A winner on several levels
9/10
Author: drmcninja17 from Washington State, United States
13 March 2011

I recently saw Sucker Punch at an advance screening and thoroughly enjoyed it. To be honest, I am the target demographic here. I'm a guy in his twenties who plays video games and enjoys fantasy movies and action.... but this is a decent film overall. It appeals to my "sensible adult" side that appreciates a good, well written film, with great directing, great acting, and overall good cinematography. It also appeals to my "twenty-something male" side that loves sexy ladies, guns, killer robots, dragons, samurai and swordplay.

The abundant CG is stunningly beautiful and doesn't feel overdone or become visually exhausting like some movies. This movie gets me. and I know that there will be a good number of people who dislike this movie, dismissing it as juvenile, or stupid. who dislike the amount of CGI used in this movie. I don't care... I love this movie for exactly what it is... a good movie that appeals to me in every way.

Why Sucker Punch Works and why it will rock DVD sales
8/10
Author: GeneR777 from United States
1 April 2011

I originally wrote a review the day after I saw Sucker Punch. I panned it. To me my initial feelings were rather lukewarm at best. But then I gave it some time.

And as I went through my days afterward my mind would wander back to the story and think about the visual food for thought. Yeah, the girls are hot. Yeah, the action is over the top, but if you look at the emotional landscape that is being explored in a more literal fashion via the action then yeah, this is a pretty cool idea.

Sometimes films come along that are a "sucker punch" in terms of originality. The general public usually reacts negatively to it which leads to poor box office results. But later on the audience has had a chance to digest what was given and revisits the film and breaths new life into it. My prediction is that such a situation will happen with Sucker Punch. It'll probably not recoup its initial budget at the box office. People will flood the IMDb forum with reasons why it did not work. We will probably see about a few dozen threads at least where people will vent their reasons why they hate the film and why you too should not see it.

But given some time it will recoup via video sales and otherdistribution deals. Why? Because it's still a solid story. The style of the movie is an Otaku's wet dream, but overall result is still the same: it does surprise and give ample food for thought. Think of it as stylized parable about repression, personal will and sacrifice. Because sooner or later after all the negative backlash and reviews blow by those emotional messages will be all that will be left. And people will remember it for that reason.

Incredible visuals; imagery that will stay etched in your mind for a long time
8/10
Author: movedout from http://thescreenbug.blogspot.com
23 March 2011

"Sucker Punch," the latest barrage on the senses from writer-director Zack Snyder ("300", "Watchmen") is his first film that's based on his own source material. And it proves to be quite stunning definition of pop filmmaking. In a triumphant marriage of style and tone, Snyder has created his own "Kill Bill" by going deep down into the rabbit hole. A glorious pastiche of colour, CGI and kinesis, "Sucker Punch" even through its obvious flaws, has set a new bar for graphic storytelling that attempts to transplant the purity of imagination onto the cinema screen.

Essentially cohering around a simple premise -- hot chicks kicking ass and taking names, the film's bravura opening charts Baby Doll's (Emily Browning) institutionalisation by a wicked stepfather after her mother's death and her introduction to the asylum where damaged young women are sent to be kept away from society. She meets the people-in-charge, Blue (Oscar Isaac) and Dr. Gorski (Carla Gugino) as well as the other girls in the institute: Rocket (Jena Malone) and her sister Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Amber (Jamie Chung) and Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens).

The story that follows Baby Doll reveals a larger canvas of a clever narrative conceit that coincides three realities together ("Inception" comparisons, tread lightly); the first being the asylum, the second is a burlesque brothel run by Blue and trained by Gorski and the final and most resplendent one is Baby Doll's hyper reverie focused on destroying the forces of evil -- be it shogun titans, zombie Nazis or killer androids. The darker the reality preceding it, the deeper and more risky the wormhole of fantasies go.

There is a real sense, despite its tremendous parade of visual set-pieces that Snyder wanted a narrative strong enough to endure the weight of spectacle, and in many respects he has. He uses the age-old device of character quests to propel the plot, peppering it with familiar consequences until he doesn't. The flow culminates in an intriguing final act that sets it a mark higher than anyone would have expected, or even needed from a film that already proudly wears its stripes as pure escapist entertainment.Snyder goes the way of Tarantino in appropriating and amalgamating artistic and stylistic influences from the most conspicuous of genres and mediums.

Within the real world or whatever the relative equivalent of what exists in this film's dark and twisty tone, the film uses templates in the vein of sexploitation female prison grind-house features from the 60s and 70s like "Love Camp 7", "99 Women", "Caged Heat" and the grandmother of them all, 1950's "Caged". As the film progresses into its action-oriented enterprises, it quickly recalls the dizzying array of cut-scenes from video-games and punk anime-style design in how it encompasses the digital environment. Snyder's thematic goal is to situate the idea of imagination as a coping mechanism for terror, a concept seen recently in "Pan's Labyrinth" and "Tideland".

The landscape of the mind is uniquely realised here by Snyder, who etches a remarkable amount of detail into each CGI frame, an hyperbolised celebration of artifice and invention that is at once magnificent and exhilarating as it is compelling and spellbinding.Werner Herzog once posited that the dearth of new and unique imagery that do not reflect the times we live in will be the death of civilisation.

If anything, "Sucker Punch" truly defines the generation of filmmaking we exist in -- a sophisticated and passionate emblem that delivers an overload of sugar high through the ideals of creating and maintaining a creative medley of pop-culture influences, bridged together with keen commercial sensibilities. Suddenly, Snyder holding on to the helms of the next Superman film makes more sense than it ever did.

Time Will Tell
9/10
Author: mort346 from United Kingdom
6 April 2011

Nearly every review you read for this film will say the same thing, it's a 'love or hate' movie, and there's a very good reason for this. "Sucker Punch" is not the film you were expecting, whatever that might have been, particularly if you were expecting a hyper-masculine affair a la "300". If anything it is hyper-feminine; at its core this is a movie about women struggling against the evil male influences in their lives.

That doesn't mean it isn't loaded with action - it really is, and it is beautiful, but if you're looking for an easy watch, this isn't for you. In terms of sheer originality, this movies narrative style is right up there with classics like Pulp Fiction and Memento, but there is a downside to this - you need to keep an open mind. If you can't watch this movie, at least once without - and this may sound weird, but you'll get what I mean when you watch it - demanding to know exactly what is going on, right the hell now, it will lose you, and it won't get you back.

 But if you can keep an open mind, right till the end, at the very least it will give you a lot to think about.On the other hand, don't go thinking that is all it has to offer. It is visually stunning in a way that makes director's like Michael Bay and (dare I say it) James Cameron, look like blind toddlers with a handy-cam strapped to their heads. As for the music, it's not often I'm afraid of giving spoilers for a movies soundtrack, I'll say that much, and every track fits the movie perfectly.

I'm going to shoot myself in the foot here, but when it comes to this movie, don't listen to the reviews, and just go see it. I really think time will tell with this one on that front. I can't promise you'll like it, but I can promise you'll remember it 6 months from now, and how many movies can you say that about?

Put your thinking cap on
8/10
Author: s272112 from United States
25 March 2011

I have been absolutely pumped for this movie since I first saw the trailer for it last summer. I'm fresh from viewing it, and I have to say that it's not quite what I expected, though not necessarily in a bad way. To those who haven't seen it, two words: Do it. But be open to the fact that it will almost certainly not be exactly what you expect. Although it looks like a somewhat mindless kick ass, eye candy flick, don't be fooled: there is a pretty good story here, and its deeper than your first impression of it will be, also.

Oh, and don't try and predict the ending.After you watch it, you will need to process what actually happened, but put your thinking cap on- because its deeper than you think.All in all, the acting was good enough (though it didn't blow my mind), the visuals are stellar (did blow my mind) and the soundtrack is amazing (where is my mind?). Definitely worth seeing. 8/10