When I first saw the trailer for Sucker Punch, I was understandably skeptical after having just watched a team of scantily-clad young women fight robots and giant dragons with superhuman efficiency. Now, as a comic book and video game-loving red-blooded male, I was obviously a key part of Sucker Punch’s limited target demographic, but regardless, the biggest selling-point for me was the involvement of Zack Snyder. After the distinct and utterly thrilling visual style that characterized personal favorites like 300 and Watchmen, I couldn’t wait to see what Snyder had in store for audiences this time around…though I was pretty confident that the premise wouldn’t leave much room for strong acting or dialogue. With a tag-line like “You Will Be Unprepared,” it was definitely going to take a few stretches of the imagination for me to fully wrap my head around Sucker Punch; but again, given my inherent proclivities for the action-fantasy genre, I was sure that I would be up to the challenge.
As expected, there certainly wasn’t any award-winning dialogue or acting present in Sucker Punch, but I was still thoroughly entertained. Easily the biggest highlight of the film is the grandiose visual style of the imaginative action sequences, but an added bonus involves the blending of these visuals with the distinct and thoroughly energetic soundtrack. The best example of this partnership is the opening sequence, a dark and stylistic introduction that engages audiences; unfortunately, the rest of the film isn’t able to sustain this level of intrigue, and as a result, the overall experience does feel like a little bit of a let-down. Now, while I do acknowledge the presence of some shockingly stupid plot elements, I still appreciated the story presented and the style in which it was told, but I doubt that my forgiving nature will manifest among a broader audience. Still, if you can shut your brain down long enough to just sit back and enjoy something that amounts to a live-action video game, then Sucker Punch is definitely worth seeing.
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Overall Recommendation: High
