Movie Trailer Monday: Suckerpunch
Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared.
“Sucker Punch” is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality. Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary.
She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls…
This looks very cool even despite a few details that bug me, the main one being that the institution is also a brothel. I’m not only tired of the sexual slavery trope applied to heroines of all kinds, but I also think it trivializes the real crime. However, none of the summaries I found specifically mentioned a brothel. In fact, here is how artist Alex Pardee describes it:
Set in the 1950s, SuckerPunch follows Babydoll (Emily Browning) who is confined to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternative reality to hide her from the pain, and in that world, she begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out before she is deflowered by a vile man.
Regardless, at least the women in this story are trying to take control of their lives — even if they do it wearing Sailor Moon outfits. And there are katanas. And mecha suits. Did I mention there were katanas?
I plan on seeing this as well, although I share some of the same concerns as you. I hope I’m more excited about the plot once I’m actually seeing the film vs. my response to the trailer. It seemed kind of underdeveloped. Might be a case of style over substance. But because it’s Zack Snyder’s baby, I will risk the journey.