Zack Snyder has seemed to be a director of “stagnant creativity,” with the likes of Antoine Fuqua or Clint Eastwood. They make quality movies that everyone can enjoy, but never write their own… until now. Sucker Punch, Zack Snyder’s first attempt at an original title (Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole being his other projects, all of them adapted), ends up being a satisfying flick that opens your eyes, and really allows you to see the deceptive pieces of reality.
Sucker Punch is the story of Baby Doll (Emily Browning), an orphan sent to the Lennox House for the Criminally Insane by her evil stepfather (Gerard Plunkett). In this place, Baby Doll is introduced to many people, all of them trying to escape the hellish grasp of the owner of the house, Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac), and trying to escape in their own mind through the help of Dr. Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino). The girls are all in this place to dance for powerful people with money and provide comfort for them so Blue can make money off of their lustful spending. Through her learning to dance, Baby Doll went into herself, and found a new world of possibility, which included a Wise Man (Scott Glenn), who showed her the way to her freedom. It is up to her and her fellow wrongfully-accused to get out. Oh, and did I mention they only had 5 days to do it before Baby Doll was lobotomized by High Roller (Jon Hamm)?
Best Aspects: The visual effects are brilliant, the script and acting actually work with each other this time (color me shocked, this being a Zack Snyder movie), and the shots and editing were dynamite. The greatest aspect, though, was the AMAZING soundtrack/score by Tyler Bates, Marius De Vries, and Emily Browning (whose in the movie and actually has an amazing voice). The songs include remakes of Where is My Mind by The Pixies, and Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) by Eurythmics, so everyone will enjoy.
Bottom Line: A-. Zack Snyder’s best movie yet combines good writing with well-developed plot, spot-on acting, and an interesting ending which will make one think “what if?”
I’m so glad you gave Sucker Punch a good review. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while, and I’ve heard so many mixed reviews. I’ve come to trust your judgement J.C, so thanks. Heading to the flicks later tonight!
Awesome, hope you like it as much as I did!
I was really quite ambivalent about this movie, although I appreciate Zack Snyder in general, but your review has made me want to see it when it comes out here in the UK. Also, I thought your review was really punchy, which is good because I was beginning to feel a bit jaded about this site, and needed someone to rekindle my interest. I’m new to this, and have not contributed a review yet. I know all about sci-fi blockbusters, but I’d like to write up something out of my comfort zone. Any suggestions?
I’ve found the best way to tackle a critique is to start with a few movies you’ve never seen before. If you already have in your mind that a movie is great, or that it’s rubbish, then your review might be a little skewed. I LOVE time burton films, so i’m pretty biased when i review them. So now I just do reviews of movies I’ve never seen. It helps. If you’re really lost, grab a seriously unknown movie, something you’ve never even heard of, and start with that. My first review was a crappy rom-com, a genre i wish would die a slow painful death, but it helped to have no expectations assigned to it
richard, write what you know, and you’ll create a base of readers that also appreciate what you know (at least, I’ll certainly read your reviews). Rach, I completely agree that rom-coms must die, but there are some good ones, like Just Friends. Btw, did you see Sucker Punch yet?
J.C. – trying to see Sucker Punch tomorrow night. I’ve been at the Supanova Expo all weekend, so too busy :-( i’ll get there though! Can’t wait.
There are a few rom-coms I’m stuck on. I still do love seeing them occasionally, like Definitely, Maybe which was pretty good.
Definitely, Maybe was an interesting one, and I liked it as well. Just Friends and (500) Days of Summer were underrated rom-coms though that no one gave deserving credit to. BTW, how was Supernova? I heard Nick Frost was there and that the cast of Sucker Punch was there.
i haven’t seen just friends, but i really enjoyed (500) days of summer. A few of my favourite actors are in it which made it easy for me to watch.
Supanova was ok, I went to the Brisbane one, so unfortunately we weren’t graced with Nick Frost/Simon Pegg, or the sucker punch cast, they were in Melbourne. I mainly went for all the Buffy Cast and the SG-1 boys. There were so many people there that we unfortunately missed Tom Felton, but we managed to get into the Charisma Carpenter seminar, and I met Clare Kramer, in the bathroom of all places! It was an enjoyable day, but like most events at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds, they sell too many tickets for what the attractions can actually hold. I saw Iron Maiden there in February and you literally couldn’t move. Aside from the people, the exhibitions were really good, and all the cosplay people we’re so much fun. I got photos with so many randoms – the whole Empire was there from star wars, perfect photo op! and i got a pic with random characters, like rorschach from watchmen, kirby from well, kirby, and a few different anime characters. It was pretty fun, just let down by the venue’s money making antics
wow, it seemed fun then. Yeah, venues often rape the people enjoying the fun of the events by making them pay their ass off to stand for three hours and make an occasional “woot!” But I’m in America, so I’m unable to really have any involvement with Supernova. Glad it was cool, though.
But now you can see Sucker Punch!!!
I planned on seeing Sucker Punch last night, but it’s not out here yet! I’ve got 5 more days of waiting :-( we went and saw Limitless. By far Bradley Cooper’s best acting yet. but then I didn’t have high hopes for him anyway, and I haven’t enjoyed any of his work so far. Its ok, but not great.
I liked Limitless as well. Neil Burger is a good director, but now that I saw it twice (which I wouldn’t recommend), I think that it had a few too many plot holes.
OMG J.C. I saw it! I saw Sucker Punch!
First of all, props have to go out the visual- and special-effects teams. I haven’t seen a dragon that realistic since Reign of Fire. We’ve been pretty let down with dragons lately (LOTR, Harry Potter) but that mother dragon was awesome! (Also, did you happen to notice that at once stage in the dragon level, she was fight orcs? makeup VERY similar to LOTR. This is the only downfall I can think of)
I was thoroughly impressed by the story, which actually made sense. I was a bit worried when I saw the trailer, which didn’t give much away. If a review simply said she goes into her mind to an alternate reality to escape the moments she’s forced to dance, it would have quashed my original fears. I can’t believe how seamlessly they managed to contain so many realities into one movie, and actually managed to explain it all. Great story, pretty good ending, and, as you said, KILLER soundtrack. Completely agree with your review, four star rating is well deserved.
I think that the twists and the ending and the full story were just phenomenal. And yes, the soundtrack was BALLING! I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as I did!