It is no surprise that Zack Snyder’s first original offering has the Zack Snyder stamp gleaming from almost every scene.  There’s no denying his visual genius, and Sucker Punch, like Watchmen and 300 before it is a masterpiece of graphics, soundtrack and special effects.  Sucker Punch however, does point to Snyder’s obvious narrative weaknesses, as without the template of an already well-established story, his latest offering falls a bit flat.

Attempting an Inception-like ‘fantasy-within-fantasy’, we see Baby Doll (Emily Browning) sent to a grim mental institution, after accidentally killing her sister in the wake of her mother’s death.  Due to have a lobotomy 5 days after her arrival, Baby Doll descends into the almost parallel world of a brothel-come-prison.  Whilst there, she is forced to dance for her survival, sending her deeper into fantasy, where she hatches an escape plot.  Despite this confusing-sounding plotline, the story is actually relatively easy to follow, which works against it somewhat.  It appears as an almost half-hearted attempt at a clever storyline, but just can’t quite be bothered to fully commit.

Snyder’s graphics also give a somewhat oxymoronic edge to the film.  On the one hand, they’re its main asset, but on the other they leave the audience feeling even more detached from the characters and narrative than they may otherwise have been.  Some of the combat scenes in particular give the impression of watching a video game that someone else is playing.

Regardless of its flaws however, it is a relatively OK film to enjoy.  It is rarely boring (even if some fight scenes do drag a little) and the soundtrack alone is worth a watch.  The cast play their parts well and the ending is a satisfying conclusion to the whole film.