Friday, April 15, 2011

Sucker Punch - good times

It’s certainly very stylized. I can understand why some people have a problem with it – in that they feel like they’ve been cheated by the ending. We didn’t – we liked it. If you’re paying attention to the narration, the opening story, and who picks up the action after the first change then the ending doesn’t surprise nearly as much.
The girl’s dream costumes are pretty sparse – but this is clearly shown in the ads and posters. If they offend you, this may not be the movie for you.
We liked Zack’s take on 300 and thought he did a great job with Watchmen. Sucker Punch fits in nicely with those two. If you didn’t appreciate either of those, you may not like this one either.

It’s very pretty with the entire film appearing in muted colors reminiscent of Noir films or sepia photographs. Except a brief framing sequence, the majority of the movie takes place in a noir/caper dream with various genre sub dreams as the story progresses.
While the mix of modern and old in the sub stories can be a bit jarring (notably the WWII vs the Fantasy Orcs) the soft focus makes it all work together. It does seem a bit like Zack couldn’t decide on which genre he wanted to make so he mashes them all together for this film. But as it’s for the story within the story – it all makes sense.

While Emily Browning shows off her great legs as the lead Baby Doll, I feel it is Jenna Malone’s Rocket that steals the show. Vanessa Hudgens manages to hold her own as Blondie. Jamie Chung plays the pilot Amber and Abby Cornish rounds out the main cast as Sweat Pea.

Shan and the kids also liked the film. G was a bit concerned about the fates of the other girls – but it is sufficiently vague about what happens to them in the ‘real world’. It could be that I’m deep into Crimson Skies right now but I liked the Noir story and the various sub stories as well. All in all - I'd recommend it - I'm certainly looking to pick it when it comes on DVD to hear some of the commentary.

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