(3/2011) Movie Review: Sucker Punch

3 Stars

Review By James R. Holland   

Crazy Video Music/Game Fantasy Combo          

This 109-minute, PG-13 Rated strangle flick also seems to be one-part Gothic, one-part Cabaret and one-part Sci-Fi Fantasy with a pinch of insanity thrown in and mixed with sonic waves of heavy metal rock. (The soundtracks is “Army of Me” written and performed by Bjork.) If that combination seems kind of hard to visualize, welcome to the club. This film reminded this reviewer of his long-vanished youth when his friends leaned back in their theater seats and watched Disney’s “Fantasia” through a cloud of marijuana smoke.           

For them, the movie was much better that way. This one would probably make more sense by viewing it the same way. However, even stone cold sober, this movie is still a visual experience. The fantasies are more mesmerizing if the audience just sits back and goes with the visual and sound flow and doesn’t try to figure out what is going on. One of the producers is “Cruel and Unusual Studios” and another is “Lennox House Films.” Most of the movie takes place in the Lennox Home For The Insane. The Female Anime Logo of “Cruel and Unusual Studios” is a like a portrait of the star of this film. Her nickname is Baby Doll and Emily Browning plays her. She and her band of four other female musketeers with the record breaking long fake eyelashes, cut, slice and blast their way through a fantasy world looking for the four items needed for them to all break out of the combination mental institution and pre-WW II German Cabaret/Brothel.           

Director/Writer Zack Snyder produces some alien landscapes in which the sick ladies can conduct their scavenger hunt for the needed items for their escape. Scott Glenn portrays the wise man who is kind of a Charlie guiding his band of dancing killer angels. Oscar Isaac does a good job with the Blue Jones character. Gerard Plunkett is the murdering stepfather. Jon Hamm plays High Roller. Dr. Vera Gorski is the staff shrink who believes that dancing and acting out plays helps treat her patients. She is played well by Carla Gugino.           

The other four insane Angels are Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea, Jena Malone as Rocket, Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie and Jamie Chung as Amber. They are like dreams come true for most of the males and some of the women in the movie audience.           

The supporting cast is full of strong character actors including Malcolm Scott as the tiny chef, Alan C. Peterson as Mayor/Lighter Orderly, Revard Dufresne as Big Boss Thug and Orderly #3. The employees of the mental institution also morph into the brothel fantasy characters. The obvious holes in the plot are easy to miss because the action doesn’t slow down long enough for the audience to think, which is probably the way the pacing was done that way.           

The filming was done in Vancouver Film Studios and other locations in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The locations probably won’t seem familiar to American audiences. They actually don’t even seem like they are earthly locations. They are more like scenes from ancient mythology.

James R. Holland is a film editor, producer, and author–most recently of Adventure Photographer (A Bit of Boston Books/ 2009).  He reviews movies exclusively for Basil & Spice.  Visit James R. Holland’s Writer’s Page.

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