Sucker Punch (2011) Dir: Zack Snyder
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I feel like I give Zack Snyder a pretty rough go of things in my reviews, although I would argue films like Rebel Moon absolutely deserved it. I wanted to be a little kinder to him for a change. It was with that in mind, that I decided to rewatch this 2011 action fantasy film, which I remember enjoying a fair amount when I last watched it, some time ago now.
First of all, why Snyder is so insistent on choosing the ugliest possible filters for his films is beyond me. It makes them look awful, low budget and artificial. I can't stand it. If it made the visuals look unique or interesting, I'd be more forgiving, but it just makes the shots look so bland.
The soundtrack was great, for the most part, but it was really horribly mixed. It was pretty jarring at times, and while I appreciate the effort to showcase some covers of famous songs, I'm not sure all of them worked.
Decent action sequences were ruined by, quite frankly, horrible editing. Snyder's use of slow motion shots was, at least, less egregious than in other films - but I still wasn't a fan of when he did use it. On a more positive note, I enjoyed the fight choreography, which kept the tempo high and the focus on-screen.
Not to harp on about the visuals, but the film was extremely aesthetically inconsistent. It never seemed to quite find sure footing. I appreciate the way Snyder tried to create some uniqueness in the visuals, with how the story progressed and the settings he used, but it didn't quite work for me.
The narrative had plenty of potential, in my view - the execution was mixed. I like some of the ideas and how Snyder attempted to show them, but they were often sullied by the perverted way those ideas were displayed. I personally wasn't a fan of having young, scantily-clad women being exploited by men time and time again.
I am aware that Snyder often talks about using tropes on purpose, but, if you're going to use tropes, make it feel like there was point to it, rather than to fuel a horny vision of a female-led action film. And that's without mentioning the terrible dialogue that was rampant throughout.
Emily Browning was somehow both compelling and dull in abundance. I really struggled to determine if I did or did not like her performance. For the sake of positivity, let's say I liked it. She was certainly the brightest spark in the film.
The supporting ensemble, headed up by the pair of Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone had potential, but didn't feel as though their characters were fully fleshed out, which reflected in the performances. This critique was even more apparent with both Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung, who really suffered from the poor writing.
The remaining faces worth mentioning included Oscar Isaac - who clearly tried his best with the material in front of him, Carla Gugino - whose accent was unfortunately pretty painful, Jon Hamm - who was actually decent for what it's worth, and finally Scott Glenn, who was awfully cast.
Overall, I can't help but feel disappointed by this rewatch. I had a lot of hope, based on my prior enjoyment of the film, that I'd still find plenty of good here, but, unfortunately, that just wasn't the case. Dress it up however you like, this is a horny man's film, and not a subtle one, nor a good one.
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