DVD Review: SUCKER PUNCH

SUCKER PUNCH is one of the most visually stunning, yet convoluted mess of a movie that you will ever see. The storyline is simply all over the place and just plain downright bizarre. And this is such a shame because this film has a few fantastic sequences that are simply awesome.

Supposedly, a young woman finds herself captive in an asylum as a consequence of having to endure an abusive relationship with her stepfather. While facing a lobotomy, she retreats into a fantasy world in which she and her fellow inmate friends are on a quest for several items to escape. That's the supposed plot. But, what actually happens almost requires a tour guide to figure out. So much of the scenes take place in what looks like a ballet school rather than an asylum. And that's largely what's wrong with this movie. Just what in heck are we watching here, anyway?

But, let's focus on what's right with this movie instead. The casting is excellent with some of the most surreal characters that you're ever see in a film that plays outside of an arthouse. And the fantasy segments are simply stunning. A segment where Baby Doll battles neoWWI German undead soldiers complete with zeppelins and trench warfare is simply awesome. Other segments where the girls battle a dragon and other segments are simply awesome as well. SUCKER PUNCH should have been just this movie. A great epic action film. Instead, what we have here is a strange mix between a pseudo-arthouse film with surreal personalities combined with a few of the greatest visual action scenes I've ever seen. The result is an uneven brew that's just not nearly as satisfying as it could have been. SUCKER PUNCH had such great potential, but simply fell miles short in the end. And that's really deeply sad. It's so good at moments.

The Bottom Line: What a disappointment this film is. It's so great one moment, but utterly confusing the very next moment. It's such a mix of uneven elements that it takes the patience of a saint to tolerate it at times. SUCKER PUNCH could have been a classic. Instead it ended up strange and a major league letdown. ++1/2(Two and half stars. Certainly less than good overall, yet the film has some excellent moments worth enjoying that are visually some of the most amazing I've seen. Too uneven to fully enjoy. Yet, so good at times).