Sucker Punched or lobotomised....you decide???

Rating: 4/10 (13 April 2011)

I cannot say that I was actually looking forward to watching this movie, when I first saw the teaser trailer and the synopsis for this story if you want to call it that I kept thinking to myself.....really?? However I remained objective even dispelling the brief reviews I was subjected to before watching this movie. I think it is at first wise to put the work of the co writer and director Zack Snyder into context as his previous work is highly entertaining I refer in particular to '300' and 'Watchmen'. His accolades are so numerous that he has been charged with bringing the new 'Superman' reboot to the screen titled simply 'Man of Steel'.
The premise of this story is simple....I say that with tongue firmly in cheek!! The story takes place in the 60's where Babydoll (Emily Browning) a 20 year old girl institutionalised by her stepfather after the death of her mother she is blamed for the suspicious death of her younger sister. Once in the Lennox House of the Mentally Insane we learn that her evil stepfather has bribed one of the orderlies Blue to fake the signature of the asylum's Doctor Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino) so that in five days she is lobotomised and thus the true events of what happened to her younger sister can never come to light and the stepfather can keep the money bequeathed to the daughters. In the days leading up to her date with the doctor with the hammer she retreats into a fantasy world where she is an intern at a brothel owned by Blue (Oscar Issac). In this imaginary world she has conjured for herself she is a dancer awaiting the high roller who is to take her away for his own pleasure she meets and befriends fellow dancers; Amber (Jamie Chung), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Rocket (Jena Malone) and Rocket's older sister Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish). Madam Gorski (who is also the doctor in the real world) encourages and teaches Babydoll to dance provocatively and during the dance she regresses into another world where in turn she has to fight giant Samurai, WWI German soldiers, and an Orc infested castle and giant dragon and mechanised guards on a train containing a bomb. All these scenarios represent actions and therefore have repercussions in the brothel world she has created for herself. See simple! What can I say about this movie...well first I think that Mr Snyder is a visionary when it comes to the visual spectacle mixing glossy special effects with comic style Kung Fu and gun-play. I also think if he ever attempts to pick up a pen to write another movie someone should wrestle the pen from him and lock him in a room until he comes to his senses. The story is weak and the dialogue is excruciatingly awful Snyder's ego it appears has run away with his common sense and his holding it ransom. This is a story that makes no sense in a world of nonsense. The slow motion shots of the young women attempting to saunter around on screen looking sexy is very droll indeed and is obviously straight out of a schoolboy fantasy about women...young women. How Ms Hudgens had the audacity to defend the costume choices in this movie is beyond me. This is a perfect example of what special effects without a story can equate to.....a story containing mindless violence with purpose akin to a chocolate teapot. The movie belts along like a giant music video with the music blaring loudly, its very like a video game with each level becoming increasingly more insane than the last. I'd love to meet the movie exec' that green lighted this drivel and shout at him 'I don't think you really wanted to do that (with Harry Enfield voice). There are very few pluses here Snyder has directed at least two good movies which I have already mentioned and I am now losing some faith in his ability to bring to the screen 'Man of Steel' thankfully he isn't writing that picture so let's hope he can't mess that up. So if you're looking for mindless violence delivered by scantily clad young women beating up Orcs, dragons and giant samurai then get the new video game called oh no sorry go and see this movie....otherwise stay yo' ass at home...I wish I did!!