Sucker Punch

Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgeons, Jamie Chung and Oscar Issac.

Director: Zack Synder

Release Date: 2011

Running Time: 1hr 50 minutes

Genre: Action/Fantasy

Rating: PG-13

Format: DVD

Synopsis:

A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive father, retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, envisioning a plan to help her escape.

Sucker Punch! One of the best steam punk movies ever made. The concept for this story is a unique one. Alternate reality's. A dream within a dream. Directed by "Batman vs Superman's" Zack Synder, starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone and Vanessa Hudgeons. At a glance, it'd be easy to assume this movie was directed by Tim Burton, it's dark, it's strange, it's creepy and it's remarkably imaginative. If you are familiar with Snyder's work though, chances are you'll be able to tell it's definitely his work, the lighting is very similiar to that in "Batman vs Superman" and "300", it's very rare these days that you'll see a steampunk film. Visually it's very similiar to Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events. Imagine being in an alternate reality, in real life you're weak, in your reality you're strong, in real life you always loose, in your reality you always win!

Babydoll (Emily Browning) is terrified, she's come from a very abusive background, now put into a mental hospital, where she's not being looked after as such but told she has to perform with a bunch of girls essentially in a burlesque show to promote Blue Jones's (Issac) prison. Browning's performance is really good although she doesn't speak for the majority of the film. Synder has relied heavily on visuals instead of dialogue. Jana Malone is an actress who I feel is typecast a tiny bit. There's something about her role in this movie that reminds me of her role in "The Hunger Games" series, the characters are different yes, but it's almost like the personalities are the same. Oscar Issac's character Blue Jones is a slimy sleazeball.

I love how everytime Baby doll closes her eyes, we're introduced to a new alternate reality, it's fantastic. An alternate reality that is essentially helping them cope with their time in the prison and finding a way to escape, to be free. The storyline is absolutely fantastic, it's very imaginative and original. It's very steampunk, the cinematography, the costumes, the set design, it's great! If you love action movies you aren't going to be dissapointed, there are plenty of amazing action sequences, the choreography is really good, it looks neat and tidy and works well on screen. Just imagine World War 2, in a steampunk setting, the whole concept is incredible.

The soundtrack is exquisite and speaks volumes about the storyline and the characters. The soundtrack could tell the story all on it's own. There's a pretty cool remix of Queen's "We will rock you", or should we say a steampunk version? The pace is absolutely perfect, there isn't an ounce of this movie that will leave you sat there bored, there's loads going on, plenty to look at and lots of really cool and interesting characters. It's a little bit disappointing that  we don't really see much from Vanessa Hudgenons who plays Blondie, she barely talks. That doesn't mean to say that she isn't shown on screen though, as she very much is in frame at all times.

It's original, it's unique, it's fun, it's imaginative, it's creative. The cinematography is absolutely outstanding, it's beautifully shot and the storyline is amazing. It's a clever strategy of cat and mouse. For some, steampunk is something they might not have come across before, it's different, in all honesty your either going to really love it or hate it. Easily one of Zack Sender's best movies, if you wern't a fan of his latest superhero movie don't be put off, this is a whole other ball game. Highly entertaining and fun!

5/5 stars