By Dylan Fair
Staff Writer
In the cinematic field, most movies are able to overcome their obvious flaws with fantasy, action, and sex appeal. In the case of Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch,” even erotic adventure stretching from feudal Japan to World War I to the distant future fails to keep audiences interested.
“Sucker Punch” is the dark adventure of a young girl (Emily Browning) who is locked in a mental asylum by her vicious stepfather. In the asylum she learns to escape reality by receding into her own mind. This new world starts off as a brothel where the girl befriends some dancers and takes the name Babydoll.
With the help of the house’s dance instructor Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino), Babydoll learns how to dance, which takes her even further into her own mind until her fantasy becomes a war zone reaching across space and time. In this reality she learns of the five objects required for her freedom before she must give herself to a “High Roller” (John Hamm).
The movie falls short on the most basic of levels. The first of the shortcomings is the script. While “Sucker Punch” aims to please with eye candy and mindless action, the absolute ridiculous nature of the script due to overexaggerated action and dialogue leaves audiences yawning whenever a character opens his or her mouth to speak.
While scripts can often be rejuvenated by powerful performances, the cast of “Sucker Punch” does not offer much except appearance. The supporting cast of Abbie Cornish, Jene Malone and Vanessa Hudgens all come across very flat in their attempts to portray complex characters.
The movie’s sole redeeming quality are the absolutely stunning visuals. With an $82 million budget, director Zack Synder was able to create a lifelike fantasy world that reflects the overall atmosphere of the film. Medieval castles brimming with orcs and dragons are just as realistic as the real dangers Babydoll faces.
With such strong effects, Synder is in some ways channeling pop culture and the new direction of 21st century film making. This provocative video game style has been developing for some time now, and visually “Sucker Punch” moves this genre forward. If only a larger fraction of the film’s massive budget had gone to writing and acting, this movie could have done much more.
Ultimately, the final failure of “Sucker Punch” is its inability to deliver its own message. The movie tries to develop the themes of self empowerment and strength.
However, this is clouded by flat acting and a lack of real substance, to the point where long over-drawn monologues are required to spell out the movie’s message.
“Sucker Punch” cannot exceed beyond that of the early summer’s middle-of-the-road films. Synder, in his first attempt at his own original piece, was not able to give audiences something worth celebrating.
Moviegoers will merely be moderately entertained by “Sucker Punch.” The nerd appeal is high, and it would serve as a good movie to see with friends. On the other hand, the lack of real human connection is enough to keep viewers at home. “Sucker Punch” is playing in theaters nationwide.
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