Sucker Punch Staring: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Issac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn, and more... Directed by: Zack Snyder Story by: Zack Snyder Screenplay by: Zack Snyder & Steve Shibuya Original Music by: Tyler Bates & Marius De Vries Premise: This is a story of angels, angels that come to help you in different ways and wearing different forms, whether you want them to or not. A chance encounter at a mental institution sets of a series of events in multiple realities all aiming at one thing - gaining freedom. Review: I'd heard good and bad things about this film so I went to see it with some misgivings. However, I ended up being given quite a tasty treat. But I can see how some things could be missed, which would take away from the full experience, so pay close attention. :P Through the film, keep in mind what the female voice tells you at the beginning of the film. Here are the seeds of all that will follow. Also pay particular attention to the girl on the bed in the theater. The connection that happens there between her and the new comer is pivotal to everything else. The plot appears simple and just as stated on the previews - find five objects and you will be set free. Four of the five are shown to us right away. What makes this simple goal interesting is the spread out/connecting effect it has on others over time. Especially at the end, more than those originally involved were affected and in their own way set free - a few never knowing until that point that they'd been prisoners. The visuals are fantastic! Totally loved the saying of "the world is a stage" and having it taken to broader lengths, even involving the opening of the film in how they show the Warner Brother's logo. The fights are good, the shaky cam on some of the fight scenes not used long enough to give any trouble. Lots of cool shots. Especially loved the dream worlds - mixing some contemporary and future items with things you'd not normally see, like giant samurai, dragons and goblins, the trenches of WWI manned with mechanized enemies, derigibles, mecha, a total mixture of stuff. Totally loved the face off in the temple grounds, with the fog, the mountains, a grand, breathtaking vista! The shell of the church in the WWI sequence looked just like actual shells of catholic churches you've seen in other films/documentaries. The grand vista of a ringed world dominating the sky of the planet they were on. Tons of stunning visuals. My son-in-law said he had troubles with the sections switching from reality to reality, but I didn't. They give a lot of cues if you look for them. Normally a pan view of Baby Doll's head and a change in the overall background color. Watch for those cues and you shouldn't get lost. (Plus the original reality is so drab, you won't mistake it!) For the guys, lots of mini skirts, girls with swords and guns! Explosions, mayhem, mecha! And make sure to watch the end credits as you get a song and dance number with all the girls dressed up as well. One point I found quite funny was that for the 3rd tier of reality, we're told the enemy are already dead just reanimated with technology and later are robots, so mass destruction can ensue and no deaths caused. This is despite the fact that in layer 2/layer 1 death actually happens. I suppose it just shows the depth of disassociation they all were running through. Overall, it was a nice ride with lots of pretty things to look at for all viewers. And make sure to listen closely at the end, so you know someone who may seems like he got away with something will also be getting his comeuppance. Rating: 4 out of 5 cause I liked the subtle twist. (Hubby Rating - Better as a Matinee)
Thank you for the review Gloria!
ReplyDeleteI was teetering on whether to see it or not & you've convinced me.
Excellently reviewed!
All the best,
RKCharron
I rented this last weekend via iTunes thinking it was going to be more along the lines of Tank Girl. Visually it was a masterpiece, but it came off, to me, like the storyline to a video game, and all the dance sequence / battle scenes were just levels of the game. But ultimately the story was right out of something by Kafka, had no emotional payoff, and was a downer from beginning to end. The movie made quite an impact because I can't get it out of my mind, but the story pisses me off the longer I think about it, so I am hating the movie more and more as time passes.
ReplyDeleteEek! Sorry to hear that Jerry! It was definitely not ever meant to be a feel good movie. The ending itself proved that. I was glad they distanced it with the whorehouse angle because if they'd done it straight at the mental institution it would have been so much worse. Don't give in to the hate! Sorry if I steered you wrong. Eek!
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