Kill Bill it's not

Rating: 1/10 (27 January 2018)

If you don't know the difference between female agency and a sadomasochistic fantasy, and you don't care to know, or if you think Justine is a feminist tract, you will love this movie. The story follows the adventures of Babydoll (no other name; perfect makeup, no matter what), who tries to kill her evil stepfather and accidentally kills her sister. He gets her thrown into an asylum, somehow, and -- holy ticking clock! -- she will be lobotomized with an ice pick by Dr. Jon Hamm in five days. What can she do? Dick-matizing sexy dancing and Inception levels of fantasy, that's what! Zach Snyder wrote Sucker Punch with male fans of Frank Miller and video games in mind (see: the top Imdb comment), with the thinnest possible veneer of interest for females, whom he must think are either stupid, or moved and deeply grateful at his depiction of rape and abuse. The only thing I'm grateful for is Oscar Isaac, who sings, dances, and chews all the non-CGI scenery. The podcast How Did This Made asked its listeners to complete this statement: "Sucker Punch is to female empowerment as...." There were a lot good responses, including "...as Michael Bay is to subtlety" and "...as the Holocaust is to German pride." Mine is "...as Mandingo is to Civil Rights."