Sucker Punch: Exploitative, misogynistic trash, or postmodern feminist statement?
Zack Snyder's bleak 2011 psychological sci-fi/fantasy film was not a hit with critics (it sits at 22% on Rotten Tomatoes), and while it didn't perform particularly well at the box office, it has since gained a loyal cult following - primarily made up of the Snyder faithful who view the movie as something of a misunderstood masterpiece.
While that might be a stretch, an argument could definitely be made that a lot of critics and cinemagoers did miss point, ignoring (wilfully or otherwise) what some consider to be the story's rather obvious satirical and subversive elements.
Snyder is certainly of the opinion that Sucker Punch was not given a fair shake, and is worthy of reevaluation.
"Sucker Punch is probably the most obvious example of straightforward, pure satire that I’ve made. And I still think I didn’t go far enough, because a lot of people thought that it was just a movie about scantily clad girls dancing around in a brothel. I’m like, 'Really? Did you see Watchmen?" the filmmaker tells Total Film. "That film is completely a superhero deconstruction from the drop, which is all Alan Moore. That’s the thing I’ve found really interesting and motivating throughout my career. And I think that, seen as a whole, it’s more obvious than on a movie-to-movie basis."
"The thing that is deceiving about my movies is that I’m always trying to give the audience the movie they think they want to see, but also give them the subverted version of it at the exact same time," Snyder continues. "That notion has always been really cool and fascinating: that as filmmakers, we’re trying to sneak in the subversive thing without breaking the illusion. That’s the trick."
An R-rated version of Sucker Punch was released with an additional 18 minutes of footage, but fans have been anxiously awaiting a more extensive director's cut, and Snyder recently confirmed that he is still planning to revisit the movie at some point.
"Born from the creative vision of filmmaker Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300), this epic action fantasy launches from the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Locked away against her will, Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four fellow captives – outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) – to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorki (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm)."