Review Time - Sucker Punch

Stick with it.

It's important to note that Sucker Punch does not begin well. Right off the bat, it all seems a little weak. Snyder seems anxious to rush through the exposition, eager to get to the action. Right away this didn't bode well for me, I was hoping for something with a little meat on it, given that I quite enjoyed what I've seen of Snyder's past work. The film begins with our main character, later referred to as Baby Doll (Emily Browning), grieving after her mother dies from illness. The following scene shows her step dad flipping his shit as he finds out he's been snubbed in the will if favour of her daughters, and his subsequent desire to take it out his rage on them. Or something. He might have a plan? It's all a little hazy. Snyder is absolutely flying through this; this all takes place in about a minute, with a pretty poor cover of Eurythmatics Sweet dreams blaring away in leiu of any diagetic sound. In all honesty it seems more like a music video, or a trailer hastily edited together by a fan. In the confusion of the scene Baby Doll's sister gets killed, Baby Doll gets blamed, and she gets carted off to the Lennox House for the Mentally Insane.

When they get there, her step father bribes one of the orderlies into faking a signature to get Baby Doll lobotomised, so he can have all the moneyz for himself. Yup, he's just a dick like that. The opening hospital scene also has another poor cover coming through, this time of The Pixies' Where is my mind? All in all, the opening scenes are a really poor set up, but luckily, not indicative of what's to come.

It's here that Jon Hamm shows up. For about 6 seconds admittedly.

But hey. Any excuse to show a picture of Jon Hamm.

From here, Baby Doll retracts into fantasy to try and deal with her horrible situation, and it's from here that the film gets a lot more better. Strangely, it's not the high octane Kung fu that comes later that gets it going, but a much more low level fantasy; all the girls are working in a Burlesque club under the iron grip of "Blue" (played by the same nefarious orderly as earlier), and whilst it's hardly an ideal situation, it does glamorise the reality they're actually in, whilst keeping it believable. The building looks a lot more classy and suave than the dank hallways of a mental asylum, and the girls get to dance and are treated reasonably well. From here, Baby Doll is shown the ropes by the other girls: Rocket (Jena Malone), her older sister Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), rounded off with Amber (Jamie Chung) and Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens). What makes these scenes interesting is how well Snyder paces the character development. It's not too rushed like the crude opening, and we slowly see the girls develop a rapport throughout. It's subtle, and surprisingly effective, and by the end I genuinely cared about the characters, particularly Rocket and Sweet Pea, whose relationship is easily one of the most interesting and emotional aspects of the film.

There's also other aspects to consider...

Of course, there is also Kung fu. When it comes Baby Doll's turn to dance, she retreats again into much more elaborate fantasies to act it out. High octane sword fights with possessed statues, all guns blazing battles with steam-punk german Zombies (oh yes), and more, this is about as close to the over the top awesomeness of video games ever put to film. Snyder's unique style really comes through here; his deft use of slow motion doesn't seem as overwrought as 300, more a stylistic flourish to show us all the coolest bits. It's refreshing when so many modern action directors use nothing but a bit of shaky camera to try and get us excited, but often just results in a confusing mess. Snyder, however, is more about making the action as clear as possible, whilst still being hyper kinetic. As far as action choreography goes, it's spectacular.

With all this fantasy upon fantasy, there's the worry that it all seems inconsequential. There's a real question as to whether anything that happens has any consequence, or whether there's any real danger. Luckily, Snyder averts this by slowly showing us how actions in one fantasy influence or represent what happens in another. As the film goes on it becomes more tense as realities blur, and the film takes a pretty grim turn, which you'll just have to watch to find out. It's from here where the film turns from highly entertaining to utterly compelling, and the pace keeps up till the end.

An uninteresting villain, perhaps. But one that will fill you with PURE RAGE.

Overall, Sucker Punch does have many faults. The opening sours the experience, which takes a while to recover from, Emily Browning struggles in the lead role, and at times the soundtrack is at odds with the visuals. But when it counts, the film soars. The action scenes are top notch, it manages to interweave a surprisingly bitter-sweet and heartfelt relationship between the two sisters, and the films climax pounds with drama, and will leave you on tenderhooks.

A triumph in every way that matters, don't miss it.



If The Bearded One had to choose between Vanessa Hudgens and Jon Hamm, he'd have to give it some thought.