Other than personal dreams and fantasies, movies are a common and effortless escape from reality. And when a dream or fantasy is the direct subject of a film, the only bounds it can be held to is the limit of the creator’s imagination. In the case of Sucker Punch, it’s the imagination of director Zack Snyder that demonstrates just how deep the rabbit hole can go. This film however, is not only being surveyed as Snyder’s first original creation. It also holds the caveat as a possible blueprint for what anxious comic book fans can expect from his current and very high profile project Superman: Man of Steel, due for release in 2012.

In Sucker Punch, Emily Browning (The Uninvited, 2009) assumes the role of “Baby Doll,” a nickname given to the character inside her own fantasy. The real-world “Baby Doll” is hauled off to a 1950’s all-women insane asylum after being committed by her evil stepfather in an attempt to cover up his murder of “Baby Doll’s” younger sister. In the asylum, “Baby Doll” quickly learns that she has only five days to escape before the finishing piece of her stepfather’s plot arrives in the form of a doctor who specializes in lobotomies.

In order to cope with the hopelessness of her situation, “Baby Doll” breaks with reality, creating multiple fantasy worlds comprised of dangerous missions against stone samurais, zombie nazis and dragons, promising the ultimate reward of real-world freedom. Along the way she befriends some of the other inmates who unknowingly join “Baby Doll” in her delusional adventures.

Zack Snyder’s auteur has become one of the most recognizable in modern day film. His stamp of ultra stylization engulfs Sucker Punch perhaps even more than any other in his catalog. The pertinent difference with Sucker Punch though is that it’s Snyder’s premiere original story. Previously, Snyder had used his high contrast and hyperrealism only to bring adapted works to life such as Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen. And visually, Sucker Punch steps right in line with those films and provides all the oratory overload one can handle. Unfortunately, this time around Snyder did not have the rich story and character depth to help bring validity to his fantastic visionary talents. Snyder’s script is littered with two-dimensional characters, suffers from incredibly weak dialogue and is propelled by a non-cohesive story.

On the Superman front, fans would not be labeled as paranoid if Sucker Punch stood as the lone example of what to expect for the future of DC Comics’ flagship character. This not being the case, and Snyder’s past work categorically proving his ability to direct adaptations of stories laced with deep characters and strong plots, should provide devotees some solstice. Also in a recent interview with i09.com, Snyder further distinguished his past films from Man of Steel by explaining “ . . . I've said to the studio that this will probably be the most realistic Superman movie ever made. It takes place in the real world much more than [my previous films] . . . everything I've done up to this point really has the benefit of existing in a stylized world.”

Imagining a Zack Snyder film without his signature polish could be like biting into a cheeseburger and tasting pizza. Not necessarily bad, but at the very least bewildering. However, these comments from Snyder may bring elation for many fans of the "Big Blue Boy Scout" who have vehemently expressed their fear of a Superman film produced with little more substance than slow-motion action and a loud soundtrack.

Snyder’s Sucker Punch may be little more than predictable eye candy, but his perception and directing talents alone manage to salvage it into stimulating art. And considering the story for Man of Steel is written by consummate comic book screenwriter David S. Goyer, The Last Son of Krypton should have no trouble flying very high through the "super vision” of Zack Snyder.


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