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Sucker Punch (Film 2011) Grading/Discussion

Grade The Film!

  • Total voters
    45
  • Poll closed .
I finally saw this tonight. I gave it a B-Good. That was generous given how much I was bored with the first half of the movie. I think the last 30 minutes or so saved this for me.

The message I got from this is not let fear and doubt get in the way of accomplishing what you want. It is also about sacrifice. IMO.

I know based on what I have read through out this thread people won't agree with that assessment and that is fine...I am not gonna argue.

I really wasn't drawn in by the fighting scenes as much as I should have been...I felt the story outside of the visuals more important...I know people are gonna bash me...whatevs.
 
mickmike said:
Bishop76 said:
Empowering? 3 of them died and one was lobotomized. Apparently the message was fight and die...
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This.


The 'empowering' message that i took away from this movie was that if women in abusive situations attempt to shape their own destiny they will end up dead at the hands of abusive men. The girls were caught out due to one of their friends being a coward and blabbing the whole story. What's empowering about that?
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Empowering in the sense that while most of them died, they died fighting for something, and Sweetpea escaped. If they hadn't done anything Babydoll would still have been lobotomized and the others would have been trapped for the rest of their lives.

If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything.

As it is, they tried to escape and as a result Sweetpea gets to go home, the bad guy(s) were found out and hopefully they saved future girls from suffering.
 
trekkiebaggio said:
mickmike said:
Bishop76 said:
Empowering? 3 of them died and one was lobotomized. Apparently the message was fight and die...
Click to expand...

This.


The 'empowering' message that i took away from this movie was that if women in abusive situations attempt to shape their own destiny they will end up dead at the hands of abusive men. The girls were caught out due to one of their friends being a coward and blabbing the whole story. What's empowering about that?
Click to expand...

Empowering in the sense that while most of them died, they died fighting for something, and Sweetpea escaped. If they hadn't done anything Babydoll would still have been lobotomized and the others would have been trapped for the rest of their lives.

If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything.

As it is, they tried to escape and as a result Sweetpea gets to go home, the bad guy(s) were found out and hopefully they saved future girls from suffering.
Click to expand...

Oh, please don't throw out these meaningless fortune cookie quotes from the movie to try to prove a point. All they prove is that Snyder had a lot of take-out while writing this film.

The message of "empowerment" in this movie is "if you dance like a whore, you can get anything from men but you're most likely to end up dead by their hands anyway. Oh, but feel free to imagine you're slaying a dragon while you're being 'empowered'"...
 
While my point may be bashing the film, it is still a valid point.

The man (who the ladies needed to teach them how to be empowered because obviously women can't do that on their own) spouted mostly gibberish nonsense platitudes that can be interpreted in so many different ways that they're entirely meaningless in and of themselves just like a fortune cookie or a "psychic" reading or a horoscope.

The other point being that I fail to see how it's empowering to dance like a whore while pretending you're shooting steampunk Germans. When it comes right down to it, you're still just dancing like a whore (allegedly - we don't ever see this amazing dance).
 
The analogy I would draw is from another Snyder film, "300". It's empowering in the sense that whether or not main characters die is not the issue. The issue is did you die for something. I think it is very noble and empowering to see stories of those who will sacrifice themselves to save another. It is not a numbers game (3 dying, 1 lobotimized to save 1). It's the more general idea that anyone at all can be saved by the actions of many.

In "300", Dilios is the only one out of 300 soldiers to survive, so was did his survival somehow make the sacrifice of the 300 meaningless? Not in my opinion. He survived to fight another day and that led to him gathering the new army against the Persian army. By the same token, Sweet Pea is now able to live on to "fight another day" thanks to the sacrifice of her friends. I guess I do find that empowering in that sacrifice doesn't have to be meaningless, and can lead to something better.

Your mileage will vary of course. Just offering what I walked away from with this movie.
 
Well, I read it and... I guess I'm just not convinced. I see another person who is seeing what they wanted to see with this movie and not what was actually given to us. Which is fine - clearly, she's capable of creating in her own imagination a movie that the majority of audiences didn't see. Unfortunately, none of that is reality or if it is, it was conveyed so poorly as to not come across as intended.

I think you could write an article like this about any shitty movie you wanted to. I mean, Snakes on a Plane (which actually was amazingly good because it knew just how bad it was) could be argued to be a treatise on the corrupting influence of modern society on humanity if you wanted to do the mental gymnastics necessary to get there. Not a thing in the movie actually supports that, but I think someone could come up with whatever "evidence" they want to to support it. The way the stewardess looked at someone, the way the snake bit that guy's dick, etc, etc...
 
^ Oh it's clear you're not convinced lol. Ah well. We just see it differently. I really don't mean to come across as a jerk to you. It's just frustrating when no one sees something you do lol. I'm thinking we should expect to see the DVD sometime in the summer time. The score might be released on Itunes sometime in the summer as well.
 
:lol: I completely understand that frustration - I'm just on the other end in this case. I'm frustrated that anyone could like this movie (even got into a debate IRL last night over a few beers with a friend who liked it).

I don't think you're coming across as a jerk, and don't take my comments that way either - I don't mean any offense by them, but I am really opinionated (obviously) about movies.
 
Bishop76 said:
I see another person who is seeing what they wanted to see with this movie and not what was actually given to us.
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To be fair, I think that your views/criticisms are also an inference ("seeing what you want to see with this movie"), based on what is presented in the film. Your conclusions aren't an issue, mind you. And I tend to think that "what was actually given to us" more strongly supports your take on the end result. But there's enough room for different interpretations of the film, its message, and the ultimate effectiveness of Snyder's efforts. Personally, I like the message Snyder was trying to convey (the idea of empowerment even within seemingly powerless situations) ... but I think the final results are rather dubious.
 
Admiral_Young said:
^ Again we're not supposed to see the dance...

Here is an excellent article written from a woman's perspective on the movie and she pretty much shares my views on the film. I would highly suggest reading it.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/03/sucker-punch-part-1-the-story-that-no-one-is-talking-about
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I think she made some valid points. I think the film lacked a contrast between the fantasy of the brothel and the reality of the asylum...at some points didn't seem clear to me. I don't agree with her that a traditional escape story would be boring...if told the right way...I mean all the elements are there and as I said I wasn't drawn in by the action as much as others. :shrug:
 
Admiral_Young said:
^ Oh it's clear you're not convinced lol. Ah well. We just see it differently. I really don't mean to come across as a jerk to you. It's just frustrating when no one sees something you do lol. I'm thinking we should expect to see the DVD sometime in the summer time. The score might be released on Itunes sometime in the summer as well.
Click to expand...

The score as opposed to the songs used in the movie? Just making sure I understood.. I downloaded the soundtrack about half an hour after I saw the movie this past weekend.. GREAT driving music...
 
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