Sucker Punch
Blu-ray | DVD | Video On Demand
Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung
Warner Home Video
Release Date: June 28, 2011

Sucker Punch, a film from Zack Snyder, the visionary director of 300 and Watchmen, is an enigma. After 3 viewings of this film, I’m still not certain if I love it or hate it because, while it has plenty of flaws that would make any average movie crumble like the CGI sets of this movie’s fantasy-in-fantasy, it also has a lot of truly amazing surface level elements that have the ability to provide a real enjoyment of the film. And to appreciate this movie, I think you have to have the ability to enjoy it for what it is: A cheesecake, live-action adaptation of a burlesque poster for the movie Inception. Confused yet? Of course you are! So am I!

So let’s try to clear this up. Sucker Punch centers around the character of Baby Doll (Emily Browning), a girl who tries to kill her abusive stepfather while he is in the act of assaulting her sister. Unfortunately, during this attempted murder, Baby Doll accidentally kills her sister because she is a terrible shot, which is a theme that continues throughout the movie. After the accidental death, her stepfather sends her to a mental institution to cover up the accident and his actions, while also cheating Baby Doll out of her deceased mother’s fortune. The stepfather also makes a deal with the institution’s orderly, Blue (Oscar Isaac), to have Baby Doll lobotomized so that she can never contest her stepfather’s actions.

Sucker Punch
Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Scott Glenn
Warner Brothers
Rated PG-13
Release date: March 25, 2011

Sucker Punch is the newest film from Zack Snyder, director of 300 and Watchmen, and it continues his string of visually arresting films. Snyder does not only direct adaptations of comic books (see Legend of the Guardians and Dawn of the Dead as the exceptions), but he is widely known for them, particularly with his involvement in the next Superman film. Sucker Punch is his first original screenplay though, so many were wondering what he would come up with himself. What he presents with Sucker Punch is a mix of unique genres that continues Snyder’s line of visually unique films, but has very little going on to make the viewer care about what’s happening.

Sucker Punch revolves around a young girl given the nickname of Baby Doll (Emily Browning). She is sent to an insane asylum by her stepfather in a plan to steal an inheritance that is rightfully hers. The stepfather plans to have Baby Doll lobotomized (by Jon Hamm who is becoming a master of big-screen cameos), but she plans to escape, with the help of some of the other inmates. Somehow, the plan involves the inmates taking a few necessary items, distracting the guards with some kind of dance that becomes a series of fantasy action sequences. And then Scott Glenn shows up as a wise old man relaying pointless platitudes. Trust me, explaining the plot makes my head hurt and exposes many of the movie’s flaws.

Universal Pictures’ upcoming fantasy retelling of the fabled tale of Snow White, titled Snow White and the Huntsman, is getting a lot of attention and some big stars are being lined up for potential roles.

It’s being reported that Viggo Mortensen has entered into negotiations to take on the role of the Hunstman, a character who’s always been a part of the fairy tale but who will be elevated to one of the primary characters for this particular telling. The story will revolve around Snow White and a Huntsman, who teaches her what he knows while protecting her from the dangers of the wood.

Back in July, the first teaser trailer for Zack Snyder‘s visual spectacle, Sucker Punch, was unleashed upon the world, leading everyone to wonder if it could keep up with all of the insanity it promised.

Now comes the movie’s first full trailer, giving us a much better idea of what the film is about while piling on even more visual insanity — as hard as that might be to believe!

The movie is about a group of girls who are locked up in a mental institution in Vermont who travel deep within their own subconscious to attempt to try and escape their prison. The storyline basically allows Snyder — who has previously delivered visually stunning fare in 300, Watchmen, and Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole — the opportunity to play around in a sandbox consisting of every genre known to man…something that could be very, very good for we the watchers.

Be sure to click on over to the other side now to read a full synopsis and check out the full trailer now!

The trailer for Zack Snyder‘s Sucker Punch has been released.

Watch it here below.

Also, six character posters were released, which you can see here below (click images for larger, full view).

The trailer is a shorter version of the footage that Snyder debuted this past weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con, which opened to sequences hauntingly backed by Led Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks.” [Read SDCC 2010: Zack Snyder’s “˜Sucker Punch’ Panel for description of the extended footage.]

The extended footage was much more captivating than this trailer, which runs about 1 1/2 minutes, so if this doesn’t grab you right away, don’t give up on it just yet.