Sucker Punch (2011) Review

 "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never knew"
-The Wise Man



After her sister is killed by her stepfather, Babydoll (Emily Browning) is framed for the crime and put in a mental institution and scheduled to be lobotomized so he can get away with the crime.  Babydoll visualizes the institution as a brothel and makes plans with several other girls to escape.


What Works:

I got my hopes up with this film during the opening scenes, where we see the aftermath of Babydoll's mother's death.  She and her sister are attacked by their stepfather and Babydoll fights back.  It's an exciting sequence and we don't hear any sound.  We just hear a cover of "Sweet Dreams" by Emily Browning.  It's a haunting performance and works perfectly with this sequence, which starts Sucker Punch off on a solid and disturbing note.

This one of the most beautiful bad movies there is.  Every scene is visually striking with some excellent CGI.  It really is a work of art and it's by far the best part of the film.

Finally, the action sequences are solid.  The World War I-esque fight is especially cool because we get very fluid cinematography and long takes of the action.  


What Sucks:

The problem with Sucker Punch is that it's three movies smashed into one.  One movie is an escape from an insane asylum, the second is an escape from a brothel, and the third is a fantasy action movie.  The justification for jumping around between three plots is very weak and all of the stories are undercooked in the process.  Zach Snyder should have focused on making one good movie.  Instead, we get three crappy movies.

The characters are barely developed if at all.  Babydoll is action girl and that's it.  We aren't given the chance to know them and they don't really grow over the course of the film.  You can have all of the flashy CGI in the world, but if you don't have interesting characters or an engaging story, it doesn't matter.

Finally, the movie is simply boring.  I was begging for it to be over because I didn't care at all.  By the 10 minute mark I was completely over the film.  A movie like this should not be boring, but it is.  It's actually impressive how boring it is.


Verdict:

Sucker Punch has a promising start and is a beautiful film.  Unfortunately, the movie is incredibly boring with dull characters.  Trying to combine three movies into one is probably not the best idea.

 3/10: Really Bad 


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