Sucker Punch

Really underrated movie. It's not just your typical stylized action flick, it's quite a heartbreaking story in its core.

On a rewatch of this movie I really started to understand what was REALLY going on here. Once you understand what's really going on in the movie it will break your heart.

Great action, great story line, characters you really feel for.

I think this movie is rated so low because the people drawn to it don't think past the surface.

I've loved this film since its first run in theaters. Largely panned by critics and somewhat of a box office bomb, this film has been misunderstood from day one.

At face value, its t*ts and *ss and violence. I suppose the majority of viewers either loved it or despised it at that level. No doubt, knee jerk feminists were loud and strident haters. Seeing it as exploitation. I believe there is more nuance to 'Sucker Punch'.

It's more of a comment on how girls and young women are manipulated sexually and emotionally. You have to look a bit deeper past the in-your-face sex and violence. Most viewers won't invest themselves enough to see past this which is a bit sad.

Aussie actresses' Emma Browning and Abbie Cornish are exceptional as is Jena Malone. The rest of the cast is adequate.

The dream sequences are sublime, and the soundtrack is simply outstanding. These are some of the greatest songs sever recorded. I would rate this as one of the best soundtracks of the last 20 years.

I heard about SUCKER PUNCH since very long because it's one of Zack Snyder's first movies before he directed the DC comic book movies and also because it has tons of divergent reviews (some great, some bad and most in between). Last July I finally saw it and I ended up liking it, not loving it.

The movie is set in the 1950s. Babydoll is accused of having killed her sister during a moment of madness and is taken by her stepfather in the institute for mental illnesses named Lennox House for the Mentally Insane for lobotomize her so that he can take her dead sister's inheritance all for himself. Five days before lobotomy Babydoll enters in her imagination in a burlesque game house and she meet other four dancers that like her want to escape. During a dance lesson by Vera Gorski (Carla Gugino) Babydoll imagines herself in Ancient Japan where she meets the Wise Man (Scott Glenn) that reveals her how to escape from the institute and she'll need five objects: after the dream sequence is over Babydoll has finished her dance and the director Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac) is pleased.

Soon Babydoll, Sweet Pea, Rocket, Blondie and Amber find the objects and end up from battling a World War I battle to a dragon in a medieval castle and other adventures and fugues, up until we return to the instituion where the Player is none other than a surgeon (Jon Hamm) specialized in lobotomy and just practised it on Babydoll. In the meanwhile Sweet Pea is seen riding on a bus with the Wise Man as the driver that takes her despite she is ticket-less because they have a long road to go.

If you go into this movie expecting a superhero movie you are wrong. Yes it's directed by Zack Snyder but it's a totally different movie for him because it was Snyder's original concept and it's good nonetheless. The acting was great, not surprising considering the cast members and the action scenes well coreographed. It's also unique because there are various moments that you just have to see them to believe them (like the aforementioned one of the World War I battle that shiftes with the dragon in the Medieval castle).

Overall, an action movie capable of satysfing its fans and for everyone else, a nice time passer and a guarantee for two hours of fun.

I avoided this film like the plague when it was in theaters, having heard nothing but the worst reviews imaginable. Hardly anyone had anything nice to say about it, and usually that is a pretty good indicator a film is bad. I mean, one or two bad reviews can usually be brushed off. Even a 50/50 split amongst critics can sometimes indicate a good, but misunderstood film. But when a movie is universally panned, it's a safe bet that you're not missing anything by skipping it.

Wow, were they wrong here. I decided to catch Sucker Punch on HBO now that it's available, and I'm very glad I did. It's definitely not a perfect movie, but it's also nowhere near as bad as we've all been led to believe.

It's got a few moments that don't really work, and I could have done entirely without the narration at the end, but other than that, it's a terrific, beautifully stylized action fantasy, filled with imaginative villains, lush graphics, pretty girls and a uniquely offbeat storyline.

I simply don't understand where all the hate came from here. Yeah, it generally portrays a male adolescent fantasy of hot girls in skimpy outfits. Big freaking deal. There are far more exploitative films out there, few of which inspired the level of vitriol hurled at Sucker Punch. It's a cool fantasy film, with heavy elements of B-movie and classic pulp noir skillfully added for good measure.

How this film can be hated but something like Grindhouse critically beloved is beyond my comprehension. Yes, Grindhouse is better. But not so much better to justify the massive disparity (83% to 23% on Rotten Tomatoes).

And I'm not even a big Zach Snyder fan to begin with. I thought Watchmen was awful, and didn't think very much of 300 either. But I have to give him credit on this one; he was truly robbed this time around.

Off the bat I have to say I'm over thirty years older than what some pro critics have claimed is the demographic for this one. Sucker Punch, as reviews etc attest, is not for everyone, it has been called any number of things in derogative fashion, which since I enjoyed the film a lot means I'm a misogynist fetishist gamer, which to the best of my knowledge is not true. Lest I'm in the closet and now in middle age about to unleash traits and feelings previously untapped. Which if the latter is true you would have to say well done Zack Snyder, for that's serious film making...

Sucker Punch is loud, full of visual orgasms, musically adroit, exciting, clever and very sexy. Snyder has made no secret of his fetish leanings when making this piece, but it hardy constitutes a dark seedy mind at work. It can easily be argued that the film is very much pro women, the story itself - in amongst the explosive thunder of the fantastical action - is tender and beautiful, complete with emotional kickers. Perhaps it's in the eye of the beholder? But I see a strong female led action movie, with shifting fantasy realms, and cunningly it calls for deeper ponder come the finale.

Love it or hate it, Snyder has pushed buttons with this exercise. Better that than another cash cow sequel or another remake, re- imaging or rebirth. 7/10