Sucker Punch (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
Zac Snyder is a pretty cool director. I really liked his 300. I loved his somewhat-maligned Watchmen. But his latest, 'Sucker Punch', is quite the misfire. A misfire, unpleasant, & grim. The plot is as follows: Baby Doll (Emily Browning) is hit with a triple tragedy in the space of one day. 1) Her mother dies 2) her sister is murdered by her guardian 3) she is accused of the murder, & institutionalized by her abusive stepfather at Lennox House - an insane asylum. There, she faces a miserable future with the strong possibility of a lobotomy in 5 days - that is, unless she escapes. Soon after she arrives, the movie shifts from asylum-mode into Baby Doll's alternative reality/dream world (as a way to cope with her dismal surroundings). No longer a patient, Baby Doll envisions herself as a dancer in a club/brothel where runaways are forced to perform for wealthy clients {I know, strange}.
Baby Doll plans to escape the brothel (really, the mental facility) with help from 4 other dancers (really, fellow patients): Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish, so good in 2009's Bright Star), her outspoken sister, Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens, who has dark brown hair, not blonde ... annoying), & Amber (Jamie Chung). They answer to 'club owner' Blue (Oscar Isaac) & his 'choreographer', Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino), while training to perform {yuk} for the High Roller (Jon Hamm) - who is actually the lobotomist in reality. Now, there is yet another layer to this movie - a fantasy world. In order to 'escape', Baby Doll creates a list of 4 items that must be aquired. As each item is located/attempted to be caught, we (the audience) are thrown into a crazy video game-like universe where a goal must be achieved. In her 1st challenge, Baby Doll must defeat 3 mechanical warriors (with red gleaming eyes). In her 2nd, the challenge is WWII-themed. In her 3rd, she battles dragons & orc-like beasts (Lord of the Rings-influenced). And the 4th involves a bomb on a train.
The lines between reality & fantasy blur as Baby Doll, her 4 friends, as well as a mysterious guide (John Glenn), attempt their escape. Each of these 4 sequences uses state of the art CGI effects. Problem is: the pop art visuals lose their appeal quickly. The music is glaringly loud. And I became bored of the mindless, senseless "action". Was I in suspense of what was going to happen to the girls at any given moment? No. When they were in danger, did I flinch? No. They fight and leap and shoot and throw and kill and ... who cares? I had little-to-no emotional response. I wasn't wild about these girls in reality-based asylum world, & I REALLY didn't care what was going on with them in their weird, CGI fantasy worlds. And finally, though I didn't hate the actual ending, the way in which it unfolds & is filmed if inherently unsatisfying. Flat, even.
I know that the aim of 'Sucker Punch' was to use bizarre fetishism, near-rape, & vengeful violence disguised as a female-empowerment fairy tale (to thrill the brain dead masses). But how exactly is that a winning combo? I also think that the filmmakers wanted to drive home an inspirational 'Baby Doll has not lost her will to survive' angle. To that I say, I doubt many people would latch onto that mentality (though, this film apparently tapped into my cousin Amy's frame of mind – she liked it). If you're in a depressed mood, you may slide into its crazy groove. Now, the film is ambitious. And it DOES make sense if you break it all down. But the whole endeavor feels pointless. Even the video game-influenced special effects come across as muddled to me (and in awful slow-mo). Zac Snyder has always been a visual director (lots of flash & panache). But this is the 1st time that one of his stories lacked bite or joy, at all.
Baby Doll plans to escape the brothel (really, the mental facility) with help from 4 other dancers (really, fellow patients): Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish, so good in 2009's Bright Star), her outspoken sister, Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens, who has dark brown hair, not blonde ... annoying), & Amber (Jamie Chung). They answer to 'club owner' Blue (Oscar Isaac) & his 'choreographer', Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino), while training to perform {yuk} for the High Roller (Jon Hamm) - who is actually the lobotomist in reality. Now, there is yet another layer to this movie - a fantasy world. In order to 'escape', Baby Doll creates a list of 4 items that must be aquired. As each item is located/attempted to be caught, we (the audience) are thrown into a crazy video game-like universe where a goal must be achieved. In her 1st challenge, Baby Doll must defeat 3 mechanical warriors (with red gleaming eyes). In her 2nd, the challenge is WWII-themed. In her 3rd, she battles dragons & orc-like beasts (Lord of the Rings-influenced). And the 4th involves a bomb on a train.
The lines between reality & fantasy blur as Baby Doll, her 4 friends, as well as a mysterious guide (John Glenn), attempt their escape. Each of these 4 sequences uses state of the art CGI effects. Problem is: the pop art visuals lose their appeal quickly. The music is glaringly loud. And I became bored of the mindless, senseless "action". Was I in suspense of what was going to happen to the girls at any given moment? No. When they were in danger, did I flinch? No. They fight and leap and shoot and throw and kill and ... who cares? I had little-to-no emotional response. I wasn't wild about these girls in reality-based asylum world, & I REALLY didn't care what was going on with them in their weird, CGI fantasy worlds. And finally, though I didn't hate the actual ending, the way in which it unfolds & is filmed if inherently unsatisfying. Flat, even.
I know that the aim of 'Sucker Punch' was to use bizarre fetishism, near-rape, & vengeful violence disguised as a female-empowerment fairy tale (to thrill the brain dead masses). But how exactly is that a winning combo? I also think that the filmmakers wanted to drive home an inspirational 'Baby Doll has not lost her will to survive' angle. To that I say, I doubt many people would latch onto that mentality (though, this film apparently tapped into my cousin Amy's frame of mind – she liked it). If you're in a depressed mood, you may slide into its crazy groove. Now, the film is ambitious. And it DOES make sense if you break it all down. But the whole endeavor feels pointless. Even the video game-influenced special effects come across as muddled to me (and in awful slow-mo). Zac Snyder has always been a visual director (lots of flash & panache). But this is the 1st time that one of his stories lacked bite or joy, at all.