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Sucker Punch: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:30:57 +0000

This week director Zack Snyder’s bad-ass, chick-action-flick, Sucker Punch hits theaters with a bang. Snyder described the film as “Alice In Wonderland with machine guns” and there definitely is an aspect of that to the film. This is a dark, imaginative film that journey’s into the mind a young girl who needs to escape — but unlike Alice, Babyboll has a lot bigger threats than just growing up, she has to escape a mental institution before it’s too late. Sadly the film itself doesn’t follow through in terms of story, but it does manage some pretty impressive ideas. Check out our review below…

The Players:

Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: Zack Snyder (story and screenplay) and Steve Shibuya (screenplay)
Actors: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn
Original Music by: Tyler Bates and Marius De Vries
Cinematography by: Larry Fong

The Plot:

A young girl gets caught accidentally commiting some crimes and is institutionalized by her wicked stepfather. In order to escape her fate, she retreats into her imagination and envisions a plan which will help her and her new found companions escape.

The Good:

The Look: From the flawless skin on all the girls, to the costumes, to the sets and the special effects; this film has a very distinctive look and it’s impressive. One has come to expect this from Snyder and he doesn’t disappoint on visual — though some may not like his videogame-esq special effects, there’s plenty to feast your eyes on.
All Out: I always prefer a film that takes risks and this film does. It’s great to see a director take an original idea and follow it through 100%. There’s no doubt that Snyder did that here. There is an attempt at a lot of interesting concepts in this film and there are some beautiful moments that really show you how talented Snyder is. Sadly, the whole film doesn’t hold up and that’s mainly do to the story BUT it’s hard not to appreciate and respect the effort.
The Opening: When the film hit the screen it immediately sent a wave over the audience and I couldn’t help but think “this is going to be awesome!” The start of this film, the idea, the premise, how it sets himself up is beautiful, dark, interesting — this is one of the best starts to a film. Sadly, before we can even finish the first act, things begin to fade.

The Bad:

The Story: Snyder takes a lot of risks in this film and unfortunately they don’t always add up or mean anything. You’re given this great premise and a lot of metaphorical ideas that at first seem really fascinating; but then you realize that they’re not all adding up, that things aren’t really making sense, then slowly the story starts to fall apart and you’re felt with some pretty images, and that’s about all.
The Repetitiveness: The film begins with one awesome trick and then repeats it 5 BIG times. Now this isn’t always a problem, films can repeat themselves if they’re clever about it. Sadly, unlike it’s competitor Source Code, which actually repeats itself eight times, this film doesn’t find the differences that keep you engaged while watching the same thing over and over. You need variation, in the characters, their motivation, and in tone in order to keep the story moving and give us something new to watch. The characters never really changed, only the settings. As a result it kept using the same gag just with a slightly different enemy to fight each time. It felt like five of the same short films playing back to back — mix it up!
Unbelievable Responses: The characters don’t respond like they’re human. Even under the most insane circumstances if there is not something relatable or tangible for us to hold onto, it’s hard to stay invested in the character story. The actors did their best to justify it, but even the greatest actors can’t solve plot holes that big. (Also unbelievable were the eye-lashes — I get the long lashes and excessive make-up in the brothel, but why everywhere else? This is like America’s Next Top Insane Asylum)
Casting Hamm: Though one can not get enough Hamm, he was probably the worst person in the world to cast as an evil villain that girls don’t want to have sex with. SPOILER When it’s revealed that he’s the “High Roller,” the one coming to take the young Babydoll’s virginity, one can’t help but think that women all over the country would line up for that spot. Now maybe if he was more evil or allowed to really play the villain it would work, but we barely see him in the start and in the end, he’s really not all that bad. If all we get is a sexy Jon Hamm, it’s hard to see what problem is, and if there is not problem, there’s no film.

Overall:

I can’t tell anyone not to go to this, because there are some really great aspects to this and it’s hard not to appreciate such a unique and interesting idea. That being said, it was not as enjoyable as it sound be and it definitely is no “Alice in Wonderland” story. The visuals were good, but not Snyder’s best. It’s a fun idea that’s never fully accomplished on screen.

Rating: 5/10

Sucker Punch is in theaters March 25, 2011.

Trailer:

Photo Gallery:

Interview: Abbie Cornish and Emily Browning for Sucker Punch

Mali Elfman — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:46:24 +0000

This week in theater, the two gorgeous, bad-ass, blondies, Emily Browning and Abbie Cornish will be leading the way and battling their demons (literally) in Zack Snyder‘s (read interview) latest action-adventure, Sucker Punch. In a film filled with women, you’d expect there to be some cattiness, but not with these fine ladies, there was more likely to be group wolf cries than bitchiness. Not only did they take their roles seriously, but also their bond with one another and it shows on screen.

We sat down with them to talk about bringing their deep-seeded characters to the big screen, working with Snyder and the other ladies, and some of the interesting on set special effects, which includes poor Emily Browning trying not to laugh when she was battling a “dragon” that she states below looked more like a “giant green dildo.” Find out the details below…

It’s nice to see so many women on screen and cattiness not be an issue especially consider the young teenage women who will see this film. Can you talk about the importance of that message?

Emily Browning: That was a huge role for me because even in the original version of the script I was just so impressed by the fact that these girls love one another and they’re fighting together. When our characters sort of butt heads at the beginning, it’s not over anything petty. It never becomes bitchy or catty, it’s kind of, the just genuinely disagreeing of something, and the fact that they sort it out, I think is fantastic.

I’m not really a fan of that culture of girl hate and that idea that women can’t get along, I think that’s completely bullshit to be honest and I think that’s, I don’t want to get too psycho-feminist on everybody and say that it’s just something that’s perpetuated by a fellow-centric society to make us not able to band together but anyway, that’s just something that I, I don’t know, I really like that about this film and I think that’s important, and something hopefully that we can see more of.

And even when it comes to us as actors, everyone is sort of assumes, oh five girls working together, you must’ve hated each other, and honestly, it couldn’t be further from the truth. We had the best time and have become like family. I can talk about that question for an hour…

And Abbie, how about your character that has to fight with the other girls?

Abbie Cornish:I felt like I had a hard role to play in regards to that because all of us did bond so fast and we all love and cared for each other so much from the very beginning. I had the one character that is the opposing side to this whole excitement about freedom and getting out. I had to play this kind of tough hardcore role, that stood up and said, “No this is not a good idea, I don’t think we should do this.” I was a Sweet Pea in regards to a sister — very controlling. This fear, this feeling that something bad might happen. So, we’re all there having an awesome time in between takes and then I have to go and be tough old Sweet Pea, you know. It all comes from a good place. That was actually, where I found it, where it came from. This kind of love and care for Rocket; the intensity of what this means, and what’s going to happen.

….And then I just had to make a decision. This is the direction I’m going to go in. This is how I’ve got to play this character in order to really work because if I sit and try to mix all the sensitivities of the real world in with this, I’m going to be confused as an actor when I walk on set. So that was a journey for me with Sweet Pea, and I just had to trust too the bookends of the film that you do get moments as an audience member to see her in her most rawest, pure, real state even though the film goes off into a fantasy and it goes off into a dream world, that there’s glimpses of it in there but you also get a good taste of what that is.

One of the interesting things that I find about your characters is that with Baby Doll, she’s finding strength in her vulnerability, and with Sweet Pea, she’s finding vulnerability in her strength. Could you talk about the journey towards uncovering that in your characters?

EB: Yeah I haven’t thought about in that way before, that’s certainly cool –

AC: The mirror thing too because the two characters, it’s interesting, the very beginning of the film, when they look at each other from across the room. Sweet Pea is up on the stage, Baby Doll is there, for me that was incredibly important moment in regards to the story line between them. It’s not long after that when she shifting to a different world and what that connection meant and what those reflections were within each other.

EB: I think there’s sort of two sides of the one coin, so it’s interesting that you say it’s sort of the reversal because that’s how we wanted to play it. I think that’s kind of made obvious in the film to some degree. When Sweet Pea takes off the wig, I think that you can see that they’re the reversal of one another… I kind of see all of the characters as different projections from Baby Doll’s mind. It’s her fighting against herself, in a strange way…

AC: Definitely, I was fascinated by that journey. Sweet Pea’s journey, really was. It’s such a wonderful journey. I think both of them actually. It’s interesting both of those journeys were beautiful ones to explore.

Earlier this week I spoke with Neil Burger about Limitless and he said that you were a natural athlete. He was really impressed with your athletic ability. What was the training like this for you? Was it a challenge of natural for you?

AC: I loved it. I think of course it’s going to be a challenge because there’s things that I was doing that I’ve never done before. I totally embraced it. For a while I actually wanted to do a film where I could train, a film where I could be very physical in a role. I was waiting for one to come along, and then this one came along and it’s so perfect because I had that, but there was also really solid storyline and a really interesting different film there. I hope to do more films where I get to run around and jump and you know train, and climb things.

When it comes to working on set, we had Hudgens, Malone, and Chung earlier and they were talking about, they are describing the set with Snyder as kind of like this nice change in temperature. He knew how to set everything right so you guys could get right into that mind set, no matter what fantasy world you were in, could you talk a bit more about that?

EB: I feel like when we were doing the action scenes it was pretty, obviously we had to remain in character but they were pretty purely physical scenes. And what was most important in those scenes, and what was most important in those scenes — cause you know we had our choreography down, we knew what we had to do — what was most important was that we were in the moment, in that mood. So when we were filming the action Zack Snyder was just in a great mood and he was like, he was always in a great mood, I’ve never seen him in a bad mood in my life, but he was just very playful and we’ll be like throwing the football around and being silly, and just warming ourselves up. We would be all of us, particularly Jena [Malone] would be doing like wolf cries in the corner and like speed push ups to try amp ourselves up.

AC: He’s such an aware director. So responsive. He has the mind of a genius, I really do. It’s kind of incredible. He — as a director, as a filmmaker, as a technical filmmaker, as a human being, as a storyteller, it’s a wonderful mix to have in a director and as an actor, it’s incredible to work in that environment.

EB: The fact that he’s also one of the loveliest people in the universe is really helpful. It makes you want to work even harder for him. Not only is his vision so amazing and cool and you love his work, he’s also a really, cool, sweet person.

We were talking about the use of real scenery and the special effects that they had to bring in. They told us the dragon was actually a golf cart?

AC: The dragon, the one they wheeled in there, the big one. Oh my gosh, that thing! We had giggle fits for a while when we first walked on set.

EB: The baby dragon was even funnier. It looked like this giant green dildo. I had to like ride it and we just thought, this is the stupidest thing. We were just like laughing, bursting into laughter when we were doing it. Thankfully it doesn’t look like that in the actual film, but…

Do we get to see more of you guys dancing? I love the end credits. I want to see that whole sequence thought.

AC: Yeah that will be one the DVD.

Check out the ladies in Sucker Punch starting March 25th!

Five New Sucker Punch Character Posters

Krystal Clark — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:24:36 +0000

Warner Bros has just released a set of five posters that highlight the kick-ass characters in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. The female driven action flick is led by a group of up and comers as well as some veterans and you’ve never seen them like this before. Check out the character posters below…

Out of this group, our favorite poster is of Babydoll. She has a gun and a sword so she can take you out with either one. If you want to die quick, she can hit you with a bullet, but if you’re itching for visceral pain, the blade can deliver. She has variety and we like that!

Set in the 1950s, Sucker Punch follows Babydoll (Emily Browning) who is confined to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternative reality to hide her from the pain, and in that world, she begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out before she is deflowered by a vile man. This trailer gives us a better idea of what those five things are.

Sucker Punch is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2011.

What do you think of the character posters for Sucker Punch?

Source: Coming Soon

Official Trailer for Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch!

Krystal Clark — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:54:23 +0000

It’s here! After giving you a sneak peek at the first trailer for Warner Bros’ Sucker Punch, the footage has been released online. It’s popped up on Apple Trailers and it has all the ass-kicking, gun-shooting, fighter-plane action that you could ask for. The film is directed by Zack Snyder and has been described as Alice in Wonderland with machine guns. It’s time to see if the movie actually lives up to the tagline. Check out the trailer…

Official Plot Synopsis:

Set in the 1950s, Sucker Punch follows Babydoll (Emily Browning) who is confined to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternative reality to hide her from the pain, and in that world, she begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out before she is deflowered by a vile man.

As you can see from the trailer, Snyder continues to use that glossy, heavily airbrushed look in his films. The same dark colors with high contrast and special effects. The film looks to have a similar aesthetic as Watchmen and 300. I’m starting to think that his Dawn of the Dead remake is going to continue to be the only live action film in his arsenal that wasn’t mostly shot in front of a green screen.

Sucker Punch hits theaters on March 25, 2011. The same month Watchmen and 300 were released. Another coincidence? I think not!

Comic-Con Coverage:

What do you think of the first trailer for Sucker Punch?

Comic-Con 2010 Sucker Punch Press Conference

Mali Elfman — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 06:06:13 +0000

Who’s ready to watch Alice in Wonderland with machine guns?! It may sound crazy but that’s how director Zack Snyder has described his latest live action film Sucker Punch. The movie’s main characters are all female, including a talented actress Snyder has already worked with in the past. At the official Comic-Con press conference for the film the director along with stars Carla Gugino (Watchmen), Jamie Chung, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, and Emily Browning were all in attendance.

Here’s what went down…

If you want to catch up on everything Sucker Punch related from this year’s San Diego Comic-Con you’re in luck. We’ve put together a list of all our coverage on the film. Just go through our further reading section to find out more…

Further Reading:

What do you think of Snyder and the ladies of Sucker Punch?

Also, for more fun, here are our top stories from Comic-Con, feel free to enjoy…

Comic-Con 2010: Sucker Punch To Be PG-13? Snyder Confirms Xerxes

Krystal Clark — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:36:38 +0000

The cast of Zack Snyder’s female dominated action flick Sucker Punch took over Comic-Con with their official Hall H panel and those in attendance were lucky enough to see some cool footage. We also discovered some interesting news regarding Snyder’s plans for the film and his next project. Find out the dirt below…

Snyder came out first and talked about how excited he was to be at Comic-Con again (the usual). He took over the moderator’s job and decided to introduce the cast members which included Carla Gugino, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, and Emily Browning. They all introduced themselves and talked a bit about their characters in the film.

After the intro, they showed the first trailer for the film, which we gave an in depth description of in our first look. After that, Snyder spoke a bit about his next project, Xerxes, the follow up/spin-off to 300. He’s currently co-writing the screenplay right now and is definitely doing the movie.

Before they left he also let us know that he thinks Sucker Punch will be rated PG-13 (gasp!). We know it sounds crazy but he honestly thinks it might happen. He said that the ratings board gave Lord of the Rings a PG-13 and they cut monster’s heads off so why not? Sucker Punch also has the same kind of fantastical element to it so it could be possible.

Further Reading:

Do you want to see a PG-13 Sucker Punch or do you want a hardcore R?

Like what you read? For more fun, check out our top stories from Comic-Con…

Zack Snyder Talks Sucker Punch, Watchmen, and Wins at ShoWest

Krystal Clark — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:00:34 +0000

Director Zack Snyder has moved on from last month’s Watchmen adaptation to his latest all girl project, Sucker Punch. The film features a who’s who of up and coming talent featuring Abby Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Evan Rachel Wood and most recently Emily Browning. Snyder sat down and spoke to Entertainment Weekly regarding the film and rumors that Warner Brothers was heavily diappointed by Watchmen’s box office performance. He responded by saying,”All the studio has ever said to me is, ‘We are proud of Watchmen, we think it’s awesome and we stand behind it.” Snyder feels that Warner Brothers will faithfully support Sucker Punch just as they did his previous film.

The director is ready to up the ante with Sucker Punch, an action thriller that takes place in a insane asylum. Snyder says the film will be a “hard R”, and he’s really going to challenge the studio with it’s content. All of the actresses for the film are currently negotiating their contracts, and Snyder can’t wait for their deals to be finalized so they can get to work.

“They are all super excited because they get to play these juicy, mentally difficult roles, plus they get to fight,” he says. “We need to get the deals done because they’ve got a lot of fight training to do.”

Vanessa Hudgens kicking someones ass? I’m going to have to see this! I wonder if they will be taught martial arts or hard core street fighting? Snyder really loves to go for hard R ratings. He loves to push the envelope when it comes to violence, sex, and gore. I don’t consider myself a sensitive viewer, but I’m not a fan of adding stuff solely for shock value. I hope he doesn’t go that route with Sucker Punch, but old habits die hard.

Snyder was the recipient of the Director of the Year Award at this year’s ShoWest convention in Las Vegas. I don’t hate the guy but hasn’t he only made three films? Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen to be exact and only one out of the those was actually decent. He also earned a spot on Entertainment Weekly’s top 25 active directors this year where he beat out Clint Eastwood, Danny Boyle , Paul Greengrass, Ron Howard, Paul Thomas Anderson,and Darren Aronofsky just to name a few. That ranking alone forced me to disregard the legitimacy of the list. I’ll be more than happy to give him a chance once he shows me a film that’s not heavily diluted with slow motion and green screen effects. Is that possible?

Do you think Sucker Punch will do better than Watchmen? Does Snyder deserve all of the accolades he’s received?

ScreenCrave.com » emily browning

Sucker Punch: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 5/10

Trailer:

Photo Gallery:

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