Sucker Punch: Movie Review

Sucker Punch: Movie Review

Sucker Punch
Rating: 6/10
Cast: Emily Browning, Jena Malone, Abby Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Carla Gugino, Jamie Chung, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn
Director: Zack Snyder
With a truckload of hype and expectation screaming the next big geek thing, Sucker Punch is finally here.
Set in the 1960s, it's the story of Babydoll (an innocent Emily Browning) who, framed for the murder of her sister, is committed to a lunatic asylum by her murderous father.
With five days to go before she gets a life-changing lobotomy, Babydoll retreats into a fantasy world to try and plan an escape from a fate worse than death.
Along with Sweetpea (Cornish), Amber (Chung), Blondie (Hudgens) and Rocket (Malone), Babydoll sets her plan in motion - with a little help from the Wise Man (Scott Glenn).
Sucker Punch is an incredible film in many ways.
Incredibly frustrating, incredibly inventive and incredibly visual, it's easy to see why it doesn't quite make it.
It's stylish and astounding in spades (and the opening sequence which shows how Babydoll is committed is one of the best visually impressive scenes I've ever clapped eyes on) but narratively, it's not quite there and instead feels like a series of CGI sequences and some mightily impressive music videos.
Don't get me wrong - there are parts of this film that made my inner geek squeal with delight (impressive slow mo fight scenes, shots of 10 foot samurai warriors with red eyes being cut down by Browning's petite frame, dragons and planes, World War trenches with steampunk Nazis, an awesome OST) but therein lies some of the problem of Sucker Punch.
A film with a series of great moments strung together by some disappointing plot does not alone an outstanding movie make.
Sure, there'll be plenty of discussion of how Snyder's trying to provide strong female role models while dressing them up in provocative clothing - but the main feeling from Sucker Punch is it's a fantastic concept which never really gets past the ideas which may have been story boarded.
Having said that though, the core cast are impressive and you believe instantly in Babydoll's fantasy world and understand exactly why she retreats there to escape the horror; every single male character in this film (with the exception of Scott Glenn's Wise Man) is a slimeball and that gives the women a chance to shine in lead roles.
Ultimately, Sucker Punch will appeal greatly to the core audience it wants - the fanboys and fan girls who'll get their geek on over the utterly amazing action sequences.

But with a little more attention to the script, the visionary Snyder could have created a film which had a broader audience and would have been hailed as something revolutionary.