Zack Snyder lets his complete vision out... with mixed results

Rating: 5/10 (24 March 2011)

"Sucker Punch" is a difficult movie to rate. It is targeted at young males who have a penchant for anime, video games, and hot young girls kicking ass. In other words, Zack Snyder's imagination and childhood fantasies are completely let loose here, with mixed results.
First off, hats off to Zack Snyder. His world is completely warped. With this being his first original film (the previous others were all adaptations of other works), he unleashes an array of stimulating and sensational visual effects and action sequences the way he normally does so solidly.
Secondly, anyone expecting proper characterization and a coherent story will walk out half-an-hour into the movie.
The story may look stupid on the outside, and believe me it does, but after paying close attention I noticed a real psychological trait running throughout the entire film's duration. There are aspects which are metaphorical and will keep you guessing what is really happening throughout. Although the story is shaped in a very incoherent and unnatural way, it never fully reaches its potential and the psychological aspect pales in comparison with other brilliant films like Christopher Nolan's "Memento" and "Inception".
Thirdly, some of the material may be too dark for it's PG-13 rating, and there is no easy solutions to solve these dark themes. The change of tone between this and its fantasy theme is ultimately very jarring indeed and can cause a lot of viewers to be turned off.
The action sequences, however are very stylized and extravagantly done. It is clear that a lot of thought has been put into the action. Snyder utilizes well-rendered computer-generated visual effects to great use, and the camera work and editing allow the audience to savor the effects and appreciate them. But there are times where the action becomes very overdone, and it drags on too loud and some scenes which have no purpose being there, thus bogging down the pacing too.
The actresses look great and sexy, but in some scenes they show some surprising vulnerability beneath all of those good looks. The supporting cast is good too, most notably Oscar Isaac as the main villain, and it's nice to see Scott Glenn on the big screen again.
My main gripe comes with the music and sound effects, sometimes they're obnoxiously loud and forced, and they make some moments look out of place in the film. Tyler Bates and Marius De Vries may have put a lot of combinations of music in this film, but sometimes one's got to know that too much of a good thing is bad.
No doubt many people will hate this film. Also, not many people may notice the psychological aspect (it was only hinted at in the trailers) running throughout the film, making them think that it's an all out action-fantasy film instead of an action-adventure that takes place in the mind. The film's faults make this Zack Snyder's weakest film thus far, but it is still miles away from ever being called an abomination. The tagline is true, "you will be unprepared", and as I enjoyed the visuals but was puzzled by the story and its resolution, I find this to be not just brainless entertainment on the surface. It may be Snyder's weakest, but it is nonetheless interesting.
Perhaps this is a warm-up, or the release of Snyder's mind, to prepare him for that "Superman" project with Christopher Nolan.
Overall rating: 65/100