Blu-ray Review: Sucker Punch (Extended Cut)
Won't win over the non-fans, but those that like it should enjoy this
Too often in movies there is no legitimate threat to the heroes. This complete lack of danger took me out of movies like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and even The Matrix series because it became obvious the main characters couldn't be hurt, taking all the suspense out of the fight scenes and rendering them meaningless. In Sucker Punch, that danger is present throughout, largely because the villain (Robin Hood's Oscar Isaac) is so unpredictably evil. I felt genuine concern for the safety of our heroines. That, combined with director Zack Snyder's imaginative original vision, is a major reason why the film worked for me.
At its most basic, the plot (as if it matters) centers on a group of five 20-something girls in bustiers attempting to escape from a mental institution in a story that spans three "realities," not entirely different from what we saw in Inception. The doe-eyed and pigtailed Baby Doll (Emily Browning) is their leader. If for some reason you need a more thorough synopsis, please refer to Brad's rather unforgiving review.
Watching Sucker Punch this second time, I've realized how much the film has in common with movie musicals, even if the soundtrack largely comprises classic rock remixes. But to her credit, Browning does lend her own voice to the film's renditions of "Where Is My Mind?" and "Sweet Dreams." The film takes major leaps from scene to scene, using brief exchanges of dialogue to string along the story between the music video-like action sequences. It only works if you allow yourself to be swept away by the musical numbers without letting them take you out of the narrative. If we can do that for Moulin Rouge! or Chicago, then why not Sucker Punch?
Regardless of what you think of the movie, you won't be able to deny that (technically speaking) this is one of the best discs out there. The soundtrack flat-out thumps and Snyder's CGI environments look every bit as awe-inspiring as when I saw the movie in IMAX. The Theatrical Cut and Extended Cut (which runs 17 minutes longer) appear on separate Blu-ray discs, while Warner Bros. also throws in a DVD and Digital Copy of the Theatrical Cut to cover all your bases. The Theatrical Cut disc has a throwaway 3-minute featurette promoting the film's soundtrack album and some pretty dumb animated shorts offering a backstory to the film's various fantasy worlds.
It might seem like the film is lacking in special features, but with the Extended Cut's Maximum Movie Mode you don't need much else. Zack Snyder guides the viewer through this outstanding supplement that essentially combines everything you'd expect from a director's commentary, cast and crew interviews and a making-of documentary all into one awesome track while you simultaneously watch the film itself. Even better, it's a picture-in-picture feature so it doesn't put you through the added runaround of "click enter to see how we filmed this scene."
The biggest additions in the Extended Cut are a lavish and upbeat musical number from Oscar Isaac and Carla Gugino that (according to Snyder) was cut because it took away from the endangerment of Baby Doll and the other patients, as well as a sleazetastic scene featuring Jon Hamm as "the highroller" that was undoubtedly considered too risque for the PG-13 crowd. The rest of the added runtime is largely allotted to extending the action sequences.
So if you're one of the many who hated the film in theaters, this new Extended Cut isn't likely to change your mind. But if you're anywhere near the Sucker Punch apologist I am, Warner Bros. certainly did everything possible to make this package worth your money.
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Clearly you didn't watch the entire Matrix trilogy.
If this was Facebook and I could "Like" this comment, I would. It made me chuckle.
I was mostly referring to "Reloaded." I knew the third one was coming out in a few months so the fight scenes grew pretty tiresome. Probably could worded that better though.
All good. We all know the two sequels of The Matrix were mismanaged. I just got a laugh out of the sarcasm when I wasn't expecting it. Overall, good review. Looking forward to watching SP, as I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters.
This was such a fun movie! escapist cinema with a little bit of originality.
How could you feel any concern about the safety of the heroines when all the fights are just fantasies in the head of one of the characters???
You dislike movies where the protagonists are in no real danger, yet you like Sucker Punch? Jesus Christ. Sure, the scenes in the whorehouse are genuinely bothersome but that only makes up about 20 minutes of screen time. The rest of the time the girls are invincible video game characters shooting mindless robots. Is the extended edition some kind of radically different movie that makes the previous statement not true? Sucker Punch fucking sucks because I never cared about any of the danger in the action and was just waiting to see more of the drama unfold with their employer in the whorehouse. I love crazy over-the-top violence, but the action sequences were literally inconsequential and played out as nothing more than music videos that interrupted the movie's main plot. I like it when my action has some bearing on what happens in the movie and not a dumb flashy show for idiotic teenagers.
If they're invincible, then how do you explain the train scene?
Neo and Trinity lived happily ever after……Right.
"Too often in movies there is no legitimate threat to the heroes. This complete lack of danger took me out of movies like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
Umm, didn't he get killed by the bad guy at the end and had a "1UP" to get back in the fight…and I think you may have missed the point of the fights in the movie. They were metaphors for winning over a girl's memory of her past romantic exploits.
And it's just a fun movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. Why watch any action movie? The main character hardly ever gets hurt in them (or if they do they recover quickly) and almost always survive in the end.
"..and I think you may have missed the point of the fights in the movie. They were metaphors for winning over a girl's memory of her past romantic exploits."
Not to mention, overcoming your own flaws mirrored by each of the girl's exes.
And yeah, I too don't get this logic of being interested in a film only if the characters are disposable. Isn't there always a chance of protagonists dying in the end anyway? Even in franchise films, main characters die at some instance or the other.. at times they are resurrected, at times they are not, but what is your reasoning behind guessing how some characters are untouchable, inevitable end-game survivors while others aren't? It reminds me of that one line from Kick-Ass- "And if you're reassuring yourself that I'm going to make it through this since I'm talking to you now, quit being such a smart-ass! Hell dude, you never seen "Sin City"? "Sunset Boulevard"? "American Beauty"?"