Sucker Punch
Blondie, Amber, Baby Doll, Sweet Pea and Rocket
Sucker Punch
Directed by Zack Snyder
Rated PG-13
Three-and-a-half stars.
*
Sucker Punch opens with young Baby Doll (Emily Browning) being committed to an asylum that turns out to have a brothel hidden inside. Desperate to escape, Baby Doll recedes into a fantasy world where she unexpectedly finds power. But is it enough to free herself?
This is an intriguing idea. Trauma victims often undergo a
The real world. Maybe.
process call "dissociation" where, when the pain grows too overwhelming, the victim's mind will sort of…go away for awhile. It's the last refuge of the horribly abused, and the idea of a victim finding power in that most powerless of places has so much potential that based on that concept alone I knew psychologists foaming at the mouth to see this movie.
However, in execution, Sucker Punch seems to have designed its characters like this:
Guy A: Okay, what's every kinky sex fantasy you can think of?
Guy B: Uuummm…Naughty Schoolgirl, Naughty Nurse, Girl With Gun, Girl in Leather, Hot Older Slut–mid-thirties is old, right?–Stripper, and Barbarian Swordswoman.
"I enjoy long walks on the beach and reading poetry."
Guy A: And that's our character list!
Guy B: Don't forget the panty shots.
And then designed its fight scenes like this:
Guy A: Okay, let's put everything cool we've ever seen in video games together, then double how many of them we have on screen at one time, and make them explode.
The thing about Zack Snyder is, you can tell the guy loves Matrix/V for Vendetta-type films where the awesome action compliments deeper ideas about things like the human condition, spirituality, and politics. He always tries to include those ideas in his own films, but they never fit together quite right, and Sucker Punch is not an exception. The "dissociation as power" idea is fascinating, and the surreal "dream inside a fantasy inside a dream" that Baby Doll experiences as she begins to lose track of what's real is cool. However, the execution is flawed, particularly in a twist ending which is much less, "Oh, I see!" and much more "Hang on, that doesn't make sense, and is also kind of stupid."
The action and visuals are awesome, but because the movie tried to make me think too much I had trouble getting into them in the last act.
Sweet Pea will kick your ass.
This is not to say Sucker Punch is a total loss. Those action scenes are pretty damn awesome; if Sucker Punch doesn't manage to be a statement about power for the powerless, it still provides a creative visual feast for fanboys and gals. It has an awesome soundtrack. And I loved the Wise Man (Scott Glenn), the guru who guided the girls along their way. If you don't think too hard, this movie is fun, certainly worth a look at the dollar theaters where it is now. The sheer creativity of the designs and scale of the action might just blow you away.
*
Review by Elizabeth Reuter
