Interesting idea but poorly (and confusingly) executed...

Rating: 4/10 (21 August 2011)

Sucker Punch is Zack Snyders first proper foray into the world of the 'written and directed by' movie makers. Following on from the critically acclaimed '300' (based on the Frank Miller graphic novel) and second comic-book adaptation 'Watchmen' Snyder has now been allowed to run riot with a story entirely of his own creating and the result is, well, a little messy. If you were told that Sucker Punch was also based on a graphic novel then it would surely garner little surprise as it shares many typical traits of that particular genre; it's effectively an action packed romp often set in ultra-fantastical locations not bound by the conventions of the real world. On top of this, the movies heroines consist of five beauties who work against their will in a gentleman's burlesque club as exotic dancers who battle foes ranging from zombie Neo-Nazis through to dragons and other bizarre creatures in a dark, magical place that exists solely within their own sub-conscious (phew!). Sounds thrilling, no? Unfortunately the wild combination of fantasy coupled with often repetitive action scenes just fail to ignite the spark that would have made this experience a remotely interesting two hours. To set the scene, Baby Doll (played by Australian Emily Browning) is institutionalised following the death of her mother and sister at the hands of her wicked step-father. Here she is scheduled for a lobotomy within days of her arrival at his request in order to wipe her memory of said events and therefore eliminating the possibility retribution or accusations of criminal behaviour towards him. Whilst there she constructs an alternate reality as a kind of coping mechanism, turning the mental hospital in which she is imprisoned into an orphanage which serves as a cover for its owners true business; being the owner of a kinky gentlemen's burlesque club. It turns out that Baby-Doll is quite the dancer (not that we ever actually get to see her dance) and along with her new-found friends they hatch a plot to escape using her dancing to distract the orderlies whilst they steal various artefacts from around the building to aid their quest. On top of this, whenever Baby-Doll dances she whisks herself away to a fantasy world where she and her newly found girlfriends fight magical creatures for the same artefacts that they are seeking in the real world although it's not actually the real world, is it..? Are you still with me..? Visually Sucker Punch is stunning; despite the fact that it feels on occasion like you're watching a computer game Snyder litters each fantasy cut-away with beautiful sets, great CGI (even close-up) and non-stop action from his scantily-clad heroines. The problem is that none of it seems to make a great deal of sense In effect we're watching a fabricated reality within a fabricated reality, but this lacks the brilliance and understandable complexity of Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' – instead it all just seems a bit silly and, unfortunately, a wee bit pointless. In addition to this, as we are well aware by now that none of what is happening is real – even for the characters in the film – it's incredibly hard to feel anything at all for any of the main players during these wild fantasy battles. It's virtually impossible to become engulfed in the death-defying and high-octane action sequences whilst the reality of the situation is constantly niggling away in the back of your mind; that you are witnessing the fantasy world of a character in a fantasy world and therefore whatever happens to any of them is probably of little consequence as nothing that is happening is actually real. Sound confusing..? It is a little but mostly it's confusing as to what Snyder was attempting to achieve with Sucker Punch. As you're never really sure what is real and what isn't, it makes it very hard to relate to any of the main characters. On top of this each of the fantasy-battle cut away scenes is incredibly similar to the last and by their third outing things have become understandably boring and repetitive; get in, fight and kill plenty of enemies in a CGI laden landscape and escape with whatever it was they're looking for. It's hard to enjoy a movie when you can't really empathise with any of the main characters, especially when their big action scenes become tedious as the film drags on It isn't until the end when connections are drawn between some of the events within the fantasy world and what has actually been happening at the mental institution, but by this point it's too little too late for Sucker Punch. Perhaps Snyder should have drawn regular reference to the happenings in the 'real world' throughout the film which would have enabled the viewer to understand and empathise with the characters as opposed to trying to be clever and hope that the movie can maintain interest until everything is tied up in the end. Unfortunately Sucker Punch falls short here and the ending is no more an enlightening epiphany than it is the thankful culmination of a visually fantastic yet frustratingly boring and overly complicated film. In all Sucker Punch isn't a horrible film – there have been many far worse attempts at a virtually entirely CGI influenced action romp – but unfortunately the story and meaning become lost in Snyders extravagant and often tedious 'action' sequences and poor attempt at a clever and meaningful story line.