'Sucker Punch': An Action Fantasy

“Sucker Punch” is every teenage boy’s fantasy. A band of half-naked women in thigh-highs, midriffs exposed, boobs bouncing, running in slow motion through video-game-like terrains, swords slashing and guns ablaze.

Is it something anyone else wants to sit through? Perhaps. Let’s dissect: This epic action-fantasy adventure, helmed by “300” and “Watchmen” director Zack Snyder, does have its redeeming qualities, despite its questionably misogynistic plot and costume/character choices.

The film starts off strong, with a sequence that is very archetypal super-hero. A young heiress’s mother dies, leaving her in the hands of a presumably wicked step-father (we assume he’s evil, as he appears menacing and throws things when he finds out his wife left everything to her two daughters in her will.)

When he tries to attack her and her little sister, Baby Doll (played by Emily Browning, who, side note, looks so much like Quinn from “Glee” it’s distracting) fights back by attempting to shoot him. Tragically, she misses, and the bullet fatally wounds her sibling instead. Enraged, daddy dearest sells her off to be lobotomized in an “insane asylum” – which may or may not be a front for a prostitution ring. The lines between fantasy and reality in this movie are forever blurred, creating a grey area that is never quite resolved. But that’s half the fun.

This is where the eye rolling begins. All the girls are “dancers,” performing in a glitzy burlesque show to entice clients to … you know. (It’s PG-13, so most things are implied.) We soon meet the rest of the girls, who have equally nauseating names such as Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Rocket (Jena Malone).

Naturally, they all hang out in provocative get-ups, with their hair-teased and eyes lined with enough eye make-up to fill Lady Gaga’s boudoir. They look not unlike a bunch of Playboy bunnies, hopping to an “Ode to Gypsy Rose Lee” photo-shoot.

Oy.

Here, in the dance studio, we discover that Baby Doll – dressed like a slutty Sailor Moon – has an incredible gift. Her dances are so hypnotic that they captivate anyone who bears witness. 

Oy again.

How does she do it? We have no idea. Because whenever she does, she just looks awkward for a second, then she’s transported to an alternate reality, where a kind-faced man guides her through fantasy worlds in which she slays dragons, topples ancient Chinese temples and fights space robots. Each battle wins her an object, such as a knife or map, which draws her closer to her ultimate goal: Escape and freedom.

Despite the impressive graphics, the device becomes a little wearing. Action for action’s sake. And the gratuitous close-up shots of the infantilized Baby Doll, lips parted, eyes-wide, get old real quick. For me, a grown woman, anyway. 

The resolution, however, is a compelling one, and that’s really what saves this film from being completely forgettable. Again, unless you’re a teenage boy, in which case: Fan mail can be sent to Zack Snyder at Creative Artists Agency, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

“Sucker Punch” is playing at 1:30 p.m.; 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the AMC Tilgman 8, 4608 Broadway, South Whitehall.