Sucker Punch Reviews

Before this movie was released, there was a huge buzz about it but, eventually, it was a flop at the box-office, pretty much like ‘Watchmen’. Personally, I can’t say I was really convinced by the whole concept but I still wanted to check it out though. Eventually, I thought it was a really misguided flick. Let’s start with the story which was way too much convoluted for its own good. Basically, you have this girl who ends up in a mental institution. Apparently, since she cannot cope with this place or because she is really mentally disturbed, she pretends/believes that this loony bin is … a brothel (Sorry, but I really fail to see how it should be an improvement…). But, it goes even further. In this brothel, she performs some dances (that you never to get to see) and during those dances, she ends up in yet another reality where she and her playmates has to fight various enemies such as giant samurais, WWI Germans, orks, dragons and they even have to stop a bomb as well. Seriously?!? Nolan did manage to get this multiple reality thing with ‘Inception’ but he did spend about 10 years writing the story to make sure it sounded more or less coherent. This movie was however just a mess mixed with some gig wet dream. Honestly, I felt pretty bad for all the young actresses involved (Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung). I mean, it is pretty obvious that they all thought they were getting involved in one kick-ass movie and they all gave their best shot but none of their character was really developed and they were reduced to some sexualized stereotypes. I understand that the whole thing was apparently supposed to be some kind of critic about our society but it didn’t change the fact that the whole thing was not really fun to watch and I really couldn’t care less about its pseudo-psychological shenanigans. Still, I must admit it, it was visually impressive, some of the action scenes were pretty badass and I give it some extra points for trying something different but I’m being really generous with my rating. To conclude, even though it started out as an interesting project, the end-result was really disappointing but I guess it is still worth a look, especially if you are interested in Zach Snyder’s work.

It's certainly way too over the top, and the story is extremely hard to follow and believe, but this film is undeniably a visual feast. True, at times it is too chaotic, and the exaggerated visual hues do seem tiresome, but I still had fun with this movie. Also, I found that behind all of the guns and tight suits, there is actually an intriguing story. The actors really gave it their best, with Abbie Cornish especially standing out, and leaving the cinema I was surprised to find that 'Sucker Punch' was better than I expected. Not great cinema, but fair entertainment.

When I first saw a preview of this, I couldn't wait to watch it. When I finally got to sit down and watch it, I must admit, I haven't yet been able to sit through the entire thing. It's not good. And whoever told Vanessa Hudgens she could act is sorely mistaken, I have not liked her in anything I have seen her in. She really ruins her scenes - but overall, that doesn't really matter, as this is hard to watch, not very good, and really, I feel like I would be wasting my time to finish watching it.

I think my main problem with the film is that its attempts to pander were kind of obvious and kind of trite. It wants to engage a geek/nerd audience with images that seemed cool and it seems to showcase that Snyder only has a base understanding of why people react to images and ideas in certain ways. I think his completely lack of subtley when trying to pander to his audience is what undoes the film and I think is the chief reason for the backlash. It's a misstep, but there's a thesis behind the misstep which I find kind of fascinating. Snyder's attempts to equate the provocative dancing with the action-sequences the film was built on is kind of interesting and it's the sort of thing you'd expect from Haneke or Trier.

The problem is that I don't think Snyder is trying to troll his audience, but I do think he wanted to comment on the objectification of images. I don't think this film really has anything to do with female empowerment, except in the basest 'chicks with masculine characteristics = impowered' thinking, but I do think the film has a lot on it's mind about imagery and perception. Stuff like the Old Man* explaining that it's OK to shoot the clockwork German's 'cos they're already dead, to the way the mama-dragon taps it's dead baby with it's snout seem to make us want to question what we're actually watching.

The problem is that the action-sequences, for me, just aren't engaging enough to actually make the key thematics work. There's a sense of rhythm and beauty to the action-sequences but they feel almost entirely weight-less (although this is, barring the opening brawl in Watchman, something of an ongoing problem for me with Snyder). As such what should be visceral and unrefined (as per Sweetpeas criticisms of Baby Doll's dancing) is stuffily elegant. Then again I've had intellectual issues with the last three Snyder movies I watched. I think he's an amazing craftsmen in-terms of his aesthetic (and also casting, Watchmen and 300 feel perfectly cast for what they are and Sucker Punch is full of potentially great actors with little to actually do) but I've had fundemental problems with the core of his films (the politics in 300, the tone of Watchmen, the attempts at intellect in Sucker Punch).

I think Sucker Punch is the sort of thing that shoots itself in the foot almost immediately. The opening curtain-call gives a sense of unreality to what is essentially reality and then we have two more layers of unreality beyond that. However the few times I synched with the films rhythm (I absolutely adore the opening, even if it is completely ham fisted) I really got into it and I'm genuinely fascinated by the extended cut.

*The Old Man is a real issue for me, largely because the film is all about authority figures abandoing and fucking with these girls and yet the ultimate authority figure, who speaks in nothing but rules and commands, is presented as benevolent.

A pretty good movie, in my opinion. Visually very interesting and musically engaging! The steam punk looks dark and was very well done. The animations and effects were great! A mix of elements that I personally love it! Japan with its feudal warriors, orcs and dragons, robots, WWII ... I loved the references. The music choice was perfect. I can not stop listening! And Emily Browning really can sing! I loved the version of Sweet Dreams at the beginning! However, the film also has several drawbacks... First, the performances, just say it was a little disappointing, the girls could have had more charisma. I didn't found so captivating. But surely, Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac were great! The script is weak, could have been much better handled, but it seems that the focus of the film was in fact the action. It even tries to pass a moral interesting, but it seemed that only remembered it at the beginning and end of the movie. Everything is a bit exaggerated and even! And the fights seemed like real games! But I think it will its acceptance of the film. After all, it all goes through the mind of Babydoll, so anything can happen. Ultimately, I think it's worth seeing if you like the theme. There is not an excellent script, but an action is really nice to watch.

The first impressions of Sucker Punch before seeing it was that it perhaps looked the corniest film to be made as far as dialogue is concerned, but it did look like a good bit of fun with it's breathtaking effects and production design. However, despite the fact that there quite frankly wasn't very much to expect from this film, it truly is a very dry, empty and quite boring film to watch. Unfortunately, those three main keywords define some films that have high budgets but with little brains. As quoted from Zack Snyder himself: ''It is like Alice In Wonderland but with machine guns''. News flash! It really is not that because the story of Alice In Wonderland is fun and magical with a lot of lovable characters but sucker Punch really wasn't. In fact, it wasn't even a badass film either so, in simple words: it just didn't work.


As always, a high-budget film is going to have stunning effects and for that, the film does deserve credit especially with the hot females. However, the most annoying thing is that just because a film has great effects doesn't make it a great, fun film all around. It needs to feel exciting, to have at least satisfactory character development and a solid enough story for its target audience, and that is all what Sucker Punch really lacked. If there is any similarity that Sucker Punch has with any other film, it would be Frank Miller's The Spirit because, to be perfectly honest, they both have the exact same faults but also the exact same strengths and positives.


A young girl (Baby Doll) is locked away in a mental asylum by her abusive stepfather where she will undergo a lobotomy in five days' time. Faced with unimaginable odds, she retreats to a fantastical world in her imagination where she and four other female inmates at the asylum, plot to escape the facility. The lines between reality and fantasy blur as Baby Doll and her four companions, as well as a mysterious guide, fight to retrieve the five items they need that will allow them to break free from their captors before it's too late...


Seven years ago, Emily Browning appeared in Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events as Violet Baudelaire, but now she goes into her first big major film since then but not as a little girl anymore. Now, she is a grown woman who gets into a more adult-friendly and graphic film. Although I wasn't entirely impressed with Browning in her previous major film, she may have looked hot in Sucker Punch but her character felt as dry as a dog's bone and just had no character. Baby Doll bought back resembling similarities with Spirit in The Spirit Dawn Of The Dead remake, 300, Watchmen and Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'Hoole, but now he goes on to make something of his own. So, even after a first attempt of writing and directing a film of his own making, he unfortunately makes his weakest film to date. Unfortunately, the majority of his films have consisted obviously of fantastic effects but story wise, they have felt a tad bit dry. Sucker Punch felt more like a film that Snyder came up with in his head really quickly and took no patience to do it, and decided to rush it, especially after working on previous films Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'Hoole and Watchmen. So, after this one and the fact that Snyder focuses more on effects than dialogue, characters and acting, there are perhaps some uncertainties about a satisfying new Superman film set for 2013.


Overall, Sucker Punch is a dull and rather empty visual stunner that perfectly demonstrates how some film directors prefer adding effects than a strong story, characters and script. If you're looking for a film just for stunning effects only, this is one for you but if the other way round (which is the better way), then perhaps not. I wanted to like this because it did look fun to start off with, but it just wasn't fun or entertaining, so makes it one of the worst films of 2011. Zack better improvise with Superman: Man Of Steel!

"For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know."

After dabbling in remakes (2004's Dawn of the Dead) and adaptations (300, Watchmen, Legend of the Guardians), director Zack Snyder finally stepped up to the challenge of conceiving an original project to test his capabilities. The result is 2011's Sucker Punch; a polarising cinematic experience which foundered at the box office and endured a vicious critical reception. For his first original undertaking, writer-director Snyder dreamed up a candy-coloured fantasy dreamscape with traces of fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, ninja, pin-up, manga and horror iconography within the narrative structure of a Zelda video game. Not to mention, the leads are a bunch of scantily-clad women carrying badass machine guns, and thus the film additionally represents a teenage boy's fantasy. At first glance, then, it is perhaps tempting to dismiss Sucker Punch as a cynical attempt to appeal to as many fanboy demographics as possible. Yet, Snyder had loftier intentions; crafting a visually stunning piece of action filmmaking with profound intricacies under its surface. Sucker Punch is a depressing, bleak critique of the sexualisation of women in modern cinema (and in real life), and Snyder employed a number of those clichés in a satirical fashion to tell the story.

At the centre of Sucker Punch is the youthful Baby Doll (Browning), who's sent to a mental asylum by her wicked stepfather (Plunkett) following the tragic deaths of both her mother and sister. Alas, the evil of her new surroundings further disturbs her shattered psyche, and she becomes scheduled for a lobotomy in five days. Hoping to plot an escape, Baby Doll befriends fellow crazies Sweet Pea (Cornish), Rocket (Malone), Amber (Chung) and Blondie (Hudgens). Soon, she learns that she will need five items to assist in her escape from the institution and thus the sinister clutches of caretaker Blue (Isaac). The girls' adventures are manifested in two imaginary (or are they?) dream-worlds: a 1920s-style brothel where the girls regress to get away the troubles of their everyday lives, and a fantastical dream-within-a-dream world where the girls are a squad of badass lady soldiers.

Zack Snyder is a great action filmmaker, and he makes every frame look like a painting in an era where most action directors intensely dislike such words as "tripod" and "composition". There are a lot of visually stunning moments of ass-kicking awesomeness to behold here - if you come to Sucker Punch seeking action and eye candy, the film delivers in spades. The production design and visual effects are terrific, and significantly contribute to the film's high enjoyment value. Also, the costumes for the females are everything that a heterosexual male could ask for. Meanwhile, to the credit of director Snyder, blood and gore was eschewed creatively during the fantasy sequences; making the film violent and badass without pulling punches. On top of this, the soundtrack is impeccable - the original music is pulse-pounding and energising, while the cover songs of various tunes suit the style and atmosphere beautifully. In particular, the dialogue-free opening sequence is a tour de force of visual storytelling which is accompanied by a beautiful rendition of Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This (performed by Emily Browning, who plays Baby Doll).

Sucker Punch blends fantasy in a reality in such a mind-twisting fashion that it's hard to distinguish what's real and what's imaginary. With subtle intricacies scattered throughout the movie, there are a lot of things open for interpretation, including the masterful ending. However, the big problem with Sucker Punch is that the action sequences do not always fit properly. The film carries a substantial subtext, but there's no paralleling in the action scenes. To illustrate this point, consider when Baby Doll dances while one of the girls sneaks off to photocopy a map - the fantasy scenario for this depicts the girls fighting German zombies in trenches. Cool to look at, sure, but how does covertly photocopying a map have anything to do with trench warfare and World War I? Where's the paralleling? Another misstep is that Snyder always shows the action scenes in place of Baby Doll's sexy dancing that everyone seems to adore. Added to this, Sucker Punch was edited down to attain a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, and this affects the entire production - at certain moments the film is blatantly censored, and the movie feels underdone to the point of feeling fundamentally incomplete.

As for the acting, the female leads carried out what they were required to do: look hot, be athletic in the battle scenes, and deliver their dialogue in an adequate enough fashion. If any of the actors shines, it's Scott Glenn who plays the girls' veteran, hard-ass para-military leader. Glenn's role may be heavily clichéd, but he delivered the clichés with relish.

It is the ultimate definition of irony that Sucker Punch is enduring criticism for being something that it is in fact critiquing and satirising. Scott Mendelson said it best: "At heart, it's a critical deconstruction of the casual sexualization of young women in pop culture, the inexplicable acceptance of institutional sexism and lechery, and whether or not images of empowered females on film can be disassociated with the sexual undercurrent of those same images". Heck, during one particular interview, Snyder discussed why he chose such costumes for the girls: "Someone asked me, why did you dress the girls like that? And I said, I didn't dress them that way, you did. That's what pop culture demands, not me. And that's fun for me - I love that when confronted with the exact formula that they request, they get all freaked out by it, because they're like, "wait a minute - he's right. I do like this, and maybe that's my fault."" With the thoughtful subtext in mind - as crazy as it may sound - I believe Sucker Punch may end up being studied in film classes right alongside Terry Gilliam's Brazil. There are indeed multiple layers of this film to be explored in spite of its shortcomings.

Sucker Punch's detractors will probably believe I'm reading too much into what is essentially a teenage male's wet dream, but I believe that they are not reading enough - instead of bothering to look past the special effects, people are accusing the film of being all style no substance. It's fine if you "get" the film but believe Snyder simply failed in his intentions, but those unable or unwilling to look below the surface are the ones who deserve derisive scorn. After all, it is ironic that critics are complaining about the lack of intelligent, challenging mainstream movies only to have one such movie go completely over their head. Sucker Punch could have been a better film overall - the dialogue could be improved, the characters are rather shallow, and the themes could have been better explored - but it remains an enjoyable action-fantasy with intelligence and relevance.

Brief Word About The Extended Cut: The extended cut restores almost 20 minutes of excised footage, and the restoration of these minutes is to the film's benefit. In extended form, Sucker Punch simply feels more complete. It's easily superior to the theatrical cut.

7.1/10

Don't know where to begin. I expected alot from this film, but it went way beyond. I movie with one reality and two fantasies is a hit in my book. It was alot darker than I thought it would be. But when the whole story can be expressed in one sentence, and still be so envolved, it rocks!

From director Zack Snyder ,the famed director of watchmen and 300, comes his most imaginative film yet. Sucker Punch is about the tragedy that befalls Baby Doll(Emily Browning) her mother is killed by her abusive step father, who then comes after her and her little sister. Baby Doll then confronts her step father with a gun she shoots and misses her target killing her little sister. Baby Doll is then sent to the Lennox House ,out of Brattleborro VT., for the mentally ill. Here Baby Doll meets a Motley Crew of other mentally Ill patients like herself. Consisting of Sweet pea (Abbie Cornish) rocket (Jena Malone) Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung). Once Baby Doll has been accepted into the ward she realizes that the ward is actually a business front for Dr. Vera Gorski and her lover Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac). A business that "doesn't keep things without a purpose" and creates shows and fantasies for men and other paying clients. Baby Doll then realizes that she must fight for her survival and fight through her dreams as well. Scott Glenn plays the wiseman Baby Doll sees in her dreams and gives guidance and life advice at every step through the movie. Sucker Punch does have a redeeming quality about it and it is one of the most visually fun to watch movies made in quite some time.