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Sucker Punch

Josh Spiegel: Someone tell me I'm not the only person who doesn't get the fascination with Zack Snyder. I let out an audible groan when it was announced that he'd take over the reins of the Superman franchise, partly because it proves that, yes, Virginia, Christopher Nolan (that franchise's new producer) is a fallible human. Snyder's previous films are interminable dirges of misery, and Sucker Punch looks no different, essentially taking every bad or half-formed idea from every action movie ever made and boiling it up into an inedible stew. I will be first to say I'm wrong, but I have zero interest in this film and can't imagine liking it.

David Mumpower: Josh, I strongly suspect your issue is that Snyder doesn't make movies. He makes videogames. That's aces by me as I like videogames. I completely understand why his works doesn't move a lot of people; I just happen to disagree. Well, I don't disagree about Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, which should have been a *much* better movie than it was. And I also think that 300 is an uneven film yet ultimately a satisfying one. The two Snyder flicks that are dear to my heart are his thankless adaptation of Watchmen, a no-win situation that I thought he handled with aplomb, and Dawn of the Dead, one of BOP's favorite horror films of the 2000s. I guess it's fair to say that I am the target audience for Snyder's works.

Surprisingly, I am on the fence about Sucker Punch thus far. I was joking on Facebook that the more honest title for this is Hot Chicks in The Matrix during its Inception. That's honestly how I perceive the clips shown in the trailers. This appears to be another one of those "your mind creates entire worlds" stories. The rationale for this story structure is obvious. It allows the filmmaker to create modular, encapsulated realms with new and different visual aesthetics each iteration. These are videogame levels rather than acts of a screenplay. Sucker Punch isn't even subtle about this, giving the lead actress (i.e. the videogame player) an assigned list of items to collect. Sucker Punch is not just a Matrix clone; it's also a Legend of Zelda clone.

There are definitely strong aspects to the trailer. The kick to the face of the giant gargoyle thing holding a turret is a money shot. The sword slice of fire is also great. And God knows the cast is among the sexiest we've ever seen in a movie. Still, I'm not sure how to feel when I see that Scott Glenn isn't even trying with his dialogue. He's so wooden that he comes across as robotic, and I'm holding out hope that maybe he IS a robot. That would make it all right. If he's not, he's a great actor who didn't try hard enough in this film. I get the vibe that we may be saying that about a lot of people in Sucker Punch. It looks to be every bit as divisive as Watchmen if not moreso.

One other comment: the background song, Panic Switch by Silversun Pickups, is a perfect complement to the trailer. Kudos to whomever cut that clip.

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