Suckerpunch Review

Sucker punch by definition is an unexpected punch or blow, but it isn't just that. It is a blow that not only catches the victim off guard but leaves them open to future attacks. And the movie show cases that and more.

If you take away the mind blowing action, zombies and orcs and dragons oh my, the surreal situations, hello, a planet with two moons, in its heart it is about believing in yourself and fighting back. You have all the weapons you need, we are told, and our characters do.

It's a story about finding yourself, about finding hope in the unlikely of places, and angels in forms that you never expected. Will some be turned off by the message, yes but only because they can't see past the flash, and because Zach Snyder gives us a little dose of harsh reality.

The ending may shock some, but like Snyder's other flich 300, we start at the ending before telling the story. And it kinda makes me scratch my head that some are shocked by what happens in the end. But we along with Babydoll, have to learn that just because we're here doesn't mean that its about us.

The big picture is just that big, and what we set in motion today will impact those around us long after we are gone. Some are expecting a Hollywood ending where everyone lives happily ever after, but the big sunshine after the rain is not delivered in the clean cut fashion. It's instead gritty, and ugly, and a little heartbreaking in that the characters we are closest to are lost in the building of a better tomorrow. And for this I think it is fantastic.

Huge Spoiler Alert If Babydoll had just escaped in the end, nothing would have changed for anyone. Blue would have still been dirty, Dr. Gorski still in the dark to the dirty dealings in the institution, dear old step daddy would have a new way to victimize Babydoll in that she would have never truly be free. For the rest of her life she would have been on the run, in hiding, in fear. Because even if she had found a way to kill him, she would be a mental patient on the run, and the authorities would be less than likely to believe her innocence. She'd have wound up in prison subject to all new forms of victimization. That is not a very empowering message, and that empty cotton candy ending would have left you with nothing.

A character seeking revenge is nothing new, we see that story all the time. Which isn't to say that those aren't entertaining, because they are. But here it's not about getting revenge for the wrongs against her, and there are many. It's a character finding hope, true hope, where there is none, seeing what's truly at stake, and setting herself free which has a domino effect on her world, reshaping it for the better.

Babydoll realizes that this isn't just her story. I don't think that meant the story was instead about one someone else in particular, but about everyone else now and in the future that will come to Lennox House, if there is a Lennox House in the aftermath. Because of her acceptance it made the performing doctor question the validity of the procedure, it made Dr. Gorski finally see the corruption, it made Blue confess to the reason for Babydoll's lobotomy, it brought to light step daddy's crimes. The entire evil empire fell. Babydoll discovered that the most powerful weapon in her arsenal was herself. You can't get more girl power than that. End of Major Spoiler

It's billed as Alice in Wonderland with Machine guns, which is a very accurate description. The music was an awesome tool used to both enhance and further the story. Visually it was amazing, as if Zack Snyder could deliver anything else. His use of slow motion enhances the story in a way that few others can accurately duplicate. The surreal situations were wonderfully executed, and not truly excessive. As the danger of the mission grew, so did the sheer craziness of the situation. The gore was about nonexistent, and unneeded even with all the heavy weaponry. Some of the dialogue was lame, but there was very little of it, and the introduction and epilogue were so phenomenal tying the story together so well that they made up for it.

And the up skirt shots, because I've heard so much negativity on this, I feel I have to address it, I'll just say: She's wearing tap pants, which people wear when they don't want to show their panties. These are the same things that cheerleaders wear, not just the pros, but high school and pee-wee, and I don't hear many parents in outrage over people essentially seeing up their daughter's skirts when they are being thrown in the air, or stunting because they are covered up. Hearing about all the up skirt shots I was expecting Anime dirtiness, but found none of that.

If you're looking for raunchiness, and nudity you'll be sorely disappointed. The characters spend a lot time in a bordello, and in tight costumes but we never see them in that kind of action. And really the costumes don't show all that much.

Babydoll's dance is sheer genius because we never actually see it. This is great, because no matter what Emily Browning did, it would have never been good enough, and this way the audience doesn't get the horror movie let down, where the monster is finally exposed and is just lame. By only showing the characters reaction to it, and having it be described as pure and raw, we can make it whatever we want. Instead of thinking of it as the girls doing sexual favors whenever Babydoll goes to dance and our mission scenes occur, maybe she is just dancing. If you've ever seen a dance or musical performance that has moved you to tears, you'd understand the power of something so beautiful. And if you're constantly surrounded by ugliness, rare beauty is even more astounding in any form. After all there is a stage in the real world and part Dr. Gorski's therapy is to dance, or sing, or act out the hurt. And it's completely possible that she did just that.

To say You will be unprepared is the most accurate tag line. Because even knowing how it ends, I don't think most of us are really prepared for it after the journey. Open your mind because you're in for one hell of a ride, and it is as great as you let it be.