Movie: Sucker Punch
- Director: Zack Snyder
- Release Date: March 2011
- Writers: Zack Snyder, Steve Shibuya
- Run Time: 109
- Genre: Action, Fantasy, Thriller
Tagline: You Will Be Unprepared.
Review: The movie follows Babydoll, as she bands with four other girls in a plan to escape the mental asylum her evil step father sent her to. The girls have five days to see through their plan before Babydoll is lobotomized.
Okay, this movie is no Inception but I can see why some may think of it when watching Sucker Punch. To escape her unfortunate reality Babydoll escapes into a dream world set up like a high class brothel which she uses dance to escape into other branches or levels of reality where the girls fight fantasy creatures in search of the five items they need to escape.
Well this is a Zack Snyder movie, so if you will complain about anything in this movie it should not be the graphics. The CGI is top form in Sucker Punch and is breathtakingly beautiful and full of detail. Other than the amazing cgi, and saturated colors, it wouldnt be a Zack Snyder movie without the epic slow-mo. I wouldnt say the movie had an abundance of unnecessary slow-mo but their were more than a few. I think the scenes were spread out well. In one particular scene towards the end, the slow mo kicks in full gear and what results is one of the most amazing special effects fight scene I have seen in awhile. All the fight scenes in general worked very well and look like effort was taken into making them. It is definitely a film highlight. One thing I really enjoyed about the movie was the soundtrack. The music choices fit perfectly with the setting and kept my head slightly nodding throughout. Some people might call these scenes too music video like, but I think they worked well. The acting wasnt too shabby with stand out performances from Jena Malone aka Rocket and Oscar Issac aka Blue Jones.
All in all. The movie had several twists and turns that will hit you like a Sucker Punch. You wont expect some things. The movie actual has a pretty good message about stories and if you pay attention you should get it. This movie is not over complicated but a lot of people might not understand exactly whats going on. It is another good effort from Snyder but a movie that the majority probably wouldnt like which might hurt him. Overall, if your looking for an entertaining ride that makes you pay attention, and starring hot girls, this just might be your movie. If your expecting Inception or Kill Bill or whatever then this probably not you movie.
I was privileged adequate to catch a screening of Sucker Punch last night that headlined the director Vincenzo Natali like a unique guest. I’ve been a moderate fan of his performance due to the fact his eerie and claustrophobic function, Cube. Like Cube, I found that Sucker Punch was able to set an atmosphere that was almost palatable all through the film. The main characters, Elsa and Clive (played by Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody, respectively) had been both likable and detestable, and yet all of the time believable throughout the film. I credit Natali’s writing with this emotional tug-of-war, generally since he was able to explain the motives in the characters with out giving as well much away and forcing the pacing to lag. (The man is whip smart, and it showed via his handling with the Q&A session after Sucker Punch screening). They do some despicable things, but Natali oft times tries to explain the character’s background to justify certain actions. I appreciate the effort, but with the same time, I felt the film required some serious suspension of disbelief on the aspect of its viewers to really swallow some scenes and resulting relationships.
After seeing Sucker Punch, you’ll probably realize you’ve seen this film and premise before. With out giving too a lot away, this tale reminds me a great deal of Jurassic Park. The overarching narrative parallels the sentiments of Dr. Malcom from Jurassic Park (“but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. “). The character’s themselves had been even named after pivotal actors in Bride of Frankenstein (Colin Clive and Elsa Lanchester), an homage to one in the great creatures of Science Fiction films, and a source of inspiration towards the director himself. The hybrid starts off seeking quite alien, but evolves into looking quite human-like (probably as being a effect of budget constraints, as properly as done to help the viewer identify and empathize employing the creature) with legs immediately reminding me in the aliens from the Arrival (1996). All through Sucker Punch, you could see the evolution of all of the characters that contributed to the final climax of Sucker Punch. Elsa and Clive make a great deal of mistakes and poor judgments throughout Sucker Punch pondering about how ‘brilliant’ these scientists were supposed to be. They try to approach the creation of this hybrid being with an objective mind – purely for that sake of science. However, in turn, they make a whole whole lot of ‘human’ errors along the way where their emotions come into play. As Chaos Theory explains, small variations in initial conditions renders long-term predictions impossible. The movie Sucker Punch keeps you guessing all through. It evolves in an uncontrolled way, just like the hybrid the scientists created. Like every other creature function flick before it (Frankenstein, Jurassic Park and even Species), everything culminates into a final climactic scene where the makers are forced to atone for their actions. I loved to watch Sucker Punch online free.
The creature effects were solid and the actress playing Dren is amazingly beautiful and exotic searching. Her mild androgyny was perfect for your role. Her sharp movements seemed quite alien to me and she took the creature further than what special effects could have done alone. Brody and Polley have been both solid actors throughout the entire Sucker Punch film. I particularly enjoyed Brody’s wardrobe and styling. The pacing in the Sucker Punch film started almost magical, like ET, then quickly picked up pace, paralleling the frenetic tension the scientists themselves must are already feeling.
It wasn’t a perfect movie by any means and it certainly wasn’t one of my favourites in recent years, but I enjoyed it. If I had to compare it to his earlier work, Cube, I would have to say that Cube made a a lot more lasting impression (I own it and recommend it to friends often). The film Sucker Punch is a fun way to spend an evening. You’ll come out regarding theatre with a positive experience, but it probably won’t be a film you’d rush out to see a second time, so you can always watch Sucker Punch online for free!