Sucker Punch (2011)

I knew I had to see this movie before bad word of mouth prevented me from wanting too. It's been on my 'must see' list since last summer.

When I checked out 'Rotten Tomatoes' I discovered that while critics gave it a ranking of 20%, the audiences coming out of the theatre graded it in the high sixties. I knew then that this was the kind of movie that you either loved or hated. It either lived up to the expectations created in the trailer or it didn't. This is one film you need to see for yourself and decide afterwards what you think about it.


My buddy, Mike D over at Cultural Compulsive Disorder did a great post about why someone would or would not like this movie. It's worth your time to read. I gave me some perspective before I wrote my own review. I agreed with most everything he wrote in his post.

The film's opening sequence is brilliant. A slow motion recap of what happened to our heroine on the rainy night her mother died. It's all set to a slowed down version of 'Sweet Dreams' by the Eurythmics. I loved how director Zack Snyder created this set-up without a single line of dialogue. The images tell us everything we need to know. He hooked me immediately and created empathy for the character I would follow for the rest of the movie. Brilliant.


The movie has an epic, dreamlike quality that plays out like an elaborate nightmare - but a nightmare with a purpose. Synder's fantastic, over the top imagery would not work unless he had established a strong foundation for the story first. The nightmare of the real world horrors found in the Lennox House for the Mentally Insane would make anyone retreat into fantasy like our heroine Baby Doll (Emily Browning) does. And what a fantasy world it is - full of dragons, Nazi zombies, massive battles and giant samurai demons.

The visuals are spectacularly over the top. I loved how each challenge builds upon the one's before it as Baby Doll grows in both skill and confidence. This is the classic journey of a hero. It doesn't matter if she is in knee socks - a hero is a hero.


I also have to mention how terrific the soundtrack is. Each scene in the fantasy world in accompanied by a cover of famous songs you already know. Zak is very good at matching music and visuals.

Speaking of visuals, yes, there are many scenes in slow motion. Synder likes to slow down the action so we can actually see what is going on. It's so much more rewarding an editing technique than Michael Bay's ('Transformers') two second cuts. Snyder pulls you into the action where Bay alienates you from it. It was the kick-ass CGI from the trailer that made me interested in seeing this movie in the first place and they do not disappoint. If anything, they are so amazing that the movie can drag a bit when Baby Doll is not lost in the fantasy world.


Of all the girls kicking butt in this movie I was most impressed by Jena Malone. I remember her as a child actress but here she is a force of nature. Like her name, Rocket, she is one continuous burst of power when she gets to killing all the beasties standing in the way of her escape.

Once again I have to agree with the audience over the critics. This is a good movie that moves quickly and kept me interested from beginning to end. However, don't listen to me. Just go and experience it for yourself.

7/10