In 2007, 300 demonstrated that a film version of a graphic novel can be visually dynamic and really badass. In 2009, Watchmen showed the visionary genius in Snyder’s accurate portrayal of the greatest comic book story of all time. Now, in 2011, he has outdone himself with the visually explosive and surprisingly original story in Sucker Punch.
Released on March 25, Sucker Punch tells the story of a young girl nicknamed Babydoll (Emily Browning), who is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy under the direction of Dr. Gorski (Carla Gugino), she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility. With the help of the other patients, Rocket (Jena Malone), Sweetpea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung), they must work together within their alternate reality, which is a 1920’s burlesque club, to plot against the club’s gangster owner, Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac). Also, they must escape before the high roller (Jon Hamm) arrives for Babydoll (the high roller is a lobotomy doctor in the asylum, and Blue is an orderly). While dancing in the club, Babydoll retreats into a second alternate reality in which she and the other girls must fight highly intense and stylized battles under the direction of the Wise Man (Scott Glenn), and complete missions that parallel their tasks in the “real” world.
First and foremost, the most incredible thing about this film is the visually dynamic action scenes that play throughout. From fighting 30 foot samurai in a temple to battling mechanical German soldiers in the trenches of bombed-out France in World War I, and from defeating a gigantic dragon in a castle to destroying robot gunmen on a futuristic air train, Snyder captures each punch, gunshot, and slice with meticulous attention to detail. Like in 300, the action would often slow down to emphasize an action, and then speed back up to normal to jolt the audience back to reality. Also, the blending of technologies in each battle sequence, such as a B-52 bomber against a castle of orcs or modern assault rifles in World War I, added to the awesomeness of the scenes.
Another thing that was amazing about the film was the epic soundtrack that accompanied each scene. Each song fit perfectly into the action of the film, and demonstrated the care that Snyder takes in choosing the music for his films. What made the music cool was that in the story, music is the thing that launches these girls into these fantasy worlds. Music becomes the backbone of the film, and they used actual songs for Sucker Punch that would create suitable moods. Also, the songs used in the film are not original, but are new arrangements of existing music. The soundtrack album contains nine tracks, all covers, remixes and mash-ups (which are wildly re-imagined versions of classic songs) of tracks by Alison Mosshart, Björk, Queen and performances from stars Emily Browning, Carla Gugino, and Oscar Isaac. Most notable in the film included "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," "White Rabbit," "Where Is My Mind?", and "I Want It All / We Will Rock You Mash-Up."
Lastly, the most impressive thing about the film is the original story that Snyder came up with and wrote himself, along with the help of Steve Shibuya. Unlike his previous films, which were mostly based off of graphic novels and books, Snyder produces a unique and mind-blowing story that has the same feel as a graphic novel story. In fact, at several points during the film, Snyder slips in subtle references to his previous films, much to the delight of his fans.
Overall, Sucker Punch delivers a knockout blow to all film buffs, and presents a revolutionary and artistic style of filmmaking the likes of which have never been seen before. Unfortunately, most critics out there have given negative reviews of the film, a notion not shared by the many movie-goers who loved it. This may lead to the film becoming a pop culture phenomenon, and eventually develop a cult following the way films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Office Space have. A word of advice: if anyone decides to see this film in theaters, go see it in the IMAX Theater, for you will be unprepared for the breath-taking and visually intense spectacle in store.
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