Beautiful Visuals, Ultimately Disappointing

Rating: Null/10 (29 March 2011)

I went to see this movie with high hopes, as I Love action films where women are empowered and shown as warriors. I'm also a fan of previous Snyder films, mainly 300 and Watchmen.
The film was set up beautifully in the beginning, the audience really feels connected with Baby Doll as she is put through the ringer by her very evil Stepfather, and thrust into a disturbing mental institution. We see her wage war against monsters and robots alike (via her imagination), and against humans as well. Her imagination also brings the girls that live in the mental institution into her battles, and they help her complete different missions that are assigned to her. Mix in the fact that she only enters into these supernatural battles when she begins to dance provocatively. All the makings of a great film, right?
This is where the disappointments start to creep in. While her dancing is the key to these realms, and much of the scenes take place on stage or in a ballet studio, there is little to no dancing at all in this film. Baby Doll is supposed to put men and women alike in a trance when she dances, yet we only see her journey to the battlegrounds, and are never able to see what she does with her dancing that is so hypnotic.
Baby Doll is the leader of the battles and the escape plan for the other girls, and we are rooting for her for the entire film. Cut to . . .
The biggest letdown of the whole film happens at the end, when Snyder basically in an instant has Baby Doll sacrifice herself for the only other remaining girl left from the group, Sweet Pea, the girl who also complains about the escape plan for the entire film. In a way, it's almost like he wrote the entire film with the objective of setting up Baby Doll to lose. This to me was such a disappointment, because the audience has spent the greater part of 2 hours rooting for this girl, wanting her to win, and perhaps gain vengeance on her Stepfather, only to see her be lobotomized and left brain dead.
Great visual effects and fabulous hair, makeup, and costumes, yet an ultimately disappointing experience for the audience.