Review of Sucker Punch (2011) by Gary C — 26 Sep 2012

A young girl who accidentally kills her sister in an attempt to save her from her evil stepfather is committed to a mental institution and within creates a fantasy world in which she is a heavily armed superhero.

If Inception were made by Hugh Hefner instead of Christopher Nolan, you'd have got Sucker Punch. The combination of comic strip violence, computer generated visuals and the "Boss Fight" format is very reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim but the best way to describe this film is it's like someone downloaded a load of video game cut scenes from Wolfenstein and Devil May Cry and inter-cut them with Coyote Ugly.

The reputation of this film preceded it and I must admit that compared to Watchmen it must have come as a huge disappointment, but at the same time it's far from the abortion I was led to believe; in fact I found the combat scenes highly enjoyable and is no more guilty of exploitation and vacuousness than any of the Resident Evil movies.

The big problem with it is that the scenes in between set in the strip joint are fatuous and dull and the layered aspect to the story just doesn't hang together. It's nowhere near as bad as the likes of Ultraviolet though and it's worth it for the spectacular visuals alone but I doubt very much it will stand up to repeated viewing.

But I certainly preferred it to 300. Probably because I like girls.