Babes, Guns, Indie Music and Zack Snyder

Rating: 7/10 (14 April 2011)

Can I just start by saying that the trailer for this film blew me away; but despite what was a beautiful piece of marketing by WB, I kinda knew from the get go that the film-itself would never really bring anything new to the table - my question is: does that matter?
Sure the film was well cast, the set design was flawless, cinematography (as always) a liiiitle over processed for my liking but hey; Snyder has a thing going. My biggest problem with the film was with the character development.
***Spoilers*** sort of?
For those who don't know the film is about a girl "Baby Doll" (Emily Browning) who after accidentally killing her little sister in the opening credits is sent to an insane asylum where one of the head doctors/guards/warder or whatever (it's never really that clear) "Blue Jones" (Oscar Issac) is bribed to get her lobotomised. Thats pretty much as deep as the story gets for the first 80 mins of the film.
While WB Studios were really selling this as a female empowerment flick on the basis that the girls are kicking butt; it really isn't. These scantily clad females are emotionally beat down for pretty much the whole film and even when they are kicking ass, its only in Baby Doll's imagination, and its only for spectacle. This film is essentially sexploitation, but thats not necessarily a bad thing.
Don't get me wrong, I loved watching the film. It was everything I was expecting: Firey, action packed, full of babes clad in a seemingly endless variety of cosplay, but when it came to a film that sells itself on a group of 5 protagonists, they're all pretty much interchangeable and background wise it is extraordinarily hard to tell them apart (Except for maybe the fact that two of the girls are sisters).
One thing that I loved about the film is the unique way that the story is told in a semi metaphoric way through the eyes of the possibly legitimately insane main characters to really hammer home the "All men are pigs theme" by transforming the asylum into a burlesque house. While I liked this interesting angle I felt as though too much is left unexplained as to what is happening in the real world while this fantasy world is in place. SPOILERS The last we see of the asylum, until the last 15 mins of the film, is Baby Doll strapped to a chair about to be lobotomised.
The film seems to be structured around a series of fantastical sub states of subconsciousness (Inception?) and while they are stunning to watch they are a pretty flimsy excuse for a storyline considering that the film leans pretty hard on them.
Soundtrack for this film was amazing and gets a big thumbs up from me. I absolutely loved it. 'nuff said.
In closing: although Sucker Punch has nothing new to offer, it is a pretty seamless film and a smooth semi-believable storyline. It's really more of an art piece than a narrative and once you accept that as an audience member you can just sit back and enjoy the audio-visual adrenaline.
A nice warm 7/10 from me. Good on you Zacky Baby.