Big Screen Peter: Sucker Punch

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis has agreed to use whatever it is you call his writing style to provide some measure of analysis to those folks who still go to a theater to see a movie.

review by Peter Lewis

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the concept behind “Sucker Punch.” The cinematic exploration of mind-bending realities has long been a theatrical staple, with films like “The Matrix” and “Inception” proving the inherent conceptual possibilities.

Of course, once upon a time there were quite a number of folks who thought communism was the answer to the world’s problems. Concepts can only go so far. So while there was indeed nothing wrong with the concept behind “Sucker Punch,” the reality of the experience was all sorts of wrong.

The film stars Emily Browning as Baby Doll, a beset wisp of a woman with problems straight out of a Dickens’ novel. Thrust into an insane asylum by an evil step-father, Baby Doll is scheduled for a lobotomy in a matter of days. Unbowed by her circumstances, Baby Doll — with the help of a few equally ridiculous monikered, yet no less gorgeous ladies — sets out on a course to save herself and bring justice to the evil orderlies of the asylum.

Do we get to see any of this? No.

Instead, the audience is treated to an array of scenarios in which scantily clad women shoot guns, play with swords and kick the shit out of a cross-section of evil villains. Of course, that’s part of the draw.

Unfortunately, the set-up creates more similarities with a poorly conceived video game than it does an actual movie. Every interaction is rendered moot in the face of such outsized ridiculousness. Instead of plot progression, the audience gets video game levels. Kill these goons and go on to defeat the next boss!

This is nothing new for writer and director, Zack Snyder. “Sucker Punch” is the latest example of Snyder’s penchant for utilizing a stylized aesthetic to overshadow crap storytelling.

The first few minutes of the film are gorgeously played, ratcheting up a level of dread and tension to the film that is utterly wasted. And that’s the most frustrating aspect of the experience. With all the babes, guns and enough explosions to wipe out whole countries, the film could be enjoyed from narrower standards if it embraced its own loud and beautiful idiocy. Instead, Snyder bookends the mindless middle with a vomit-inducing level of pretension — attempting to impart narrative profundities on the audience after subjecting them to such a forgettable story.

It’s been almost seven years, but “Ocean’s Twelve” finally has a rival for the most pointless movie of all time. Congratulations.

• Sucker Punch is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 12 in Fort Smith, and the Malco Van Buren Cinema. Link here for time and ticket info.

Feedback
Feel free to contact Peter Lewis at [email protected]

You can also track Peter at his website.