The audience is the recipient of the Sucker Punch.

Rating: 4/10 (13 July 2011)

Following on the heels of his over-hyped, super-stylish and widely-embraced 300 and Watchmen, director Zack Snyder takes on the classic theme of misogyny in the swords-and-corsets, avenging-angel fantasy, Sucker Punch.
300 basically gave its viewers scantily-clad Spartan warriors fighting to survive (in order to fight another day). Watchmen did the same thing ... although its characters were superhero-clad warriors fighting to survive (in order to fight another day). Sucker Punch features a group of young women who dress like dancers that ... (guess what they fight to do?!).
The story is that of Baby Doll's (Emily Browning - Sleeping Beauty, A Series of Unfortunate Events) as she escapes the clutches of an abusive step-father only to be deposited into a mental institution for wayward girls who is scheduled to be lobotomized within one week's time. In order to cope and survive her harsh new reality, Baby Doll imagines a world of dancing and lurid, kick-ass action sequences (we get everything from dragons to samurai warriors to WWII Nazis in some highly choreographed film montages).
Oscar Isaac (Robin Hood, Agora, Body of Lies) plays the corrupt captor of Baby Doll and her fellow inmates Rocket (Jena Malone - Pride & Prejudice, Life as a House), Rocket's older sister Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish - Bright Star, Limitless), Amber (Jamie Chung - The Hangover Part II, Grown-Ups) and Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens - High School Musical, Beastly). A lot could be read-into Sucker Punch with its themes and its objectification of women and I'd venture to say some of it (most, actually) would be correct; but the action sequences at the very core of the movie (while choreographed nicely) prevent the film from being much more than male-fantasy.
While 300 had Snyder's biggest box office and was his biggest success, it had the least amount of story ... and it has been interesting to see what his fans and (shrinking) audiences have fawned over. Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen and Sucker Punch were all dramatically different and have shown a large-variety of directing choices/methods. To be fair, Sucker Punch had a lot of potential but most of it was squandered and turned into an uncertain film. The trust given to him to direct/helm the upcoming Man of Steel (another retelling of Superman) is HUGE. With another "disaster" like Sucker Punch (referring to BO only as my eyes have seen much worse), Snyder and his career may be sucker-punched as well ... and it could be GAME OVER before his career ever had much of a chance.
His artistic vision (which I admit is grand) might be extinguished if he cannot seamlessly blend/meld storytelling with his renowned artistry.