Genre: Action | Fantasy | Thriller
Director: Zack Snyder
Writer: Zack Snyder (screenplay & story), Steve Shibuya (screenplay)
Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material involving sexuality, violence and combat sequences, and for language.
Summary: A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility.
Run Time: 109 min.
Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch is a gamer boy’s wet dream. From the trailers, you’d think, “What the heck is this film about?” But heck, it really doesn’t matter. Just sit back, relax, and let your eyes indulge in the visual orgy of game-play type action and babes that kick ass.
Sucker Punch is a feast for the eyes with well choreographed fight scenes, video-game inspired special effects and environments, and stylized costumes for this band of chicks. Turn off your brain when you get seated for this film, for plot is not where Sucker Punch shines. The storyline of the film does (unnecessarily) nest an alternate reality inside another alternate reality, but this is not Inception. You’ll see that Snyder has attempted to give the film some existential depth, but let’s just give that aspect an “E” for effort and move on, shall we?
[Above: Left to right – Blondie, Sweet Pea, Baby Doll, Amber, and Rocket]
The characters are each exaggerated archetypes for their roles and artfully expressed in visual composition and execution by the actors. The baddies are easy to hate and the girls fighting for their freedom are a flavorful girl-band comprised of the baby (Baby Doll – Emily Browning), the leader (Sweet Pea – Abbie Cornish), the rebel (Rocket – Jena Malone), the ethnic chic (Amber – Jamie Chung), and the fifth, forgettable one (Blondie – Vanessa Hudgens). The most memorable performance goes to Jena Malone as the spunky Rocket. Her character has the most depth and you’ll be clamoring for her to have her own comic book series.
As a costumer, I really enjoyed the costuming aspects of this film. It was stylized, yet not overtly busty or terribly unrealistic video game clothing. Costume companies are undoubtedly clamoring to get their Sucker Punch costumes to factories in China. Boys, start angling for a Sucker Punch Halloween theme for your girlfriends/wives! Ladies, pre-order your costume here.
Just as Snyder’s 300 provided mucho eye-candy for women, Sucker Punch is this for the boys. You’ll enjoy each level of the fights these girls battle through, scored by a throbbing soundtrack featuring such artists as Bjork, Skunk Anansie, and Emiliana Torrini. Director Zack Snyder has captured the look and feel of a video game experience into this live-action playground of Baby Doll’s imagination. Watching the fight scenes, it is clear that all of the actresses had extensive fight training and it sure pays off. They didn’t pull any punches in the action!
I went into this film wanting to see chicks cut down every foe in their path and it did not disappoint! Unfortunately, the what-you-see-is-what-you-get expectation also led me to the conclusion that I could have already written nearly this entire review without having seen the movie. Sucker Punch delivers exactly what it promises. Get your Sucker Punch cocktail on:
- one part video game
- one part music video
- one part action
- two parts eye candy for the boys
The bottom line is… if you watch the trailer and like what you see, then go see Sucker Punch, because that’s exactly what you’re going to get – beautifully airbrushed women in sexy, punk-vintage outfits, toting blades and guns while battling their way through a live-action, game-like environment. Will this stand multiple viewings? Probably not, but it sure is a fun ride!
I give Sucker Punch Three out of Five Stars.
