Day 116: "Remember ladies, if you don't stand up for something, you'll fall for anything."

I intentionally missed Sucker Punch when it was in its theatrical run.  I like Zack Snyder a lot, but this looked so off the wall, I had a hard time justifying if I really wanted to see it.  Yet again, I have proven myself to be an utter moron.  As good as 300 was, as stunning as Watchmen was, they cannot hold a candle to the cinematic firework show that is Sucker Punch.  Snyder and co-writer Steve Shibuya went with the offbeat name because that was the reaction that audiences would experience seeing this film; it would feel like you just got hit with a sucker punch out of nowhere.  They were right.  Absolutely methodical in its storytelling and pacing, I had no fraking idea what was going on for the first ten to fifteen minutes.  Then, WHAM, out of nowhere, all hell breaks loose, and the story is off like it was shot from a cannon.  Combine one pinch of Alice in Wonderland, a whole lot of The Matrix, one part Kill Bill, and some Annie for flavor, and you get Sucker Punch.  I'm not even going to try and recap the story here, everything would be a spoiler alert.  Like the poster says, "You will be unprepared."  This movie cemented, to me, that Zack Snider as one of the best visual directors of this generation.  His style is unmatched.  He has taken all the lessons taught by George Lucas, the Wachowskis, and even Alfred Hitchcock, and melded them into his own, brilliantly unique, cinematic vision.  I also have to admit to being surprised by the soundtrack as well.  I hate it when directors decide that the original recordings of particular songs they want aren't good enough, so they find some horrendous remake.  The remakes in this film actually fit the mood, and, with one notable exception, aren't too awful on the ears.

The movie stars Emily Browning as the lead: Baby Doll, Jenna Malone as Rocket, Jamie Chung as Amber, Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie, and Abbie Cornish as Sweet Pea.  This group is the heart of the movie, and they do a good job of it.  This is an action movie, not The King's Speech 2: Speech Harder, the acting isn't the focus.  Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm, and Oscar Issac fill out the villainous roles quite nicely as well.

This is Snyder's masterpiece.  I had so much fun watching this, I can't wait to put it in the permanent library in glorious hi-def Blu-ray.  Get through the first ten minutes, and you are in for a treat.  This is one of the best WTF movies I have seen since Memento, and this blow that movie away.  If you are a fan of the graphic novel genre, a Zack Snyder fan, or just want to have a great way to kill a couple of hours, see Sucker Punch.  9.5/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!