Epic fantasy

Visuals dominate Sucker Punch, which takes us into the world of imagination 

WITH cinema as an art form becoming more accessible today, one is deluged with all kinds of mediocre stuff from the intolerable to the rank stupid like for example The Rite and World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles to name just two. But one cannot in the same breath write off Sucker Punch because in the last decade US filmmaker Zack Snyder has clearly shown his penchant for many-layered subjects, which may not go down with most audiences but his adept crafting and impeccable historical sets is something one cannot just ignore.

Sucker Punch is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the imagination of a young woman Baby Doll (Emily Browning), whose dreams provides a three-layered narrative which unfolds in a mental asylum, a brothel and the escapist fantasies of a beleaguered heroine. Abused by her stepfather and sent to an asylum, Baby Doll begins to open up in the company of her loony inmates.

"Let the pain go, let the hurt go, let the guilt go," seems to be Snyder’s credo and along with four other women they form an indestructible, fearsome fivesome, who can fight Nazi soldiers, fire-belching dragons and whatever else comes in their path, including their fairy-like boss Blue Jones (Oscar Issac) and his demanding manager Dr Vera Gorski (Carla Gugani).

Others in the group are attractive Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) always trying to dominate meek follower Rocket (Jena Malone), aggressive Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Asian-origin Amber (Jamie Chung). That the action breezes through a wealth of locales — dark, gloomy action shots of World War I, close combat sequences and talk of the feared Kaiser. Gas-masked soldiers in trenches fall like nine-pins to this formidable fivesome. Off and on one gets lines like "if you don’t stand up for something, you’ll fall for anything" to keep the philosophy alive in a middling screenplay by Snyder and Steve Shibya. But it is the visuals that dominate.

This 110-minute drama is sure to bore non-aficionados and it is bereft of star power. Scott Glenn is probably the only big star for yesteryear but Emily Browning, Jena Malone and Abbie Cor+nish have the talent to go places but Oscar Issac’s despicable villain gets on one’s nerves. In contrast, Carla Gugani’s cameo is refreshing for both its intensity and brevity on a film highlighted by its technical brilliance. Recommended only for connoisseurs of cinema.

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