Sucker Punch

Of course I had heard all the negative reviews when I sat to watch this. Of course I had seen the MTV-friendly action trailer. But critics can be biased and marketing can be misleading, so I decided to give this a go. On the face of it this film could have been similar to Pan's Labyrinth in regards the idea of a young girl/woman living through hardship and extending that hardship into a fantasy world of demons and otherworldly creatures. Certainly after watching the first very stylish fifteen minutes this felt like a film that would take this foundation of abuse and deep physiological injury and do something exciting, interesting and clever with it – at least, that's how it felt it could have been.

The problem is that, despite setting up these themes, the film does nothing with them – nothing at all. The dual fantasy sequences do not connect to any of the ideas or possible themes but rather represent an action sequence in the place of a (often mundane) aspect of the girl's plan to escape the burlesque house (which itself is a fantasy version of the mental institution). So for example when Babydoll dances to distract the mayor to allow the others to pickpocket a cigarette lighter , we cut away to a sequence of the girls raiding a castle to kill a dragon and steal the crystals that make it breathe fire. It might as well be a different film in these action sequences, and indeed they are – but the problem is that these sequences seem to be the film that Snyder wanted to make.

In fairness these massively dumb action sequences are full of style and presentation with impressive effects. They work for what they are and, even though the slow-mo, use of music and overall design is derivative, it does still provide plenty of style. But they aren't connected to anything in the film and this means that they have the same effect as they do in the trailer – "oh, that's fancy" but nothing more. There is no heart to them and as such these parts of the film are nothing more than another blockbuster with loads of effects but nothing else.

The lack of anything else is what kills the film because by the halfway point the empty noise becomes nothing more than noise. It is not even that it fails to make something of the ideas, characters and story – it is that it simply has no desire to do anything with them – like it is happy to be nothing. This annoyed me and it gets worse as the ending of the film attempts to suddenly have a darkness, to have a heart – it is too little too late and it doesn't work. In the absence of ideas to interest the viewer, one is left to think about other things. The exploitative fetishism of school-girl outfits, guns, sexuality and violence is one such thing I thought about – particularly since it was in a film whose final lines of dialogue appear to lift up the women characters. The sexual costumes and imagery do nothing of the sort but there is not some underlying misogyny as some have claimed – it is simply another part of Synder making his film as emptily commercial as possible, and sexy young women being sexy sells – just as gun porn and special effects sell. The cast match this as well – occasionally they look like they could have delivered more but ultimately they are little more than sexual effects. Browning, Cornish and Malone have a bit of heart to them but Hudgens and Chung are just flesh (not that I minded too much). This is not a film that cares about its cast – and the audience won't either.

Sucker Punch is not as awful as you have heard – it is too expensive and stylish for that. No, it is just poor because it simply does nothing other than empty, heartless style that is noisy and pointless. The ideas and themes go nowhere and the film has no interest in them or the characters. All that matters is slow-motion, cool music, big action and comic book style – if that is all you want without caring about any of it then this will fill your ears and eyes for a while – but if you want more then best give this a miss.

I've loved this film since its first run in theaters. Largely panned by critics and somewhat of a box office bomb, this film has been misunderstood from day one.

At face value, its t*ts and *ss and violence. I suppose the majority of viewers either loved it or despised it at that level. No doubt, knee jerk feminists were loud and strident haters. Seeing it as exploitation. I believe there is more nuance to 'Sucker Punch'.

It's more of a comment on how girls and young women are manipulated sexually and emotionally. You have to look a bit deeper past the in-your-face sex and violence. Most viewers won't invest themselves enough to see past this which is a bit sad.

Aussie actresses' Emma Browning and Abbie Cornish are exceptional as is Jena Malone. The rest of the cast is adequate.

The dream sequences are sublime, and the soundtrack is simply outstanding. These are some of the greatest songs sever recorded. I would rate this as one of the best soundtracks of the last 20 years.

Nearly every review you read for this film will say the same thing, it's a 'love or hate' movie, and there's a very good reason for this. "Sucker Punch" is not the film you were expecting, whatever that might have been, particularly if you were expecting a hyper-masculine affair a la "300". If anything it is hyper-feminine; at its core this is a movie about women struggling against the evil male influences in their lives. That doesn't mean it isn't loaded with action - it really is, and it is beautiful, but if you're looking for an easy watch, this isn't for you. In terms of sheer originality, this movies narrative style is right up there with classics like Pulp Fiction and Memento, but there is a downside to this - you need to keep an open mind. If you can't watch this movie, at least once without - and this may sound weird, but you'll get what I mean when you watch it - demanding to know exactly what is going on, right the hell now, it will lose you, and it won't get you back. But if you can keep an open mind, right till the end, at the very least it will give you a lot to think about

On the other hand, don't go thinking that is all it has to offer. It is visually stunning in a way that makes director's like Michael Bay and (dare I say it) James Cameron, look like blind toddlers with a handy-cam strapped to their heads. As for the music, it's not often I'm afraid of giving spoilers for a movies soundtrack, I'll say that much, and every track fits the movie perfectly.

I'm going to shoot myself in the foot here, but when it comes to this movie, don't listen to the reviews, and just go see it. I really think time will tell with this one on that front. I can't promise you'll like it, but I can promise you'll remember it 6 months from now, and how many movies can you say that about?

I'm already giggling picturing the cries of protest that will rise up when I post this review, but the hell with it, I really like Zach Snyder's Sucker Punch. I never deliberately play the contrarian, I just seem to often gravitate towards films that have been maligned by the masses, and I can't really help it. Now, in this film's case, a few of the many and varied negative criticisms are somewhat warranted, yet blown out of proportion when you really take a good look at the story. The film is pure style, and although Zachary might have let his imagination run a little wild and clutter the whole affair with fanboy fantasies and video game visuals, there is a clear and discernible story beneath if one cares to look. Now, the only way that story is entirely comprehended is by watching the extended director's cut, which includes an absolutely crucial, pivotal scene that's should have never, ever ended up on the editing room floor for the theatrical version. Seriously, they we're straight up asking for hostility and confusion by not keeping it in every cut of the film, it's just common sense. Speaking of story, here we go: the film opens in breathless style and classic patented Snyder slo mo, with young Baby Doll (Emily Browning) trying to save her little sister from their tyrannically abusive stepfather. Outsmarted and shipped off to an austere mental institution, her journey is a sad, surreal and somewhat befuddling one, but there's a method to the madness that might not be clear with only one viewing of the film. The asylum she is sent to is plagued by a sinister orderly (Oscar Isaac) who is abusing the girls in his care, and as a result, Baby Doll channels such horrors into a grandiose set of fantasy worlds, the base of which rests on a burlesque style brothel where she and others work for volatile pimp Blue (also Isaac). Joined by Amber (Jamie Chung), Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone) and Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), she blocks out the reality of what is happening and replaces the details of an elaborate, systematic escape attempt with impossibly epic, highly stylized adventures, each of a different theme or set in a vaguely familiar period of history. Battling medieval dragons, giant samurai golems with mini-guns, WWI zombie hordes in a gaunt, bombed out European landscape, it's all a detailed rush of sound and fury that hits you like a ton of bricks, and although is far too much for the film to handle and still get its point across, it's completely dazzling stuff, especially on Blu ray. Guided by a mysterious Wise Man (a kickass, rootin tootin Scott Glenn) who shows up in a different get up each time and mentored by brothel Madam of sorts Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino), each setting holds the key to move along a certain cog in their plan, correlating back down the line of delusions straight to the asylum, if a little tenuously. Now it all hinges on the arrival of the High Roller (Jon Hamm), a rich playboy who has come to the brothel to see Baby Doll dance, and probably more. Here's where they messed up royally: The scene I mentioned earlier is a monologue from him that is pretty much one of the most important parts of the film, capping off both realities beautifully, and without it, not only is Hamm relegated to basically a walk on extra, the entire final punch of the climax is rendered lost and neutered, not too mention quite uncomfortable in a sense. Whoever was in charge of that particular piece of the editing should be tarred, feathered and run off the studio lot by teamsters. With the scene left in on the extended version, however, the story is given both point and purpose, feeling like a complete vision with a little weight to go along with it's Hindenburg sized bag of visual tricks. Not Snyder's best for sure, but it's in no way close to the turkey some people will have you believe it is. Whiners. Style over substance? Yes, I'll definitely concede there's an imbalance, but don't try and tell me the whole thing is bereft of substance at all, because that is a lazily researched argument. The soundtrack is a treasure chest, I might add, with beautiful covers of Sweet Dreams and Sing Me To Sleep sung by Browning herself.

Really underrated movie. It's not just your typical stylized action flick, it's quite a heartbreaking story in its core.

On a rewatch of this movie I really started to understand what was REALLY going on here. Once you understand what's really going on in the movie it will break your heart.

Great action, great story line, characters you really feel for.

I think this movie is rated so low because the people drawn to it don't think past the surface.