Sucker Punch

I have to review this one.  I'm not entirely sure how, but I have to.  It's one of those movies that, for better or for worse, you can never fully forget.  It is incredibly unforgettable.

Sucker Punch is purely a fantasy action movie, and doesn't even pretend to be rooted firmly in reality.  For that, I am glad, because if it were taking itself seriously with its loose historical inspirations for its depictions of mental hospitals and by extension, mental illness, then I'd have a problem with it. 

It takes the images and plot points that it needs from stark reality, and weaves them into a somewhat complex narrative and highly detailed graphics.  At least, I think it's suppose to be complex, but I'm pretty sure it's just the visuals that makes it seem that way.

The overall result, however, is an explosive string of action that really wants to be a video game.  Like, it really really really wants to be a video game, so much that it's not sure which setting and genre to place its cast of scantily dressed girls.  But given how brutal the "reality" scenes are, I don't think I can blame it.

And honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I really felt about Sucker Punch when I walked out of the theatre.  There were parts that were just sheer action and eye candy, and parts where it seemed to hint at a deeper meaning behind all the un-sugar-coated reality.

So you can watch it for the action, and you can puzzle over the subtleties, but I know one thing for sure: this movie is not for children or the faint of heart.