Zack Snyder

We'll let's just start off by quoting the science fiction web site io9.com. "Sucker Punch is such an awful movie that it raises the bar for what counts as terrible". After we saw this, I told my daughter that at least it would make an entertaining blog post. I said I'd start it by saying "If you see only one terrible movie this year, make it this one", but she seriously doubted that I should recommend that anyone see it under any terms.

Is it the worst movie ever made? Is it even the worst movie I ever saw? Probably not but it is quite a mess. Little did I think that I'd find a movie featuring scantily clad beautiful women wielding swords and sub-machine guns boring. The plot, such is it is, concerns a young woman locked away in a mental institution by her evil step-father. It hardly matters why. In five days a 'specialist' is coming to perform a lobotomy on her (with an ice pick no less). She has to escape by then. Her escape attempts consist of elaborate fantasy sequences which, while inventive, are too long and boring, and, ultimately, meaningless to the audience. In the first, she meets a guy who tells her she needs five things to escape: a map, fire, a knife, a key and a mystery. This is the plan she sells to the other girls (with out the mystery part). Most of the movie is a fantasy within a fantasy (sort of like Inception is a dream within a dream, but making even less sense).

The guy shows up in the various fantasies giving the girls advice before each mission, such as "Remember, girls, if you don't stand for something, you fall for anything". At least that makes sense. His next piece of advice was "Don't write a check with your mouth that you're not willing to cash with your ass". Huh?

Are there holes in the plot? My daughter said in answer, "If you put Swiss cheese in a blender, does is still have holes?"

I'm not really going to recommend that you see this, although if you do, stick through the credits. Perhaps the only redeeming virtue of this movie is the sound track. Most of the music consists of great covers of great songs. The last half of the closing credits features an inventive cover of Roxy Music's "Love Is The Drug" performed by the movie cast.… (more)

While the film did adapt several of the big important fight scenes and chose actors that emphasized the bravery and prowess that Kind Leonidas and the Spartans exuberated in the comic, what distracts the film from reaching the same potential and worth of the comic is the choice of color tones. Granted that the color palette in the comic is similar, with dusty gold hues, seeing the action and scenes taking place in the film do not live up to the potential of the comic. I will say that the only scene that outdoes the comic is the popular and well-known kick scene. Nevertheless, I did not have the same sense of respect towards Leonidas on film as I did for the King in the comic. The comic has several illustrations that focus on the sharp eyes of Leonidas and his stern gaze, while the movie is fast paced action. The last stance, with the many arrows raining upon the warriors, seeing that illustration as Leonidas continues to stand tall despite his wounds is both heart wrenching and inspiring. As for the movie, the impact is not the same. Honestly, the sandy gold hues were a distraction.… (more)