Pulp Objectification

Rating: 2/10 (2 April 2011)

In a day when Hollywood craves good original screenplays, Sucker Punch proves that some filmmakers should stick to adapting great source material. An exuberantly bad pastiche of genres, Sucker Punch is the anti-Quentin Tarantino film. Zack Snyder's story is mashup of several different genres, none of which prove successful in the long run. The number of believable lines in Snyder's screenplay can be counted on two hands, thus providing very little material for the potentially good cast of women to work with. Snyder clearly doesn't know how to construct a visually disinteresting shot, but it all doesn't matter because the film trips over its own feet constantly.
Sucker Punch is told from the point-of-view of Babydoll (Emily Browning), a young girl who is sent to an asylum by her father after she accidentally kills her sister in the bravado opening sequence. It isn't too long before Babydoll realizes that she is scheduled for a lobotomy. Her vivid fantasies cause her to realize escaping is her only way to survive. Babydoll enlists the help of the girls in her ward to help guide her through her intense journey out of the asylum. The supporting cast includes Abbie Cornish, Carla Gugino, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone, Jamie Chung, and Scott Glenn. Look for a brief performance from Jon Hamm at the very end.
What's good about this film is, indeed, pretty good, however there are very few things I can say in this area, unfortunately. Zack Snyder is a visual extraordinaire. His slow motion shots of flying weaponry and spinning girls are a wonder to watch. Larry Fong, the cinematographer for 300 and Watchmen, does wonders with the supersaturated blacks and oranges that create a moody contrast between fantasy and reality.
The story is bizarrely fragment and surprisingly boring. Four 20-minute action sequences punctuate the storyline involving the asylum, which is unfortunate because that was the only one I was actually interested in. The beginning and end are worth seeing for their emotional intensity and surprising depth, however the war/samurai/dystopian/medieval fantasies are flat and plain, despite the action displayed on screen, which should be rich but isn't at all. Very often, the story sucker punches itself and doesn't every get back up.
Sucker Punch is meant to be an action movie and yet its action sequences are the least interesting parts. Each one attempts to allude to a previous great film in its respective category, but each one is unsuccessful. Furthermore, the choreography of each fight is exactly what one might expect; there isn't a single thing that excites or creates any sort of reaction.
Zack Snyder has clearly stated that Sucker Punch was supposed to be 18 minutes longer with an alternate ending. The question is, do I care? The answer is yes, oddly enough. Sucker Punch has the strange potential to be a classic. After all, how many films received negative reviews upon their initial release and ended up in cult fandom?
One other shortcoming of this film that should absolutely be noted is the treatment of women. Although Sucker Punch wants to be a feminist movie, it actually turns out to be demeaning more than anything. Scantily clad women are sexualized throughout the entire film, and it is our job to be thrilled by the imminent danger of rape and abuse that so often happens in the asylum. It's scary to think that somebody let this kind of plot happen in this day and age.
Sucker Punch truly hit me hard, but not in a good way. The objectified, stiletto-wearing protagonists stumble through the entire middle third, making the good beginning and ending moot. The cast is oddly bland, but Snyder makes up for it with his impressive visuals. Overall, Sucker Punch is an experience people shouldn't enjoy. It's a post-post-modern mess that will be remembered as a geekgasm, for now at least.