Review of Sucker Punch (2011) by Ana B — 10 Dec 2013

Crossover between a drama, action and a sci-fi movie. It tells us the story of Babydoll a girl locked up in mental hospital by her devious stepfather. Once inside Babydoll starts to fantasize that she lives in a brothel and enlists the help of four other inmates to steal five items that will help them runaway from the institution that is run by evil orderly, Blue. Inside her own fantasy she further imagines new adventures and violent confrontations every time the team manages to snatch each of the items.

The film is full of a very rich iconography of images similar to action games, a mix between "Tomb rider" and "Dragon ball", it is a dark and dangerous world of action and guns, war and fights, but liberating as it is a big struggle but with a real chance of survival.

For me, even more interesting is the story of abuse, the girl retreating into a fantasy world in a desperate attempt to forget the loss and the sad truth of her family life. It is a psychologically charged film with good acting and directing and though some might feel it is girlie, I actually think the opposite, male viewers might feel attracted to it not only because the lead characters dress sexy but because of the choreographed violence of the combats and of the bullying.

It is certainly original in its conception and development of the story, perhaps the girls are far too pretty but it doesn't detract from the good script. I believe it has a certain charm and the patina of a classic.