FulltimeCasual

Review: Sucker Punch (Spoiler Free)

Sucker Punch has some great ideas for action set-pieces and some fantastic visuals, often beautifully married to a soundtrack of well-chosen remixes. Unfortunately, the parameters of the set-pieces are so arbitrary they're meaningless, and the action itself is generally let down by the muddled laziness of excessive CG, shaky-cam, and fast editing -- surprising considering the unusual spatial and temporal clarity that characterised the action in Snyder's previous films 300 and Watchmen. This could be forgivable except that there's practically no character development or story in between the action, so it's also impossible to care if anyone lives or dies. The principles do a convincing job as action heroines, but their thinly written characters leave them nothing to do except read bad lines and look good. Between that and the fact that they're essentially defined by their distinct semi-lingerie getup and fetishistic names, they present not as real human beings but as fantasy objects, whether they're vulnerable and abused in one scene or elite warriors in another. It's "feminism" of the bankrupt Spice Girls variety -- power is restricted to those who accept sexuality as the only important feminine characteristic, and there's an implicit but unmistakable No Fat Chicks sign at the door. Maybe Zack Snyder's right and this is a film with female empowerment at its heart, but to me it reads as a lame excuse to get pretty girls into garters and bandoliers and have them shoot their way through a series of boy's-own-adventure vignettes... as it turns out, this is only a fun idea on paper. Emily Browning holds the screen admirably considering the circumstances, and Oscar Isaac would've been a good sleazy villain with a better script. Scott Glenn and Carla Gugino seem tired in their hackneyed roles, but are effortlessly charismatic as usual. The rest of the cast do their jobs and look their parts -- which is all they're really allowed to do. Zack Snyder is still an interesting and talented director and I'll see whatever he comes up with next... which is a Superman flick, I hear. I can't recommend Sucker Punch, though,  unless you have a particular interest in production design, CG work, or the schlockiest and most empty of films. As an aside, I can only conjure one spoilery reason why it's even called "Sucker Punch", and it doesn't quite make sense.