I'd like to punch all those suckers who say that "Sucker Punch" sucks.

Rating: 7/10 (11 June 2011)

Zack Snyder directs this very surreal film about girls in the Lennox mental institution for the criminally insane. Sucker Punch" stars Emily Browning as Baby Doll, a supposedly 20 year-old girl whose mother, after her death, writes in her testament that all of her property would go to her two daughters. Baby's evil stepfather is outraged and on one faithful night, beats the crap out of Baby's sister, killing her. Baby witnesses this, grabs a gun, and shoots her stepfather. He lives and sends Baby Doll to the Lennox mental institution for the criminally insane. That's when the movie really begins.
Upon arrival to Lennox, she meets with fellow inmates Rocket, Sweet Pea, Blondie, and Amber. All you Vanessa Hudgens fans, Blondie is played by her. It is then that we come to understand that Lennox isn't a mental institution, more of a bordel. We also meet Carla Gugino as Dr. Vera Gorski, the coreographer" of the girls' dances, which they perform to men who eagerly expect so. Baby Doll befriends her fellow inmates and while performing for the first time, comes up with a plan to escape the facility. That's when all the crazy action sequences begin in the film, which is contrary to popular belief, actually pretty good.
Most critics have panned this film. Richard Roeper gave it a D and it's received a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That's just 2 percent higher than what the site gave to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," so you know Sucker Punch" should be bad. But movie critics aren't always to be trusted, and as much as I respect them, I've gotta say that I believe they're horribly wrong to rate Sucker Punch" negatively. I've read reviews for the film and most of them say that the film never explains what the crazy action sequences are about. It actually does, but nobody ever pays attention to what's going on in an action film, and then afterwards they complain why they didn't understand anything that was going on.
I don't want to spoil anything, so I'd rather have that you go out, see the movie, pay attention throughout the film, and then tell me whether you got it or not. I certainly did, or if the Snyder meant something else, then I didn't. Whatever I got, however, was enough to make me interested in the movie throughout.
I think that the reason why many didn't pay attention throughout the movie, was because it was directed by a man who is primarily known for directing mindless" action flicks such as 300," which is actually a very good movie. In 300," Snyder catches our (or at least mine) attention with gorgeous visuals, here he does the same. All the action sequences are masterfully choreographed and you always know where the enemy is, and the protagonists are.
That said the movie does have its flaws. The dialogue is often a bit too corny, the film was perhaps a bit too stylistic, and it is definitely not to be compared with Snyder's masterful previous work. But in overall, Sucker Punch" is whether you get it or not, an undeniable visual treat with a jaw-droppingly epic soundtrack, and if any of you dare say that it just looks like a video game, I'll reply: Well, I like video games."
Rating: 3/4