Spoiler Alerts! Not sure how I felt...

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2011)

This review contains spoilers. Be warned.
Dictonary.com says - Sucker Punch: to strike (someone) with an unexpected blow
Yeah, I get it. This movie definitely catches you unaware. it starts a little confusing, in a slickly edited series of scenes that, at first, get you scratching your head and wondering 'what the hell'? At first, I thought the stepfather was the dead mother's attorney until it was explicitly stated who he was. But you move into the groove pretty quickly. Babydoll is unjustly tried, convicted and sentenced, and from there, it just...goes. Like a cheetah with a JATO pack strapped to its ass. It's very stylized, very comic-bookish without ever really becoming cartoon-y. The first fight with Babydoll and the giant Samurai is....yes, I'll say it. Awesome. The triple-layer is a little hard to catch up with if you're not paying attention; admittedly, for a bit I was wondering if both the Institution AND the bordello were reality, that the 'insane' girls were forced to work in the bordello to make Blue his money. Then I realized that it was the 'first' layer, and the fights were the 'second' layer. My only real problem with the film is that the characters weren't introduced well in the beginning, so couldn't be realized later one. The 'Mayor', from who they got the fire...okay, the only hint who he was, was the passing cut-scene where you see a guy flicking open and closed a Zippo lighter. Those who aren't quite paying attention just won't get it, and are left wondering 'Who the hell is this Mayor' guy. Same went with the High Roller/Doctor. The only reason I got they were the same person was the time-frame. Blue says 'The lobotomist will be here in five days', and then in the First Layer mentions that the High Roller will be here in the same period. So, some of the characters that weren't very realized could have been better, but...such is life.
The 'main' characters aren't very well realized either. We know /all/ about Babydoll's existence, why she's there and what she's about, but the others, we know nothing. I would have liked to know, or at least have an idea what Blondie and Amber did to get there. It's a fairly safe bet to assume that none of them are /really/ insane... I think it's pretty clear that this place is where girls who were 'trouble' were sent. And, in the later movie, we watch as Blue kills Amber and Blondie in the First Layer bordello...I would LOVED to have known what happened to them. Did they actually die? Or were they 'taken out' some other way (locked in solitary, also lobotomized, etc). We know that Rocket dies - we see her get stabbed by the cook and die in the Real Life layer. Maybe I am just looking too deep for explanations.
I also wonder if there is some meaning to the girls' roles in the Fight-Layer. Amber is always the pilot, of the Walker-Mech, the bomber and the helicopter. Babydoll, Rocket and Sweet Pea are always the on-the-ground fighters, with guns and steel. Blondie just seems to float; in one scene she's a ground-fighter, in the next she's the plane's tail-gunner, and then she's gone. I wasn't especially fond of her ratting out the others, either. The story was interesting, but it could have been so much better. Okay, now on to the good stuff.
The visuals. Amazing. Stunning. Beyond compare. The fight scenes are dramatic and fast-paced and simply jaw-dropping. Yes, the woman are 'scantily clad', but they're never in lingerie, keeping to short skirts and a bit of cleavage, so no one could /really/ say they're 'exploited'. But there is skin to be admired, so open wide. Your eyes, that is. Yes, there is a lot of slow-mo, which apparently Zack is known for, but I say this; with the visuals in the movie, if there /weren't/ a lot of slow-mo, you'd miss EVERYthing. Be grateful for the slow-action shots, because they are worth it.
All in all? Well - Story Idea/Plot: 8/10 Story Execution: 5/10 Visuals: 9.5/10 Acting: 7/10 Character Development: 5/10
Worth it? Yes. Just don't expect it to win any Oscars that aren't Effects-related.