Sucker Punch movie review (2011)

Sucker Punch (2011)

Full review: Zack Snyder, the visionary director of "Watchmen" and the astounding "300", brings his latest visual extravaganza, "Sucker Punch" - a ludicrous, yet striking mishmash of various different genres, that features everything from samurais, to fire-breathing dragons to Nazi zombies to Moulin Rouge-style burlesque, and while many would understand what the director had in mind, it often feels like Snyder got lost in his own imagination in his attempts to bring his first original story to life, as the end result is a big hot flashy mess. Despite its 'muddleness', "Sucker Punch" still manages to achieve its purpose, which is to entertain. Yes, you might be quite disappointed by the lack of coherence, satisfactory plot and decent writing, but you'll certainly be unprepared for the massive amount of stupendous action and imposing visuals this movie has to offer. The CGI backgrounds are uniquely-crafted and breathtakingly beautiful, the special effects are as slick as it gets, and the action is first-rate. The variety of camera angles and different techniques that Snyder uses during the first-rate fight scenes are simply admirable, and his trade mark slow-mo sequences are mind-blowing as usual. Each of the 'dream' sequences is 'painted' in different color, and totally unique in terms of style, settings, action and cinematography. The robo-samurai action scene in the first half is the highlight of the movie, and deserves a special mention, as it's сo beautifully-shot and out-of-this-world spectacular, it's sure to blow you away. The music score contains various alternative rock tracks, with the updated version of Bjork's "Army of Me" being in the lead. Sadly, in terms of acting "Sucker Punch" fails to impress, with most of the performances being sub-par. Emily Browning as is as gorgeous as she's dull in her role as Baby Doll, Carla Gugino just doesn't have much to work with, and Vanessa Hudgens is almost unnoticeable. Abbie Cornish does her best as Sweet Pea, and she's the only real standout in the movie. Jena Malone is also good, but her screen time is extremely limited, and Oscar Isaac does a fair job as the villain, Blue Jones .

Overall summary: Zack Snyder's latest flick may be pointless, humorless and pretty incoherent at times, but it's so spectacularly action-packed and visually jaw-dropping, its plot weaknesses could be easily forgiven. Whether "Sucker Punch" is a video game-inspired movie or a movie-inspired video game, it's hands down a feast for the eyes.