Sucker Punch

There are always a lot of critics of Zack Snyder’s films. They tend to be violent, over the top, and most important, tremendously loyal to the source material. But there are only a handful of directors who can create films as epic as Snyder and Sucker Punch backs that up. The film tells the story of a group of abused girls in a mental institution, their attempt to escape and the fantasies they create to escape the brutal reality. As diverse a plot as that is, it actually proves to be a bit forced, seesawing between relentless action and crawling monotony. The action scenes that play out as self-sustaining mini-movies are epic and interesting. I would rather see any one of them in a full-length feature over the weird theater storyline that is the basis for this film. But before I compliment these scenes too much, they are essentially unnecessary fights that take up time more than they further than plot.

One of the main issues that is not always addressed in comic book movies is the use of one-dimensional characters. While some, like Peter Parker, are emotionally deep, others only have one personality type. Every player in Sucker Punch is just that, basic. Their only changes are terribly predictable. I am all for sticking to the original story, but apparently something got lost in the transition.

Visually, the film looks amazing. However, the unique look Snyder creates seems to vanish for periods of the film. While 300 and Watchmen, which are both Snyder films, use shadows and visual effects to become favorites of comic book fans, Sucker Punch only dabbles in these methods and looks like a copy. The biggest impact this film will have on my movie going experience is that for the first time in six months there won’t be a Sucker Punch trailer before 90 percent of the features. I don’t think I’ll miss them. (7.0 out of 10)