Sucker Punch Review

Director of “300,” “Watchmen” and “Dawn of the Dead,” Zack Snyder is known for testosterone-heavy films without much substance. Traditionally, Snyder’s films are full of senseless killings and clichéd deaths. But Snyder seems to be taking a step away from male-driven movies with an almost all female cast and an undertone of girl power in “Sucker Punch.” Yet Snyder keeps the film interesting with action scenes and a plot that is captivating at first but begins to confuse the audience less that 30 minutes in.

Known only as Baby Doll (Emily Browning), a young woman falls into the clutches of her stepfather after the death of her mother pushes her into a deep depression. In order to keep Baby Doll from inheriting her mother’s fortune, her greedy stepfather (Gerard Plunkett) tosses her into an insane asylum and schedules for a lobotomist (Jon Hamm) to silence her permanently. Baby Doll’s only way to deal with her tragedy is to imagine herself in an underground burlesque club where she and other women are kept against their will. But when Baby Doll dances she finds herself in a sanctuary where she is able to fight off her demons physically.

When Baby Doll first learns to unlock her hidden world by dancing, we are transported to an ancient Chinese palace in the middle of winter. Accordingly, Baby Doll is in a midriff-showing Japanese school-girl uniform, thigh-high socks and heels. My main qualm with this is that I don’t understand why, if this was her perfect world, she would choose to be wearing something as ridiculous as this outfit. Along with that, she fights a trio of robot-monsters, does flips and runs at full speed, all while wearing three-inch heels. Though this is far-fetched at best, as the movie went on I found myself noticing the costumes less and less.

As the film continued, the costume choice presented itself as a symbol of girl power. Just like Baby Doll’s ability to entrance men with her dance, the outfits are one of the ‘weapons’ in Baby Doll and the other girls’ arsenals. Yet there is enough danger and girls kicking ass to keep the movie from becoming boring and preachy.

Once Baby Doll discovers the power she holds she enlists the help of Rocket (Jena Malone), Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung), her roommates at the asylum/burlesque house, and plans to escape her prison before the lobotomist arrives in five days.

The plot alone is disorienting if someone tries to understand it, but I found myself at a point where I just started going with it and the movie became much more entertaining. Though it is a dream world within a dream world, there are far too many metaphors within each world. A bomb in the fighting dream world is a knife in the burlesque world, which is a lobotomy in the real world. These metaphors become overused and just plain confusing as we go deeper and deeper into Baby Doll’s psyche.

While Baby Doll barely says a word in the entire first act, most of conversation is had by her almost uninteresting soon-to-be teammates. Though all are experienced actresses, they obviously weren’t chosen for their acting chops. Their acting is mediocre at best, but that can’t be completely blamed on the actresses. Most of the characters were 2-dimensional and had no back story to speak of. Considering what the girls wear through most of the film, it isn’t a surprise that beauty came before talent in this casting call.

But more beautiful than the actresses is the dream world Baby Doll finds a home in. The vibrant color scheme contrasts with the dreary and almost black and white scenes in the asylum while the multitude of enemies each have character. Each fight has a different location whether it be a dragon’s lair, a moving train or a WWI bunker, and with every location comes different creatures. I understand having Baby Doll and her team fighting Nazi’s and dragons, but when the Orcs showed up right out of “Lord of the Rings” I was once again confused.

All in all, this movie cannot be taken seriously but if you just go with the flow the film can be a fun, if not confusing, ride. With a cast full of eye-candy and second-rate actors, a plot that seems to still be in development and a soundtrack that adds another dimension, the film has its flaws but manages to deliver an amusing romp through the psyche.

Two out of Four Stars