DON'T LISTEN TO THE HATERS!! This movie is a true gem of modern cinema!

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2012)

When I first watched the previews for this movie like a year and a half ago, I really thought I would love it. I was thoroughly intrigued by the idea of a bunch of mistreated women fighting for their freedom as they chop down numerous fantasy creatures on the way.
But then, as the movie FINALLY released, so did the negative reviews (including one from my friend who loves movies, and has the same tastes as me), and I began to think that the movie may be a #$%@ after all. So I didn't watch it in the theater. Instead, I waited for it to come out on home video and rented it on Bluray. And as soon as the movie ended, I instantly found me kicking myself mentally for never watching it in the theater, as it would've been an even better experience with the much more potent sound and bigger screen. The movie was all kinds of epic.
For those of you who don't know what it's about, the movie starts with the main character (codenamed Babydoll, as her real name is never revealed. She is played by Lemony Snicket's Emily Browning) who finds herself losing everything: her mom dies, her stepfather (who is implied to have been her mother's killer because he wanted the family inheritance) attempts to kill her and her sister in order to him finally inherit the money after he finds out at they are the heirs, not him (huh, he really should've thought this through, didn't he??), and suddenly she finds herself shooting at him in order to defend herself, killing her sister instead. Accidentally, of course, she wasn't THAT mental, LOL.
After she does, and is launched into a deep depression, her evil stepfather locks her in Lennox House for the Mentally Insane, which is exactly what you think it is. Once there, she meets 4 other women, Rocket (Jena Malone who is easily the film's best character and also the most likable), Amber (Jamie Chung), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens in her best role yet), and Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), the most important character after Baby herself, and, in her mind, a wise monk who tells her that if she can get a map, fire, a knife and a key, she will be revealed a fifth and final item that will enable her to finally escape her prison, with her newly-found friends in tow.
Anyway, that's the basic plot (kind of a long premise summary, huh?? Sorry about that), I will say no more about the plot in order to not spoil anything, since the plot is one of the movie's most awesome traits.
And then, of course, there is the second-most epic thing about this movie: The fantasy sequences. You see, each time the girls are about to steal one of the items, Babydoll escapes the harsh reality of the asylum and transports herself to the fantasy world that is her sort of coping mechanism with all of the mistreat and stuff that she suffers in it, and so each heist becomes one heck of a wild ride as the girls battle samurais, Nazi zombies, dragons, etc. These segments are so flawlessly conducted (except for the dragon fight, which is a little too short and simple for my taste) that you simply stare at the screen in awe as the girls kick some serious *#$, while also looking fabulous as they do. The fight choreographer of this movie really outdid himself with this one, slow- mo and all.
Then there is the music, which does a wonderful job of setting the bleak, harsh, and epic mood that permeates the entire film. From ''Where is My Mind?'' to ''Rabbit Hole'', to the final moments' track, every piece of music in this movie is pitch-perfect. The gunfire, sword, creature calls and explosion sounds in the fantasy sequences are also great and only help to further immerse you in the experience.
Oh, and the special effects. This part is actually kind of hard to review, because this movie's effects are SO weird! Sometimes they look awesome (i.e the dragon) and then sometimes they look HORRIBLE (the pot of fuel falling on one of the fantasy sequences, won't say which ;) )!! In any case, the guy who was in charge of special effects was smoking pot when he constructed that shot and other parts of the movie. SERIOUSLY! O.O
On a final note, this movie is also really complex, so if you're not into that stuff, you might not like this. Once Babydoll in interned into the asylum, the plot becomes very complex and rich in symbolism. In fact, each of the fantasy sequences is in fact a study of Babydoll's psyche, and each of the girls (including Babydoll herself) represents one part of her personality, and also it's hard to keep track of what is GOING ON with all the parallel universes coming out of Babydoll's mind. The cheat-sheet version is: If you're dumb or just don't care for movies that have messages and symbolism, you might wanna stay away from this one.
Also, it carries a great message of female empowerment that (whereas some people might disagree saying that this film reeks of misogyny) is truly one of the most epic themes I have ever witness in a movie.
Bottom Line: If you like hot chicks, fantasy action sequences that are a sort of genius hybrid of anime and Lord of the Rings, great characters that are richly developed, a great plot and lots of female bada#$sery, then this is the movie for you ;)