An underrated cult classic.

Rating: 9/10 (2 February 2015)

I watched this recently not expecting much, another sausage factory Hollywood action/superhero movie. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is going on my top 20 film list.
SPOILERS: Contains some minor spoilers but no major plot lines are revealed
Sucker Punch delivers a deep and moving story wrapped up in wonderful CGI and fantasy content. You follow the tragic story of Baby Doll, abused by her stepfather who having murdered her younger sister commits Baby Doll to a mental asylum and arranges for her to be lobotomized. All this to get his hands on her mothers inheritance. Baby Doll in order to escape the horror of her reality descends into layers of fantasy. The fantasy's disguise the reality you do not see but subtle clues give insight to the horror of her situation. She endeavors to free herself from her situation and hatches a plan to escape...
The film is visually stunning and mentally challenging. On the surface you could see the way the girls are represented as exploitative and sexist but you would be missing the point. Each layer of the film changes the balance of power from men to women, men control the women in the real world through violence and intimidation, but the women can control the men using "their weapons", sexuality, strength of spirit and sorority. The men are powerless in the face of this and in the deepest layers are destroyed. The major theme is about control and consent, men can impose their fantasy on women but women can take ownership of the fantasy and use it to their own ends.
The closest I can come to a comparison to this film is Pan's Labyrinth (with kick ass fight scenes thrown in).
One last thing, the title, for me the sucker punch is a subtle joke, this refers to the feeling you get as a viewer, the film turns on you and delivers a killer blow.