Sucker Punch (2011)

SPOILER WARNING!!! This post spoils movie Sucker Punch (2011).

This is kind of request. I got the movie and have been asked have I watched it ever since. I am not sure if blog post was wanted or just opinion. I write blog post anyway. This show what Zack Snider can do when he doesn't have source material from greatest comic writers. Watchmen comic was written by Alan Moore and 300 by Frank Miller. You can have different opinions about those movie but I don't think anyone can deny that those movies looked amazing. This movie continues that trend. This looks amazing. Story is not the strong point. Visuals before content. New Superman movie Man of Steel Snider's next movie. Based on trailers it looks amazing. I don't expect story to be as amazing. But we will see that.

I am not sure if this is good movie or just good looking movie. Movie aims high and have interesting twists. After seeing the movie it is bit hard to know what actually happened. Movie happens in main characters head and at some points it goes from main characters head even deeper to main characters head. I call them reality, fantasy and game level. Movie starts on reality where Babyfaces mom dies. Her stepfather kills her sister and frames Babyfaces. Stepfather sends Babyface to mental hospital and orders lobotomy to her. By ordering I mean he pays to mental hospital to do lobotomy even when Babyface doesn't need it.

Babyface falls to fantasy level. She sees mental hospital as club where patients are kept as prisoners and prostitutes. What happens in fantasy world also happens in real world fantasy world only shows fantasy version of what happens. When going gets too tough for Babyface, she goes deeper into fantasy world to game level. She dances in fantasy world when she goes to game level. What ever happens in real world makes everyone concentrate on Babyface. This helps other patients to make preparations for escape.

Game level scenes are best part of the movie. In first game level scene Babyface meets old man who tells her what to do in japanese fortress. Then Babyface has to kill three giant demons. Next game level is steam punk world war one where germans are steam-powered zombies and deformed humans. Third game level is castle in hell where they fight orcs and dragon. Fourth and final is train robbery in other planet where they fight agains robots. All these look amazing and you could have made great movie in any of these worlds if you turned down computer game likeness and provided content and back story. What happens in game level also happens in reality but what we see in game level is twisted by two fantasy lenses.

Visuals and idea of two fantasy world are great. Too bad that story can't live up to them. After last game world it seems that what happens in fantasy world doesn't happen in real world and what happens in real world looks like it is still some kind of fantasy world. Too many rules get bended.  Even if you think that reality level is fantasy level too, what happens in end doesn't follow rules of the movie. Reality level being another fantasy level explains somethings but opens new unexplained questions. Like whose fantasy level the reality level is. Only good explanation for all this is that is all is dream. In is not indicated any way but that is only reasonable explanation for everything being over the top and looking unreal. If we assume that reality level is real reality, the ending is too convenient for what else is happening in movie.

This could have been great movie if it all made sense in the end. Too much breaking own rules and too much open questions without even hints of what could be answer.  You can comment this post if you like more detailed explanation what is wrong with the ending. I didn't want to spoil it even when this post has spoiler warnings.