Review for Sucker Punch

After adapting material from great writers and director’s such as Frank Miller, Anal Moore and George A. Romero, the 300 director Zack Snyder is back for his first film from a none established source in the seemingly beautiful Sucker Punch. This being Snyder’s fifth film and third screenplay you would have thought he’d be competent enough to whip up at least a half decent movie. However this is not the case as instead he throws up this childish dribble.

                Set at an undisclosed time, the story begins with a nameless character (Emily Browning) going through difficulties at home as her abusive father torments her and her sister after the death of her mother. Shortly after this nameless character is sent to an insane asylum come night club after she is blamed for the death of her little sister.

When at the asylum, she receives the nickname Babydoll as she finds that dancing is taught to the patients to help them overcome their troubles. However Babydoll is special (why wouldn’t she be), when she begins to dance she begins to enter a world of her imagination where she has to defeat some generic obstacles such as dragons, Nazi zombies, robots and so on. Babydoll is quick to realises that she can paralyse men when they watch her dance and she begins to form a simplistic and naïve plan to escape from the power crazy owner Blue (Oscar Isaacs) before the doctor arrives to lobotomise her in a few days time. With the help of a few other inmates such as Rocket (Jena Malone), her uptight sister Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), the ironically named Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and the unfortunately boringly named Amber (Jamie Chung) they set out to collect four various item which in some way will aid their escape.

In quite a surprising turn Snyder, who has made some good pieces of work, has out done himself as Sucker Punch is one of the most stupid and insipid movies you’ll see this year. The terrible plot is covered by flashy fight scenes which resample an anime sooner than a comic book. The visuals are quite impressive but I falls flat as the context is so preposterous it’s ridicules. The thought that when a character dances she fights generic looking robot is so contradictory it just makes it feel as if Snyder has no respect for dancing and replaces it with a twelve year olds wet dream.

When watching the movie it’s hard not to notice the portrayal of both sexes which Snyder puts forward. If it wasn’t offensive enough to cast only beautiful women from different cultures (one for everyone) who blame men for all the evil in the world, the men in the movie are at times so blinded by their penis’ that they boil down to nothing more than dumb fifties archetypes of a manly men. The machismo is through the roof like the skimpy outfits the women wear when running around the imaginative world. It seems Snyder was aiming more for Sin City in tone then his last audience splitter Watchmen.

Then when you begin to see the characters more clearly you begin to realise that none of the girls are even slightly insane. It isn’t made clear if this is an intentional One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest similarity but it seems it’s more down to a bad script. But that obviously isn’t where the criticism on the script ends. A lot of things are so contrived in the script such as the insane asylum come club (which is more a whore house) who’s workers only gain a sense of morality towards the end after some futile sacrifices and murders of the patients.

The only redeeming fact is that some of the antigravity like fight scenes are impressive which doesn’t compliment Snyder as it does the fight choreographer. The stylish sword swinging as well as the artificial visuals which looks to be mostly green screen do make the film worth seeing but audiences will become restless and soon bored of the subtle distraction to a very flawed movie.

With all it’s flash visuals and smooth choreography, Sucker Punch is nothing more the a horrendous pop corn movie. The film will sell tickets though and audiences will feel cheated as the advertisement promised a better movie all round. All that is left is an immature portrait of mental health which merges into a twelve year olds wet dream. It’s uninspiring and boring. It appears that the genre for a character who deals with troubles in an insane asylum (ala Girl Interpreted, I’m A Cyborg, But That’s Ok) is over as it has become as cut and paste as the last film.

Trailer

* * 

#26 Review For ‘Watchmen’

* * * *

Director
Zack Snyder
Cast
Jackie Earle Harley
Billy Crudup
Jeffery Dean Morgan
Screenplay
David Hayter
Certificate
18
Running Time
162min

This blog may contain some spoilers from the graphic novel and film.

I saw it. I’ve seen the 'Watchmen' movie, who wants to touch me? I said who wants to touch me? I only know two (and a man on the train I once talked to) who have read the original graphic novel. Yet the majority of people I talk to about films still want to see it. I don’t know why though after watching the film I kinda thought that to fully appreciate the film, the book must be read. Its only subtle little things that fans would pick up on that add to the film. It was the small things that made me give it the * * * * so I am curious as to what a person who hasn’t read the book thinks of the film. The intro or opening credits for the films are one of the best I have ever seen. Bob Dylan ‘The times are a-changing’ over the history of the Watchmen and Minuet Men, it would make a true fan weep.

First let’s compare two, first thing that I found wired was the amount of violence they threw in the film over the book. In the comic they had fight scenes but very short ones, whilst in the film they seem to have taken a years course in Kung Fu. They just keep running into battle and cracking some arms. Even though the fighting was out of context it wasn’t the only thing. The sex scenes I found are really quite pornographic, if someone smuggled there kids in then they would be asking about the birds and the bees by the time they came out. Then comes the gore. And it was gory. At one point on a finger Dc Manhattan can make people explode and it happens a lot. At one point the popping on two thugs was so over gory every had a nervous laugh, whilst on screen a woman looked up and saw the skeleton of a mans arm swings dripping blood. Even though you might think I am saying these as negatives, I’m actually not. Which is surprising because I would have thought that I would have thought that it was killing the film, but I thought it added to the experience. Since I expect that Snyder knew it would get and adult rating he thought why not? They don’t tip toe round Night Owl II and Silk Spectre II getting friendly together in Archie (Night Owl II’s flying ship). And for the fighting and gore threw fighting you can tell that they wore actually once crime fighters.

Even though the ending has changed from the super alien squid it is still interesting. A bit confusing because things didn’t add up but only a reader of the book would understand. The ending still gets the same message across and most of the ending was still true. I expected the ending to be proper gander or fuel for the war in Iraq by using nukes and stuff but it really wasn’t. As I said in a previous blog (#3 2009, What To Expect?) the script for ‘Watchman’ has been hailed as one of the most accurate book to film adaptations. And I really think it shows because for some parts it was like reading/looking at the book/film… you know what I mean.

To prove what I wasn’t patronising the read with the hole, if you haven’t read you won’t like statement. I asked someone who had seen the film but hadn’t read the book. They said that the film was hard to follow and weird. This wasn’t just said by him alone, that seems to be a lot of reactions from audiences. What I am getting at it that the film is an adaptation. So a lot of people with complain and say they didn’t get it. But lets face it, it was made for fans. I’m not saying fans of the book shouldn’t go see it but be warned you might not get it all.

If you fell like seeing a super hero film, ‘Watchman’ isn’t for you. ‘Watchmen’ is not a super hero film, it is an action sci-fi. It angers me when people are referring to Night Owl II as Batman. He’s not. He’s a pathetic ex vigilante who sulks in his basement. Well that’s what I got from the book, in the film it seems like a different matter, but it doesn’t matter. Jackie Earle Harley plays a fantastic Rorschach. I was some what hesitant at first but he totally pulled it off. It was even creepy how much he looked like his comic counter part. However I think that comes over with all the characters. Each seemed to have been perfect for there roles. With the exception to two characters (yes I contradicted myself), Matthew Goode was probably the worst picked actor to play this role. A thirty year old, British actor playing a forty something year old, bulky genius. So he tried his best, bless him, but it didn’t go down well with me and others. The second casting that I disliked was Carla Gugino as the first Silk Spectre. Ok she looked fine (and I mean fine) during the flash backs but looks terrible when playing and old woman. The make up is terrible its laughable, I still like her so I can forgive her this once. However apart from that the characters and set are amazing.

So for a verdict, I will say this. I thought the film would be a flop and for some people it was. But the set and characters really bring the film as a hole alive. It is one of the best adaptations ever and it will be remembered for that. Of course if you haven’t read the book your missing out on curant parts but that’s to be expected, isn’t it? Im not going to recommend it to non-readers because I think you could be seeing other films but strongly recommend it to fans of the book, not that they haven’t all ready read it, wrote a blog and already buying those Rorschach costumes to fight those people still in Joker outfits.

Oliver Hunt