Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch
Run Time:1hr 45min
Release Date: March 25, 2011
Director: Zach Snyder
Dropps: 6/10

Are you ready? Brace your self. You will be unprepared. Well that is what all the commercials are claiming for the new film Sucker Punch, which will be out this Friday.  Sucker Punch is about a young girl that has been locked away in a mental asylum by her horrible stepfather. While in the institution the girl, who eventually becomes known as Baby Doll, retreats into her imagination where she and four other inmates plot to escape their captivity. Can Baby Doll and the others truly escape the real horrors that face them or will the fantasy world bring nothing but broken dreams?

When following the story there is a clear beginning, middle and end but some of the side vignettes do not seem to attach themselves to the over all story fluidly. In the film there are three established “universes”: reality, the dream and the fantasy within the dream. Having the three different universes in the film make it mildly resembles the flow of the Inception. Though they have similar plot flow in Sucker Punch the characters are constantly switches between only two universes, dream and the fantasy with small snips of reality mixed in. Also, even though in both films the reasoning for the switches can be easily understood, in Sucker Punch it becomes unnerving at a certain point. The other reality that all the characters enter could be better as stand alone mini movies or shorts that one would almost prefer to see rather than attached to the feature.

Even though the story doesn’t seem to completely fit perfectly the visuals of the film are amazing.  The vignettes are like a live action gritty anime with a palette of dark colors; black, grey, navy blue, grayish greens and white. With the introduction of the elements of gunfire, explosions, light and fire being able to really pop against the background with out the use of 3D. In the dream where the characters are in a brothel there are pinks, light teals, blues and other things that make that makes the scenes beautiful. Then of course there is also the action of the gunfire, sword fights and hand-to-hand combat that keep your attention. People like to watch these films because watching action tends to get the blood pumping.  Lastly many guys will enjoy the visual experience of the main female characters in their costumes.  Like said before action gets lots of people’s blood pumping but girls in leather tight outfits or a school girl looking uniform that are wheeling weapons makes many men happy. Not to forget there are also some scene of just pairings of corsets and panties.

As a result Sucker Punch is a film that is best to take into context as a piece of visual beauty.  The colors, action and the women may be enough for some to rush to the theaters but don’t expect to come out pumped over anything else.  Is it worth a $10 ticket?  My answer is no, wait for the DVD.

-Ashlyn Williams