'Punch ain't for Suckers!

Good ol' Emily Browning. I was probably one of the more thrilled people out there when it was announced that she'd replaced Amanda Seyfried in Zack Snyder's new big action film, Sucker Punch. Browning plays a tragic, family shattered youth in pretty much every film she's in, (Lemony Snicket, The Uninvited, etc.) so she could do the lead role of Baby Doll in her sleep if she had to, right?

Right. Although I can't say she MADE the film, as Sucker Punch was a movie sorta wrapped up in itself. It's about a girl's desperate fight for freedom, played out in a type of fantasy. I don't want to give TOO much away, but there are many things going on at the same time, and its important to recognize what parts are (albeit drawn out) only symbolism and metaphor, or you might be left scratching your head like - "huh?"

Nobody does vivid, ultra fighting, samurai slashing, robot stomping and monster chomping gun play visuals better than Zack Snyder. After 300, The Watchmen, and the very credible remake of Dawn of the Dead, he's more than proven what he's capable of and in Sucker Punch, he's just kinda showing off. It's all enjoyable stuff and obviously what is meant to draw you into the theater, but it's the "real world" moments of the movie that are the most compelling, thanks in a large part to the superb villainy of Blue Jones, played by Oscar Isaac.

You could sense they cut and trimmed a lot to get it down to a "lean" hour & 50 minute running time. Unfortunately, we then don't get as much from Jamie Chung's Amber or Vanessa Hudgens's Blondie as we could have, to make us care about them more, but it does allow the movie to progress SAFELY before reaching the point of redundant.

Ok,  do you remember the rating system? If not, here it is again:

Loved it - one of the best movies I've seen in a long time and worth every cent of the ticket price. I can't state enough how much u need to go see this movie ...

Liked it - it was an enjoyable flick for the most part and I'm glad I watched it. Will I run out to buy it when released on video? ... Probably not.

Leave it - ranging from the truly forgettable to the "wait a minute ... that didn't make any sense" in the 1st 5 minutes after I leave the theater. Basically - a whole lotta nothin.

Loathed it - a movie that literally makes me ANGRY after I exit and for days and weeks after. Angry that I wasted my time and money, and angry that such a piece of shit was ever made and that people actually received payment to do so.

So what's the verdict on Sucker Punch?

I Liked it. It's a fun watch all the way through with good performances by Browning, Carla Cugino as the chief therapist/dance instructor, and Isaac.

A lot of awesome mindless action yet with still a decent portion of mind tucked in to make you care about what happens next. All that plus you won't be able to guess how it ends ... or CAN you??? (no, you can't)