If you saw the trailer for “Sucker Punch” and dismissed it as a plotless, sexed-up video game rip-off, you’re not alone. I did too. That description isn’t entirely wrong, but it isn’t accurate either.
Set in the 1950s, the story follows Baby Doll (Emily Browning), a 20-year-old girl who is wrongfully blamed by her abusive stepfather for the accidental death of her little sister. The man commits her to an insane asylum and bribes an orderly to lobotomize her to eradicate any chance of the real story coming out.
While waiting out the five days before her fate is sealed, Baby Doll disappears into a fantasy world in her head, where she is a new dancer at a brothel that plans to sell her virginity in five days to a man called the High Roller.
While dancing, she lets her mind drift to a place where she finds the answer to saving herself. A wise man gives her an assortment of weapons and tells her that she must find five things, the fifth being a mystery that only she will know. With the help of four fellow dancers – Rocket (Jena Malone), Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung) – Baby Doll begins her virtual and actual fight for freedom.
Between what’s seen in the trailers and the imaginary world of the brothel, right off the bat it’s easy to call this movie exploitative of women. It’s true that they don’t exactly wear ideal fighting attire while battling creatures on their mental missions together.
But the rest of the film doesn’t come off as the babe-fest the trailers make it out to be. Even in Baby Doll’s head, the brothel is an unforgiving prison, and her dancing serves as an escape. These are not enjoyable activities for the girls, and the movie does not play up their sexuality for kicks. The subject matter is heavy; it’s difficult to get any sort of pleasure at seeing them in those situations.
Don’t let the PG-13 rating throw you off. It may only allow for slick, video game-esque violence, but there are several things happening off-screen that are implied. Sometimes the most disturbing things in a movie are those you aren’t allowed to see.
Concerning the things you can see, “Sucker Punch” serves as another testament to director Zack Snyder’s visual skills. If you’ve seen “300” or “Watchmen,” you’ve seen what fun things he can do with a camera. This film is not adapted from any other work, but it borrows its look heavily from video game graphics. The style is washed out and harsh, like Baby Doll’s reality.
The film suffers in some critical areas. There is barely any character development at all, and though the plot is definitely there, it doesn’t feel as full as it could be. Had the film been longer, viewers could have gotten a more emotional look at Baby Doll’s story to balance the graphic action.
Whether or not you’re impressed by the visuals, the cast or the action, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the soundtrack, which offers a nice group of blood-pumping, haunting and sexy tunes. It also features a few excellent cover songs, including The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?”, Our Lady Peace’s “Tomorrow Never Knows,” and the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” Lead actress Emily Browning sings the latter.
“Sucker Punch” is a mixed bag, but it does well with stressing one of my favorite things about the human race: we have so much power inside ourselves, even in the darkest periods of our lives.
