An escapist's dream

Rating: 9/10 (14 April 2011)

As a Zack Snyder fan I was excited to see that he had finally released an original piece of work, rather than another adaptation such as Watchmen etc.
I watched this film in the cinemas twice. So instantly you'll be able to tell this is a rather positive review of the movie and I enjoyed it greatly.
Babydoll played by Emily Browning is thrown into a mental asylum by her evil stepfather after her mother and sister's death. She is scheduled for a shady lobotomy by her stepfather in five days to hide the truth about her sister's death. To cope with her horrible reality, Babydoll envisions that the asylum is a brothel where the girls dance for the men. Babydoll plans to escape the mental asylum and enlists the help of her fellow inmates in acquiring items to aid their escape. Whilst the girls are stealing the various items, Babydoll dances to distract the men and while she is dancing she envisions different battles (from giant mecha samurais, to steam punk world war 1 zombie Germans, to a castle battle with monsters and dragons, to robot gunmen on a train) that depict the girls acquiring the specific items.
This film is beautiful! As you would come to expect from Zack Snyder, the cinematography is gorgeous and stylized; it really captures Snyder's vision and scope of the film. The different battles are amazing, my favourite by far being the giant mecha samurais battling against the tiny Emily Browning.
Many people have said that Sucker Punch is a sexist film. It is far from that and many of the lead actresses will say the same thing. OK so yes, the costumes are a tad raunchy, but that's what makes the film what it is! You couldn't just have the girls battling in alternate realities in boring old 60′s clothes.
The music is by far a stand out in the film. The way Snyder has used music with the vision gives it a very video game/music video feel and this works exceptionally well. A stand out track would definitely have to be Emily Browning's haunting version of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) which was used at the start of the movie behind the slow motion action of Babydoll's past. Actually, all of Emily Browning's songs are great! She has an beautiful voice which I never knew she had before this film.
One thing I hate more than anything, is people comparing films to other films. And Sucker Punch has copped these comparisons left right and centre. NO this is NOT Inception, NO this is NOT the Matrix and NO this is NOT Kill Bill or anything else you can think of. It is an original piece of work with an original story line. And even though it showed obvious influences from anime and other films, it is completely original! Sucker Punch has an awesome story and message of hope, friendship and self discovery. The movie is not over complicated, but a lot of people might not understand exactly what's going on; for instance the guys I saw it with didn't fully understand the transformation of the asylum into a brothel. The message it tries to convey isn't overly complicated and if you go into the film thinking you'll gain some greater understanding of life, or go in thinking it'll be something it isn't, you'll be sorely disappointed.
In essence, Sucker Punch is an escapism film, designed to transport the audience into the stylized world of Zack Snyder's characters.
The movie had several twists and turns that will hit you like a "Sucker Punch" (sorry for the overly bad pun). You won't expect some things and I won't ruin the ending, but you don't see it coming at all.
To conclude, I loved Sucker Punch! This is by far Zack Snyder's best film yet and had strong performances from all actors, but especially Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish and Oscar Isaac.
Do yourself a favour and go and see Sucker Punch while it's still in the cinemas!
Rating: 9/10
Joshwahr/Inglorious Fiction