I Watched: Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch – 2011 – Dir. Zack Snyder – 120 min. – U.S.

In today’s movie landscape, there are three (general) types of movies. One that relies on a compelling story and excellent acting (i.e.  The King’s Speech). Another that relies on stunning graphic effects and the more-often-than-not gimmicky element of 3-D (it’s like adding stickers to a car…neither really make it that much better). The third is a rare one that is able to blend the visual effects with solid story (i.e. The Dark Knight). Sucker Punch tries to be that third type and might be a bit more successful at it…if movies like Inception and Shutter Island didn’t come out the previous year.

Zack Snyder has established a unique visual style as seen in 300 and Watchmen, with a lot of slow motion and blood spattered all over the place. But while he’s able to make your eyes feel like they’re having sex with the movie screen, none of his movies have been incredibly strong in the story/ character development department. That leads me to Sucker Punch (which has been, so far, his worst reviewed movie on Rotten Tomatoes).

The film starts out with a visually and musically beautiful sequence to explain the back story. This was my favorite part of the whole movie: