it stands we have to take the good with the bad and enjoy the movie for what it has to offer accepting the inadequacies of the plot along side the triumphs of the visuals and the concept. And that is my criticism of the movie, it could have been so much more.
Three Stars out of five ★★★★★
Can’t wait to watch this movie. It reminds me of a twist between Sin City and Charlie’s Angels!
Hope you like it when you get to see it, I would say it is more like Mutant Chronicles crossed with Franklyn.
Ok, that’s all well and good. Now, allow me to tear it to shreds.
I’ll agree with you on the plot incoherence, and take you one further. Nothing in this movie made sense! Why does Baby Doll imagine the brothel? Why can’t she just go into her mind battles from the asylum. That would have been so much better!
You mentioned that the action was fun, but I completely disagree. The only action scene that had any pizazz to it was the final one on the train. Every other one was just stilted for precisely the reason you mentioned, they were invincible. I get that it’s supposed to be representative of what’s going on in the real world, but, because there was no chance of anyone actually getting hurt, all the action scenes, except for the last one, were SOOOOOOOO boring. And they weren’t all that cool. The dragon thing is too short, and the shootout with the zombies is just that, a shootout, and nothing more. Coming from Zach Snyder, this is a huge disappointment.
And what about how the film treats women. Sorry! You can prattle on all day about how this is really about female empowerment, but, at the end of the day, this is one of the more misogynistic things to come out in a while.
Seriously! Nothing about this film worked. It was such a let down for me.
Sebastion, I’m disappointed, I asked you to tear it to shreds and all you have done is rolled out the usual clichéd criticisms. Rather than answer your question “Why does Baby Doll imagine the brothel” I will ask you a question, does Baby Doll exist? I liked all the action set pieces but interestingly I found the train to be the least enjoyable. “misogynistic” implies a hatred or dislike of women, quite the opposite is evident here. I haven’t and would not go as far as to call the movie empowering but I would certainly say it is against the oppression of women, although it may objectify them at times it certainly doesn’t dislike them. I find misogyny is increasingly becoming a stick people use to beat movies they simply don’t like.
I saw a trailer for this before The King’s Speech and was really intrigued by the idea of a fantasy world within an asylum but I did fear it might get lost in visual effecfts and forget to tell a story. Sounds like that’s exactly what happened.
It seems to be a common problem for Snyder. I found 300 and Watchmen a bit lacking as well, although it’s hard to put your finger on what’s wrong I think you’re right that the characters aren’t quite as developed as they should be. He seems to be able to make amazing moving pieces of art, but he hasn’t quite got his story telling down yet.
Yes, it does get lost in all the visuals but it still has a lot to offer.
10.0000 points for this movie
innovative, original, creative and great
film of the year so far
If you don’t get it
go back to American idol and be lobotomized…….
I found nothing over sexual or traumatic.
just great entertainment.
Made Tron look like the plastic hash it is.
bazza
I like two of Zack Snyder flicks but this one doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest, a rental at best. I’m super excited for his next project though, desperately hoping he won’t mess it up.
Emily in that third pic definitely looks like my Zumba instructor.
This is a simple one. Snyders (Zack and Deborah) promised a film that would examine the conventions of the female action heroine and the dichotomy between their fragility and their strength while also exploring sexual politics. They introduce these themes without resolving them, so their third act has no payoff and their film ultimately fails to meet the expectations they set.
The action scenes are good and all, but they’re empty in the strictest sense of the word and the rest of the film doesn’t back them up. An interesting experiment, and one I applaud, but it’s a failure by all counts.
I saw the sucker punch trailer on the previews of a new release. the trailer absolutely blew me away. they music with the actions sequences was mind blowing. I Have to agree that the plot was not appealing. but its better than most. action was amazing and snyder pushed the envelop and baby dollwa so hot