A lot of people don't get it

Rating: Null/10 (15 August 2011)

First off, Sucker Punch is nothing like Inception. The idea of alternate or virtual worlds was popularized with Neuromancer and Cyberpunk in the mid 1980s. Now the idea is getting more complex with layers of worlds or realities. It's called a spin off, a creative evolution, and you can look forward to more stories with this type of mechanism. Isn't it exciting to think of how deep we can take this rabbit hole?
Now although the average rating equates to 6 stars or so, Sucker Punch doesn't get a lot of mediocre reviews. Either people hate it or they really like it. To those people who hate it and rag on it and say it's bad, I've got to vehemently say - you just don't get it. Your average uneducated critic will hold up the same banal template to every film. Like they're the king on a throne saying "entertain me, follow this guide if you want to have success". Often considered are these constituents of story writing: Characters, plot, setting, yadda, yadda, yadda. Often overlooked are these constituents: Theme, message, soul. What about the subject, the whole purpose of the story?
Sucker Punch sends an empowering message to young women that are subjugated, victimized, ravaged. It delivers a complicated message in a stylized artistic presentation. If an artist can make someone victimized feel powerful, that is an achievement. If you don't think that is important, I can't help you. It's not always about your royal ass being entertained in new ways. What a pity when people loose compassion and empathy. What a pity when people don't care because they've "seen it before". You've got to view this film and let it be what it is instead of what you wanted it to be. I thought it was a fun ride done with Snyderific style, and very much worth viewing again. On the simple side there is lots of exciting things to watch with rising suspense. And at least the first time you watch it you have to use your brain to connect the dots about "what world you're in, and why you're in it".
Sucker Punch is a work of art but it has its faults. Like all art, it's compromised by commercialization. I don't need to itemize the problems; so many people have already done a great job with that. Zach Snyder and his team had so many parties to please: The production studios, the investors, and the perceived target market(s). Change this, cut that, dumb that down, jazz that up. For art to be all it can be, the artist must focus on the heart of the vision and convey it's meaning no holds barred which you can't do in a commercial environment. When art is created for an audience it suffers, but that's show business.