After the two comedy adaptations “300” and “Watchmen” and before staging “Man Of Steel”, “Batman V Superman” and “Justice League”, blockbuster director Zack Snyder created the visually stunning fantasy action film “Sucker Punch”. Until “Army Of The Dead” was released, it was also the only film by the American that was based on its own story idea and not on an already established template.
The familiar faces crowded into the cast. Leading the way were Emily Browning of “American Gods”, Abbie Cornish (“No Limit”), Jenna Malone (“Donnie Darko”), “High School Musical” sweetheart Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung (“Gotham”). The supporting roles also co-starred with Hollywood veteran Scott Glenn (“The Stuff of Heroes”), “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm, Carla Gugino (“Haunted In Hill House”) and Oscar Isaac of “Dune” and “Star Wars 7-9”.
“Sucker Punch” is today, March 24, 2023 at 10:20 PM on Tele 5. The station offers a Saturday night rerun at 1am. If both dates are not convenient for you, but you would like to see the film, you can currently stream it on Netflix. In addition, “Sucker Punch” can also be borrowed digitally or purchased from various other services for a fee.
You can choose to purchase the FSK 16 title on Blu-ray or DVD. It is best to choose the “Extended Cut”. It’s a whopping 18 minutes longer, providing much more action and character background than the theatrical version shown on TV today.
The Story of “Sucker Punch”
It’s the 1960s: Babydoll’s (Emily Browning) mother has just passed away. Her brutal stepfather (Gerard Plunkett) then places the teen in a mental hospital which turns out to be an undercover brothel. In order to get through the situation, Babydoll flees into a dream world again and again.
Accompanied by her therapist Dr. Gorski (Carla Gugino), whom she sees as a dance teacher, plunges Babydoll into a grotesque, post-apocalyptic fantasy realm. In it, she uses all her power to oppose the caretakers and overseers, who appear as samurai, cyborgs, dragons or world war soldiers. To break the girl’s resistance once and for all, the lecherous prison warden (Oscar Isaac) has a lobotomy performed.
Babydoll plans an escape with her four roommates, Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung). But it must be done as soon as possible. Because until the arrival of the surgeon (Jon Hamm), who has to perform the planned procedure, they have less than a week.
“Moulin Rouge” as inspiration for “Sucker Punch”
The official MOVIE STARTS review lists “Sucker Punch” as one “Spectacular strip with explosive power and friction surface”. In it, our author Jan Hamm praises Zack Snyder’s somewhat startling ambitions as an author-filmmaker and his astute observations about the co-optation of women by male-designed pop culture. All in all, the director has made one of the most courageous, honest and intelligent mainstream films of recent years.
Admirers of Snyder’s overly stylized “300” visuals, in which live-action sets and CGI animation merge into epic sequences before the audience’s eyes, should also enjoy the look and feel of “Sucker Punch.” The imaginative shots and unusual perspectives of his old lead cameraman Larry Fong also contribute to its success, as does the massive use of music.
The filmmaker wanted to achieve a darkly altered musical feel along the lines of Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge” for several scenes that illustrate the inner workings of its protagonist, Babydoll. So he built in dance choreographies and had Tyler Bates (“John Wick 1-4”) and Marius de Vries (“La La Land”), who were responsible for the soundtrack and its production, use well-known songs, but in emotionally adapted, new versions were included. In addition to female pop/rock stars such as Björk, Skunk Anansie frontwoman Skin and Emiliana Torrini, cast members Emily Browning, Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac also took to the microphone to sing tunes from Eurythmics, Roxy Music, The Smiths, Jefferson Airplane or The Beatles.
As usual for Snyder, these scenes get pretty solid when it comes to violence. According to fans keeping count, a total of 421 characters – both human and fantasy creatures – die in Sucker Punch. Most of these deaths occur in dream sequences that are easily recognizable because they are highly exaggerated. In an interview, the director described his film as “‘Alice in Wonderland’ with Submachine Guns”.
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