The Big Picture: You Are Wrong About Sucker Punch, Part One

[Storm Dragon]

I liked this movie overall, but my biggest problem with it was the ending.

Spoiler

Babydoll stays behind so her friend can escape, and that's fine; heroic sacrifices and all. But then she ends up getting lobotomized and presumably spends the rest of her life as a vegetable. That's horrible! I would have been okay with it if she had simply been killed, but this... This is a fate worse than death. I'm not really criticizing the movie on a storytelling level for this ending, but I just can't stand it when a story ends this way. I feel the same way about George Orwell's 1984,

Spoiler

where the protagonist and his girlfriend are brainwashed and indoctrinated into the system.

I thought the book was good, but I hated how it ended.

Not everything ends happily. The ending to 1984 was perfect for the themes it was attempting to convey. I would recommend against reading "A Brave New World" (book) but you may like Terry Gilliams "Brazil" (moive)

As for the ending in Sucker Punch I think there may be more to it then that.

Spoiler

the heroic scarifice is not just for the friend who gets away, but in doing so the practice of unauthorized labotomy is discovered and presumably the director is removed from his position. Therefore her sacrifice is for all those that remain as well. I anticipate Bob may discuss this a bit next week as well. Side note, great cameo by John Hamm.

I'm not saying that endings like that are bad, it's just that I personally dislike them.

I think the idea of most of them dying has a lot to do with:
a) realism: the whole plan was childish and stupid which is a jab at empowerment fantasies.
b) you can't defeat misogyny with objectification: Babydoll tried to use her own body as a tool to free her own body. In the end, that wasn't the right solution.

It's not most of them dying that bothers me, it's the protagonist ending up as a lobotomized vegetable.

 

[CharrHearted]

Oh look, Bob being an elitist, what a surprise.

capatcha: Unlimited wishes - If only.

 

[Darknacht]

They're dressed in fitishised outfits and dance for patrons. Half of the action scenes have them in freaking school girl uniforms or some shit.

Do the math.

They are dressed up in fetishized outfits but its so over the top that its not actually sexy.

I think about 95% of the people who enjoyed the movie would like a word with you.

He's right. It's not actually sexy. It's like a satire of what sexy looks like.

Sorry, I'll just defer to you on what people are allowed to find sexy now. Seeing as you're obviously thee authority on it and it's not like attraction is a totally subjective concept or anything.

Overly bleached hair with the roots showing, silly looking pig tails, the ill-fitted cloths of a child, and overdone makeup, yeah thats sexy to some people but everything is sexy to someone.

 

[Tono Makt]

I'm sorry, Bob, but I still won't watch this film. These guys' views on movies tend to mean more to me than yours (no offense):

This... has to be the most annoying movie review I've listened to. And from the little that I could stand (I couldn't stand his "Zack Snyder" voice after the third minute) it sounded like he is exactly the kind of person that CinemaRobert is talking about in his video. Not only that, the review was as much about the reviewer bashing Zack Snyder for Watchman and 300 with laughable opinions as it was to bash Sucker Punch. Even allowing for the British media's habit of communicating via insults ("This is rubbish!" being the English equivalent for "I quite enjoy this breakfast, thank you very much." as an example), this was so over the top that it's just plain not worth taking anything he has to say seriously.

other three

I might go through these videos later, but if they're anything like the first one then probably not before CinemaRobert's next Sucker Punch video comes out.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I really REALLY want to see this movie, if only because I have never heard such wildly divergent criticisms and explanations of a film's plot, characters and themes ever.

I know! I passed it up in the theater because A) I hadn't heard of it, B) I hardly ever see movies in the theater anymore, and C) it didn't look like my kind of film.

Of course, now I learn that it was trying to be that way to "sucker" in a rather different audience. That's cunning - I approve.

So yeah, I should probably pick up the DVD and see what I've been missing. I love me a good satire.

 

[Tono Makt]

In other news: Bob has a video with the Catch Phrase "You are Wrong."

Clearly this is going to be well reasoned, respectful analysis and won't involve any poisoning of the well at all...

Really, Bob? I haven't even watched it yet and I'm already irritated at your opinion.

Someone kindly remove Mr. Chipman's head from his own sphincter. I liked him better before he got such an ego.

For CelluloidBoberto, it's actually a well reasoned and fairly respectful analysis of the movie so far. Considering that I'm taking about CelluloidBoberto, I realize that may not be saying much.

 

[Darknacht]

They're dressed in fitishised outfits and dance for patrons. Half of the action scenes have them in freaking school girl uniforms or some shit.

Do the math.

They are dressed up in fetishized outfits but its so over the top that its not actually sexy.

I think about 95% of the people who enjoyed the movie would like a word with you.

He's right. It's not actually sexy. It's like a satire of what sexy looks like.

Sorry, I'll just defer to you on what people are allowed to find sexy now. Seeing as you're obviously thee authority on it and it's not like attraction is a totally subjective concept or anything.

Overly bleached hair with the roots showing, silly looking pig tails, the ill-fitted cloths of a child, and overdone makeup, yeah thats sexy to some people but everything is sexy to someone.

Not some people, a large amount of people. That's why there's such a market for that sort of shit.

The School girl trope is a trope for a reason. As is the bleached blonde look.

You're making the painful mistake of comparing popular opinion to your own. You don't find sexy =/= most people don't find sexy.

I'm not saying people don't find it sexy I'm just saying that it was intentionally overdone, and that does not mean that people can't think that intentionally overdone 'sexy', with caked on makeup and silly hairstyles and clothing, is still sexy, just look at some anime, but that does not make it any less overdone.

 

[Tono Makt]

Man I feel like an idiot now, this explains why I've had the disconnect between my feelings about the movie and how so many others, especially critics seem to feel about it. I knew their was more to it than just "hey hot chicks doing cool shit in fetish outfits" but I could never really figure out why. Thanks bob for making sense of it. It's a shame Sucker Punch wasn't more clever and better thought out because I agree that it's intent was indeed more noble than what most people seem to have taken away from it at a mere glance.

I agree. To me it was a noble failure. It tried to do something greater than your average CGI action flick with hot chicks but fell far short of the goal. I hope that there are people in the movie industry who are willing to look deeper into movies like SP to find out what they tried to do and why they failed at it. Otherwise we're going to be stuck with Michael Bay-type movies for a good long time.

 

[rbstewart7263]

I really REALLY want to see this movie, if only because I have never heard such wildly divergent criticisms and explanations of a film's plot, characters and themes ever.

I know! I passed it up in the theater because A) I hadn't heard of it, B) I hardly ever see movies in the theater anymore, and C) it didn't look like my kind of film.

Of course, now I learn that it was trying to be that way to "sucker" in a rather different audience. That's cunning - I approve.

So yeah, I should probably pick up the DVD and see what I've been missing. I love me a good satire.

I want to see this movie for another reason. It criticizes me. I like to think of myself as being able to appreciate high art and both male and female pandering(when female pandering is done) equally. I appreciate bayonetta as much as I love chell.

So I can appreciate it even if according to the filmmakers im a slimeball. well theres still something important there even if I myself consider myself a decent guy whose respectful in his own way of being respectful.

All In all I think Id love this movie. Thanks moviebob I dont always agree with you but WHEN I DO!!! lol