Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Review: Sucker Punch

Zack Snyder has become known in Hollywood for his over-the-top, stylized action flicks like the Dawn of the Dead remake, Watchmen, and, of course, 300. But has cinema's once-proclaimed "action of the future" become old hat?



Over the years, Zack Snyder has proven himself to be a keen visionary with visually impressive, high-octane action films; however, there is a reason why his highest rated films on Rotten Tomatoes are the ones he didn't write. With Sucker Punch, Snyder tries to combine his iconic, stylistic action with a slightly more intelligent plot, which doesn't exactly work.

Emily Browning plays Babydoll, a young twenty-something who is institutionalized at the Lennox House, a not-so-fun-house for the criminally insane. While there, she learns that the only way to escape her harsh reality is to fight through hoards of undead Nazis, dragons, and other era-styled baddies, aided by her leather clad, schoolgirl, stripper friends.

Yeah, it sounds pretty awesome and the action, for the most part, is, especially during the first fight scene with the three giant, stone samurai warriors warriors. However, Sucker Punch still feels a little top heavy. There is a lot of action left unsupported, due in part to a weak story.

In an attempt to keep you more engaged in the plot, Snyder leaves things out and expects the audience to put everything together. This is an interesting concept that doesn't exactly follow through. In Snyder's attempt to hold back some things, not everything comes through in the end and left me with more questions than answers, and not in the good way.

Aside from the poor writing, the action becomes a bit too tedious at times. Snyder likes to slow down and then speed up his action sequences and he does it a lot in this movie, which made the action tiresome and even boring during some scenes. Also, a lot of the action sequences play out like a video game you can't control, which can be aggravating.

However, by the end of Sucker Punch, I can't say that I was either totally thrilled or totally disappointed. It puts out the action I wanted to see and the story I pretty much expected from Zack Snyder.

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