Zack Snyder proves all of his ability to build visually flawless scenes while corroborating his difficulties in telling a story with interesting characters

Rating: 7/10 (15 May 2020)

Sucker Punch 'debuts as the first film based on an original concept by director Zack Snyder. The director even declared in interviews that the film is a kind of 'Alice in Wonderland with machine guns'. The talented director, responsible for the most interesting recent cinematic experiences of cinema such as Madrugada dos Mortos (2004), 300 (2006), Watchmen, O Filme (2009) and The Legend of Guardians (2010) bring us a different concept bringing a "portrait" stylized movement on the action and type of landscapes of the imagination and things of that nature ", in the director's own words.
Babydoll (Emily Browning) was admitted to a sanatorium by the unscrupulous stepfather, who ordered surgery to destroy her brain. But the young woman discovers that her refuge may be inside her mind and only then will she be able to be free forever. Now, living in this parallel world, she will face supernatural dragons, samurai, robots and Nazis, who will make her live a dangerous and fantastic adventure in the company of fellow inmates Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Rocket (Jena Malone), Amber (Jamie Chung) and Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish). Was this your only chance for liberation?
The script written by Snyder himself along with Steve Shibuya is somewhat daring. Snyder could easily deliver a thought-provoking drama about the limits of sanity, madness, trauma, reality and fantasy, but he preferred to mix it all up with pure fantasy that becomes an allegory to all the protagonist's conflicts and dramas. These fantasies represent the sacrifices made by the girls in the sanatorium in search of the objects that will give Babydoll and her colleagues freedom: a map, fire, a knife, a key, and an undisclosed fifth element that would require a profound sacrifice, but would bring a perfect victory.
The film takes place on three different levels: the asylum where Babydoll is trapped, an imaginary version of this world where she is trapped in a brothel entertaining guests with dance numbers while her friends are prostituted and a third world of imagination, where the girl goes during their performances, in which the patients face their enemies wearing fetish clothes from the nerdy imaginary. In fact, the most interesting thing here is that although the sexualization of the female characters and the action scenes seem free at first glance, there are in the film a series of details and visual metaphors in the three levels of Babydoll's imagination that form a complete story. Some objects may appear in another way, some people may appear in another function, some situations may be metaphorized, but the three levels of consciousness tell the same story and complement each other in this idea. While Babydoll fights monsters to retrieve an essential escape item on the third level, she distracts the men around her with her dance so that her friends steal that object at the brothel level. The film never shows exactly how these men are distracted in the asylum, but it is suggested.
However, it is important to mention that the big problem is the connection we have with these characters because we do not perceive an emotional relationship between the characters, a dramatic arc for any of them or even a basis to justify the fantasies created by the protagonist. Without any explanation, she begins to imagine that she is in a kind of house where she still "dreams" of worlds as diverse as a war trench and a moving train about to explode a city. Where these illusions come from and what they represent remains a real mystery to the viewer. The script could work the fantasies as representations with some meaning, symbolizing the protagonist's psychological state, with her fears and fears. However, there is no sign of this. Was it just a random allegory that sought to represent the objects for the protagonist's freedom? Apparently, the intention seems to be just to create action scenes and spectacular random scenarios made in computer graphics that vaguely refer to objects, but that do not represent any attachment to the real world.
As if that were not enough, Snyder is unable to maintain coherence even in the crazy worlds he creates, since some heroines disappear without justification during missions and villains do not stop appearing when this seems appropriate to the script. But Snyder's lack of skill in narrative matters becomes glaring as he closes the film, completely changing the focus of the story, giving importance to a character who was, during the entire projection, nothing more than a supporting role in a desperate attempt by a brilliant plot twist, but in the end, it just becomes frustrating.
Unlike '300' in which warriors looked with their defined abs, here the protagonists are young and beautiful girls - with provocative names like Rocket, Sweet Pea and Bebydoll - exhibiting their physical attributes in minimal outfits, boasting, breaking, machine guns and swords while eliminating robots, Nazis and gigantic samurai. And Sucker Punch is exactly that: a youthful adventure that looks more like a huge video game, even with its well-defined phases. The various female protagonists seem wasted. Provenly talented actresses like Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone can do nothing but become representations of a youthful imaginary and, although they are all beautiful (the protagonist Emily Browning looks so beautiful in porcelain), this is not enough for the construction of interesting characters, by whom the audience will identify. Even an experienced actress like Carla Gugino seems lost, creating a questionable accent. In the case of the young protagonists, they all lack charisma and do not leave the viewer distressed with the destiny of each one thanks to the invulnerability in the fantastic world, since practically no creature offers real danger to them.
Even if it fails in its dramatic and narrative execution, it should be noted that the integration of the three worlds proved to be a poorly executed idea. However, in terms of aesthetics and visuals, 'Sucker Punch' is a very inspiring achievement. With an inspired photograph of Larry Fong, allied with the production designer Rick Carter, they are breathtaking scenery. All the fantastic scenarios are worth the investment of more than 80 million dollars in this production, like the temple in feudal Japan where Babydoll meets the Wise Man and then has to face three giant samurai, the bunker in World War I (map), the invasion of the orc-infested castle to recover two fire-producing crystals from inside a baby dragon (lighter), the train to fight robotic guards and defuse a bomb (knife). The art direction of Patrick Banister and Todd Cherniawsky also accompanies the impeccable technical quality of the film composing the cabaret and sanatorium scenery with every aspect of the 60s mixed with the aged dirt of the detonated plaster of the wall stained with rusty mirrors. The costume is marked by the beautiful and provocative fetish characterization of each character. The original track is composed of mixes and reinterpretations of some songs, including 'Where's My Mind', 'Army of Me', 'Love Is The Drug', 'Sweet Dreams' and 'Asleep', with these last two being sung by the protagonist Emily Browning.
Zack Snyder's shooting mode provides us with impressive visual compositions. The filmmaker again demonstrates undeniable talent in building beautiful shots, with incredible camera angles and movements. Still, Snyder has a clear tendency to excess when he shows the protagonist countless times dodging a blade in slow motion or when he films the girls falling to the ground in stylish poses.
'Sucker Punch' is definitely one of those 'love it or hate it' movies. It was not meant to be understood literally and it is never explained to the viewer, exactly why the internet is full of theories about what it really proposes to tell. Was it the story of a girl who escapes reality to deal with her traumas? Or a feminist metaphor? Which characters exist and which are only part of the fantasy? The certainty is that the film takes itself too seriously and harms itself, especially in the final act. Snyder, while far from being a visionary genius as many try to sell, is really capable of providing something outside of normal standards, even if only in terms of technique and style. In 'Sucker Punch', the director just proves all of his ability to build visually flawless scenes while corroborating his difficulties in telling a story with interesting characters. Still, the film is a unique visual experience that is worth watching. The work makes you question at all times about the worlds of dream and reality.