Sucker Punch (2011)

A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility.

Director:

Zack Snyder

Writers:

Zack Snyder (screenplay), Steve Shibuya (screenplay),

Stars:

Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emily Browning	...	Babydoll
Abbie Cornish	...	Sweet Pea
Jena Malone	...	Rocket
Vanessa Hudgens	...	Blondie
Jamie Chung	...	Amber
Carla Gugino	...	Dr. Vera Gorski
Oscar Isaac	...	Blue Jones
Jon Hamm	...	High Roller / Doctor
Scott Glenn	...	Wise Man
Richard Cetrone	...	CJ
Gerard Plunkett	...	Stepfather
Malcolm Scott	...	The Cook
Ron Selmour	...	Danforth
Alan C. Peterson	...	Mayor / Lighter Orderly (as AC Peterson)
Revard Dufresne	...	Big Boss Thug / Orderly #3

Storyline

A young girl (Baby Doll) is locked away in a mental asylum by her abusive stepfather where she will undergo a lobotomy in five days' time. Faced with unimaginable odds, she retreats to a fantastical world in her imagination where she and four other female inmates at the asylum, plot to escape the facility. The lines between reality and fantasy blur as Baby Doll and her four companions, as well as a mysterious guide, fight to retrieve the five items they need that will allow them to break free from their captors before it's too late...

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Plot Keywords:

escape | stepfather | imagination | dream | samurai | 

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Taglines:

You Will Be Unprepared.

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, some violence and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros. [France]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English German

Release Date:

25 March 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sucker Punch: The IMAX Experience

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$82,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£814,976 (UK) (1 April 2011)

Gross:

$36,381,716 (USA) (20 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, Cruel & Unusual Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 127 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Emma Stone and Freida Pinto were considered for the role of Amber which went to Jamie Chung.

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Goofs

In the dressing room, when Baby Doll lists the four objects the girls must obtain to escape, she writes all four object in cursive, focusing on the last word "KEY". However, when the camera angle changes during the following conversation the list changes handwriting and the words change from cursive to "block letter". It continues to switch back and forth every time the camera angle changes during the conversation.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sweet Pea: Everyone has an Angel. A Guardian who watches over us. We can't know what form they'll take. One day, old man. Next day, little girl. But don't let appearances fool you, they can be as fierce as any dragon. Yet they're not here to fight our battles, but to whisper from our heart. Reminding that it's us. Its everyone of us who holds power over the world we create.

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Crazy Credits

The Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures logos appear on a stage curtain, with the curtain rising to reveal each logo. A brief narrative precedes the Warner Bros logo appearing.

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Connections

Featured in The Blockbuster Buster: Sucker Punch (2012)

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Soundtracks

"STABAT MATER: QUANDO CORPUS MORIETUR"
Written by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Performed by the Cologne Concert Orchestra
Courtesy of Naxos
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

Why Sucker Punch Works and why it will rock DVD sales

I originally wrote a review the day after I saw Sucker Punch. I panned it. To me my initial feelings were rather lukewarm at best.

But then I gave it some time.

And as I went through my days afterward my mind would wander back to the story and think about the visual food for thought.

Yeah, the girls are hot. Yeah, the action is over the top, but if you look at the emotional landscape that is being explored in a more literal fashion via the action then yeah, this is a pretty cool idea.

Sometimes films come along that are a "sucker punch" in terms of originality. The general public usually reacts negatively to it which leads to poor box office results. But later on the audience has had a chance to digest what was given and revisits the film and breaths new life into it.

My prediction is that such a situation will happen with Sucker Punch. It'll probably not recoup its initial budget at the box office. People will flood the IMDb forum with reasons why it did not work. We will probably see about a few dozen threads at least where people will vent their reasons why they hate the film and why you too should not see it.

But given some time it will recoup via video sales and other distribution deals.

Why?

Because it's still a solid story. The style of the movie is an Otaku's wet dream, but overall result is still the same: it does surprise and give ample food for thought.

Think of it as stylized parable about repression, personal will and sacrifice. Because sooner or later after all the negative backlash and reviews blow by those emotional messages will be all that will be left.

And people will remember it for that reason.