THE CAST
Emily Browning - Baby Doll
Abbie Cornish - Sweet Pea
Vanessa Hudgens - Blondie
Jena Malone - Rocket
Scott Glenn - Wise Man
THE STORY
A young girl (Baby Doll) is framed for the murder of her sister by her abusive stepfather, the man responsible for the crime. After being locked up against her will in a mental asylum, she only has five days to fight her way to freedom, before being lobotomised. With the help of four friends and her vivid imagination, she begins planning her escape by entering her dream world, where anything is possible.
Zack Snyder has built a reputation for directing incredibly stylised movies (300, Watchmen) and
Sucker Punch is no exception. It is visually stunning, beautiful even at times, with some of the best CGI I have ever seen on the big screen. There are moments when you'll feel your retinas actually begin to detach, as they're overloaded with the sheer awesomeness of the action set pieces. The burning airship and the dragon are so realistic, it's difficult to even comprehend how a group of computer nerds were able to create it virtually. It's nearly impossible to absorb everything you're seeing during these spectacular scenes because there's so much going on and I really enjoyed that feeling. Honestly, it's like you're watching someone play the world's coolest video game and you really want it to be your turn. The soundtrack is superb and adds an important extra layer to scenes that may otherwise have been lacklustre, especially
the remix of The Eurythmics's
Sweet Dreams or the reworking of The Pixies'
Where Is My Mind? The film is so stylised though, there isn't time for any decent acting. Having said that, Oscar Isaac (Blue Jones) does a fantastic job as the main villain and the man that runs the asylum. He's more evil than any of the characters Baby Doll dreams up and I really wanted to see him get his comeuppance, which he sort of does, just not as painfully as I would have liked. Emily Browning (Baby Doll) and Abbie Cornish (Sweet Pea) were all right considering the material they'd been given, but on the whole, most of the cast were there to look pretty in short dresses...which they did.
THE WEAKNESSES
This is the first time Snyder has directed an original film concept (he also co-wrote it) and it shows. He clearly had free reign to indulge himself and somewhere along the way he got a bit lost, which is exactly what happens to the audience as they're watching this film. It's all a bit too disjointed and the line between what's 'real' and what isn't, is constantly blurred. Baby Doll is told at the start of the film that she needs to collect five items to help her escape, but it turned out they weren't that important, as they didn't manage to get them all and they still escape. The key part of the film is that her dancing is so captivating and hypnotic, people are totally distracted, allowing her to complete her missions. The problem is, we don't ever see her dance and it isn't clear how she can have these amazing dream sequences at the same time, so it doesn't really work. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but it was starting to bug me after the third dream sequence. Apparently Snyder did shoot dance routines with the cast, but they didn't make the cut. Finally, after I'd invested a hundred minutes of my time into Baby Doll's story, patiently waiting for her to get revenge on her stepfather and the asylum owner, it never happened. I don't want to ruin for you, but sufficed to say, the ending of the film fell really flat. After all of these superb action scenes, I hoped there'd be one big finale, but there wasn't.
Sucker Punch is a visually stunning film, but lacks any real depth or consistent narrative. Expect to come out of the cinema feeling cheated, but agreeing that the effects and look of the film were superb. This is proof if proof were needed that great CGI does not a great film make. There's no doubt that Snyder is an exceptional talent, I just hope he learns from this and puts it to good use for his next project, Superman: Man of Steel next year.
Sucker Punch is released in the UK on 1 April 2011.
MICHAEL'S MOVIE MARK 5/10
