Customer Reviews

Sucker Punch (Two-Disc Extended Edition) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(145)
4 star:		(90)
3 star:		(55)
2 star:		(55)
1 star:		(95)

 

 

The extended cut of Sucker Punch adds approximately 17 minutes and 45 seconds of additional footage, and is R-rated. The extended cut is much darker than the theatrical cut; while not necessarily being more visually explicit, previously implied suggestions are now explicitly overt. The violence and action scenes have also been extended as well, with two re-inserted battle sequences, one with the orcs at the castle (arterial spurts of green orc blood), and the other with the German World War I zombies.

I don't think I quite understand Snyder's multi-layered metaphorical comparisons between the brothel, asylum, and Baby Doll's fantasy worlds, but I will say that the movie (especially the action sequences) are visually stunning, and the colors beautifully contrasted. Credit especially to the actresses for their proficient firearms handling (but where exactly did they store all those extra magazines I wonder?). However, it would be superficial to suggest that Sucker Punch is only about girls in anime costumes fighting monsters in fantasy worlds, though that is certainly an interpretation shared by many critics who panned the movie.

Here are the main differences between the Extended Cut and Theatrical Cut; NOTE, SPOILERS FOLLOW, so continue reading at your own risk.

(1) Baby Doll shoots at the stepfather a second time (as compared to a single time in the theatrical cut), resulting in some CG blood and an arm bullet wound, which the stepfather grabs at.

(2) When Sweet Pea first meets Baby Doll (with Blue and the priest), Sweet Pea says, "the priest brought you here from the orphanage to lose your virginity, right?". Then Blue says, "The High Roller is coming in 5 days to do a little flower picking.." There is no such comment about deflowering in the theatrical cut.

(3) Rocket takes Baby Doll on an extended tour of the nightclub, showing her a backstage area where clients are not allowed. She shows Baby Doll the cleaning closet where new girls are assigned cleaning duties. They pass by the kitchen where the chef makes a lewd face at the girls, who ignore him, and walk onwards.

(4) Full dance number of "Love is a Drug" as performed by Blue & Vera. It's quite extravagant.

(5) The cook attacks Rocket more violently and physically in the extended cut.

(6) The backstage scene where Baby Doll explains her plans is extended. Vera writes the order of the dancers, with Sweet Pea performing first. Rocket and Sweet Pea then sit down, and Sweet Pea tells Rocket that she won't help Baby Doll.

(7) In the World War I scene, the Wiseman briefs the girls for a little longer. The map they are to capture is a map of the trenches and troop locations, the map will be sent via courier by zeppelin. The Wiseman then asks Amber how she likes the mech, to which Amber replies in the affirmative. The Extended Cut includes a great shot of the girls slowly walking out of the fog into no man's land, and additional shots of zombie German troops rushing out of their respective trenches. Amber shoots down several attack German fighters before herself flying skyward, and Blondie grabs her Daewoo K3 and mows down a horde of attacking zombies, littering the battlefield with their corpses. There is additional hand-to-hand and (hatchet-to-bayonet vis a vis Blondie) combat in the trenches, and Baby Doll fights the Zombie commander initially in an extended sword fight. I'm glad they extended the WWI sequence, it looks fantastic.

(8) Vera tries to cheer up Baby Doll pre-performance with a quote by Mark Twain about illusions.

(9) The orc/castle/knight siege scene has been heavily extended, most prominently featuring a new scene of the girls jumping into the courtyard, and decimating the orcs using firearms and edged weapons, while performing various acrobatic maneuvers. Green orc blood spray across the screen. Additional shot of knights trying to break through the gate with a tree trunk. Extended combat scene of girls versus knights, and slow-motion scene of Blondie firing the side machine gun.

(10) Blue tells Baby Doll that he will "pop that smile right off of her face", whereas in the theatrical cut, he falters without completing the sentence.

(11) The sequence where Amber is killed shows Blue's gun being fired twice, rather than the slight vibration in the wine glass. Blue shoots Blondie when she's on the ground an additional time. Nothing graphic is shown.

(12) Blue attacks Baby Doll for a longer period of time (and more physically) in the extended cut, when backstage.

(13) After Baby Doll is knocked unconscious, Sweet Pea steals a white dress while on the lam.

(14) During the last, infamous scene between the High Roller and Baby Doll, white gloved hands undress Baby Doll down to her skivvies. High Roller and Baby Doll talk, and High Roller doesn't just want to deflower Baby Doll; rather, he wishes to grant her freedom from everything, in essence, granting her absolution. Baby Doll seems quite taken and the two begin to kiss passionately, but no nudity is shown. The Extended Cut directly links Baby Doll's deflowering in the brothel to her lobotomy in the real world; I can understand why this scene was cut to make the PG-13 rating, as it's rather sexually suggestive.

Note: I wrote an original review for the film only way back when I saw it, which was actually on opening day. Now that I have acquired the Blu-Ray version of Sucker Punch, I will write a review. My consensus though is to purchase the Blu-Ray package over the DVD, so if you just want to read my thoughts on the movie, skip this section. I will review the Blu-Ray. If you are wanting to know everything about the layout and the general features, Amazon is correct with both product descriptions, so you can trust them.

When I first saw Sucker Punch in theaters, the art direction, CGI, and the colors was absolutely jaw dropping; this was one of the movies that I could see blasting on my TV screen. Well, I am happy to report that Sucker Punch looks and sounds terrific on Blu-Ray. Given the sensory overload Sucker Punch provides, one can only imagine how the potential of the , and the transfer does its justice and brings Sucker Punch to complete life upon your HD TV. The picture is crystal clear and sharp, which gives way to an absolutely dazzling high definition picture on screen. Sucker Punch's intense colors, elaborate architecture, and stylized visuals all come to life onscreen, with a visual intensity on the same boat as any high production value video game would be able to achieve (Think Uncharted 2 or God of War 3. Sucker Punch can surely compete with both games in terms of visual splendor). All the little details of the visual intensity absolutely stand out and are crystal clear. You can see everything little snow-flake, bit of explosion, and piece of dust, yet the little details don't substantiate the stylized and beautiful landscape and architecture. I give the picture an easy 10. It looks absolutely amazing. So safe to say, it is ABSOLUTELY worth buying for television viewing.

The audio is not quite as impressive as the picture of the film (seems fitting, however, given the visual approach to the film), but the sound is no slouch either (I think this has to do with the fact that the Sound design by default is not as good as, say, Saving Private Ryan or Lord of the Rings). Sucker Punch will still work out your home theater system, so if you have a great sound system, it's time to watch Sucker Punch with it. The movie really takes advantage of the DTS Sound track, as you will be able to hear the explosions surround you, the bullets clanking, whizzing, and whining and all around you, and the adjacent sound effects to the visual keys that Zack Snyder is so fond of using is crystal clear and satisfying. Your theater will rumble, and you will be totally surrounded by the immersive sound to really match the whole movie. What else could you ask for? I give the sound a 10, although the sound design is a 9.

As most of you already know, the Blu-Ray version of Sucker Punch adds 18 minutes to the movie. This is a whole 18 minutes of new film footage. More dialogue is added to certain scenes, and while they really don't radically make the story better in a way, it does add some fluency and color to the movie. These add more color and life to the characters and situations. There is also more action to make those peaks and valleys of the action more effective, and there are a couple more graphic shots to the action scenes, as there is a bit more gore. There is also the cut scene that Snyder had to remove (which deals with a sexual encounter), The most prominent addition to the film is a eye catching and theatrical musical number, and it doesn't at all tone down the pure visual and aural onslaught the movie previously had. I'm not going to give out spoilers but the is worth seeing and makes the movie even more of a blast than it was in theaters. Really, what else can you ask for?

As far as the rest of the special features go, here they are.

Maximum Movie Moment with Zack Snyder: The informative and fun special feature from the Watchmen Blu-Ray returns for another round, with Zack Snyder stepping out of the director's chair to give us more insight as to how the film was made, all interactive and almost feels hands-on to an extent. In the Maximum Movie Moment, Zack Snyder discusses how certain interesting and intricate shots and portions of the film were made, which really satisfy the question of "How did they film that?". He is not on-screen the whole time, but there's more than enough useful information to make the feature very worthwhile and awesome. In addition, some sketches and storyboards are thrown into the mix. Zack Snyder really shows how, and with something as interesting and useful as what he does with MMM, who needs it?

*Sucker Punch: Behind the Soundtrack-A somewhat interesting mini-feature regarding the unique and stylistically interesting sound track. Unfortunately, it's wait too short. Giving the short running time (only 3 minutes), Zack Snyder and and company do not go into much detail when it comes to the soundtrack. They basically just give a loose overview of how they came up with the soundtrack. That's it. Sure, it's interesting, but honestly, however, it's not a must see special feature.

*Four motion comics: These four "comics" remind me of a moving graphic novel of sorts. I think they are not substantial, but they do give background and interesting that further flesh out parts of the film. On the downside, each of them are only 3-4 minutes, and there are only four of them. At least they cut to the chase, which, actually, may strengthen their impact.

In addition, the Blu-Ray Combo pack, as you can tell, also comes with a Digital copy and a DVD of the theatrical release (NOT a Blu-Ray version). Be quick though with the Digital copy; however, as all of the digital copies I have owned eventually expire.

Finally, should you get Blu-Ray or DVD? As mentioned before, I do not own the DVD, however, my best advice would be to spend the extra money on the Blu-Ray version of the movie. The Sucker Punch DVD is a bit too bare bones, as the two special feature that the DVD have the run time of less than 20 minutes. Another nail in the coffin when it comes to the two is that the price of the Blu-Ray is not much greater than the DVD. Personally, I would recommend springing for the Blu-Ray version, hands down. If you do not own a Blu-Ray player and have no intention of ever getting one, I can see why one could settle for the DVD. But if you in any way have a choice between the two, I would recommend spring for the Blu-Ray version for sure.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

After being disappointed with Battle: LA in theaters a couple weeks ago, I crossed my fingers and hoped that Sucker Punch would be the good Spring movie that kicks a major amount of @$$, like Kick @$$ did last year. Well, I put my trust in Zack Synder, and he didn't disappoint. Sucker Punch has got some critical backlash, but what for? Who cares anyway? Sucker Punch, with thrilling action, a massive scope, the patented Zack Snyder style of film making, and absolutely GORGEOUS imagery sensory overload, make this film a must see. It also happens to have some actual decent acting (well, a little over the top, but for this movie it makes sense) and a plot that actually not half brain dead.

So what is this movie about anyway? Well Sucker Punch, while not totally original (the film conjures up many other works as influences, such as Alice in Wonderland, Philip K. Dick, and The Matrix), is a film that blends themes such as freedom, reality, identity, the power of imagination, and escapism, among other things. Sucker Punch is a film that deals with a young girl who is framed for murder, and is about to experience a lobotomy. Given five days of her sanity, she then makes a list of things she needs to escape the institution. Through dancing in order to distract certain members of the mental institution/brothel to get the things she needs to escape (yes, you read that right), she teams up with four other patients to escape the place they have been held in.

Character development, I'll admit, is pretty sparse here. You pretty much know the characters themselves very quickly, and there's nothing too revealing or deep about them. Thankfully though, the film manages to make the characters interesting and likable, thanks to the acting. Sure, you don't find any Oscar winning performances here, but I think it works by just letting the actresses and actors just act like, well human beings, and it's very much present here (that is, if people actually pay attention). I actually think this work better than trying to add a bunch of stupid back stories that we've all heard a million times before; a cheap way to try to humanize a character if you ask me. Snyder is also able to milk the likability of these young actresses to make, them, well, likable, so for all of it's positive aspects characters are not really a problem. As long as you are not expecting the character study that Snyder's Watchmen was a couple years ago, there won't be much problem here.

Sucker Punch, also, has a very emotional undercurrent to it's dilemmas, which was all the more powerful and effective. There's something about the motives of these people and what they are doing that really gives the film the various subtexts it needs, no small feet there. Sure, it's still an action film at heart, but Sucker Punch does leave quite a bit to talk about, and no harm can come from that. All well and good, but that's not even the best part of the movie.....

The best part though, is this film is a VISUAL medium no halls barred. I've seen three Snyder films, and Sucker Punch outclasses both 300 AND Watchmen. Snyder sure knows how to really use the visual film medium, and Sucker Punch holds nothing back. Iconic slow motion everywhere, massive sweeping cinematography, and a unique melding of aesthetic make Sucker Punch have more visual delights in one film that the most of the other bid budget films released every year do combined. Most importantly, Snyder has a sense of wonder and awe that so many countless big budget action films are sorely lacking, the imagery forces your to look on. I must have sat in the theater with my jaw dropped the whole two hours. From huge castles and dragons, dark and grimy asylum halls, Gothic WW1 wastelands with zombies, to a truly awesome futuristic land of trains, futuristic cities set in a galaxy next to a planet. In addition, music and sound also plays a integral role as well, with tons of great sound effects, and a soundtrack with songs from Jefferson Airplane, Pixies, and The Beatles filtered through a dark, almost cyberpunk type of aesthetic, as sweeping as the imagery on screen. Indeed, everything about the film making is first rate.

The elaborate worlds that Babydoll and company are thrust into are amazing to look at. Massive, eclectic, and designed with incredible detail, Snyder did not stop at all in making truly immersible and jaw dropping worlds. Add that with Snyder's great use of music, and you got one heck of a great movie experience. These worlds are as imaginative as you would expect from any Grade A video game, and Snyder doesn't hold anything back in his head. You won't get any lukewarm art design when these action scenes hit the screen (in case you haven't figured it out, all the action scenes are in their head). Speaking of the action, it's, for a lack of a better word, absolutely thrilling. It's just as good as you would expect from Snyder. Massive monster fights from cool looking Samurais to dragons, lot's of guns, huge explosions, heart stopping action that feels like it can pirouette on a dime, it's all here and more. It doesn't let up the intensity either, and each one is a roller coaster ride of sheer movie delight. It has all the giddy thrill you would get from watching movies such as Transformers, 300 (yes, same director I know), or Kill Bill (although obviously not R rated), so that's a big compliment on Snyder's part.

Alright, if my rambling hasn't convinced you already that this movie is worth seeing, then you might as well skip it. Ignore the critical backlash Sucker Punch has received. It's totally worth seeing. It's clear that Zack Snyder always takes pride in his films and loves making them to make them, and it shines through here. As long as you are not expecting Andrei Rublev or a Mike Leigh film, you should at least go into the movie knowing what you are going to get. Sucker Punch, thanks to the visionary and imaginative directing of Zack Snyder, is easily an action film that, well, beats out the competition. Recommended.

I'm starting to wonder if we're seeing the same movies as the critics nowadays. Or at least, if we're getting different cuts of movies. Because I've often found myself walking out going "Did I see a different movie than the critics?"

Of course, Snyder is no stranger to critical disdain. He may be the most misunderstood director out there. True his films aren't for
everyone, but if you look close enough you may just find something there. And Sucker Punch is the biggest example of how big a visionary he is- Here he manages to bring to the table a satisfying and exciting new vision.

I was in right from the opening scene. A cover of Sweet Dreams set to a fantastic and tone setting scene depicting her abuse from her wicked stepfather. WHAT an opening scene.

We are then transported to Mount Pleasant Insane Asylum, once a performing arts venue. Baby Doll is just a drop in the ocean of how
many beautiful girls who can dance. Baby Doll doesn't know this until she saves Rocket, another one of the girls. There she meets the rest of the gang, and the sexy Goski, a doctor who has a form of therapy- dance. When Baby Doll dances, she can slay dragons, fight robots, wield swords, etc. The girls love her- but as it stands, she's dancing... to escape from the asylum with the girls.

The concept may not sound dazzling- but wait till you see it. Sucker Punch is what its title states- a conceptual sucker punch. Nothing can prepare you for what you will experience. You are in the world with Baby Doll- you feel as if you are experiencing Baby Doll's therapy with her. Snyder totally does a great job with this aspect, and as a theatre nerd and dance lover, arts as therapy really hit home because it's very true, and I've experienced that euphoria from being a performer.

The acting is fantastic, and Emily Browning is great as both an action chick and a confused, disturbed girl. Cugino is sexy and adds her usual charm to her role. Hamm as Blue is easily the best, as his villain is certainly convincing.

Add to that, one of the best soundtracks ever put to film. Working with Tyler Bates, Browning covers a few songs, and quite a few others contribute too. And Bjork's "Army of Me" has never sounded cooler.

I was skeptical- Snyder has struck gold with 300, Watchmen and Guardians, but could he manage to make one of his original ideas spark?
As a result he can- and he did. Do NOT be a puppet of the critics- experience Sucker Punch with an open mind. Touche, Zack Snyder...
Touche.

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.

1 April 2011 by GeneR777 (United States)

Just in case anyone is curious, the Combo pack seems to be the only one to include the extended version of the film. Notice the little gold label above the movie title and the fine print at the bottom of the box. The extended version includes roughly 18 minutes of new footage.

For the 15 of us (it would seem) that actually loved this movie, the combo version is the one to get. At least until a super, mega, director's cut comes along. As tends to be the way with these things.

Beautifully detailed fantasy worlds and some pretty darned good acting in support of far too little story to justify all that work. But, man, as a sequence of cool images it's amazing.

I really had little idea what this film was about until I saw it. I remember the trailer on TV some time ago and thought it would be interesting. It is. It has a sort of similar theme as "Inception". It starts off a little hard to follow but becomes clear in the end (thank God). I going to keep it and watch it again some day, so that's a good sign. A movie like "Super 8" I would never watch again in my life and I will get rid of it at the first opportunity. Sucker Punch is worth seeing and wondering what the heck is going on here.

One thing that someone should point out is that the picture is incorrect. This item is NOT the combo pack of Blu-ray and DVD. It is a two disc blu-ray pack. That surprised me when I received it, but I decided to keep it all the same. This has more features than the combo pack does, which was fine by me. The special edition is worth getting for all of the extras that it contains, and is probably better than the combo pack (unless you have a ton of friends who doesn't own a blu-ray player or you are currently do not have a blu-ray player, but are considering buying one).

The movie doesn't have too much, if any, plot. Sure, I said it, but I still love it simply because of Snyder's visual style and music and feminist message. Almost every piece of music during the fight scenes are performed by women (and some are even covers of songs written by men). I think it is, aesthetically, a great work by Snyder. However, if you're looking for plot. Try looking elsewhere.

Sucker Punch can be described as a big screen video game with hot chicks. It's almost as if Zack Snyder went down the check list of everything you could throw into an action film. You have your giant samurai warriors, WWI era German soldiers who are full of steam rather than blood, medievil knights, orcs, dragons, a robot army and five good looking girls with big guns. This is not going to win any awards, but I had a blast. If you liked Snyder's other movies (300, Watchmen) you can pretty much expect the same CGI bonanza, but at least it's used in moderation. All of the fantasy sequences come from the main character's imagination, who just happens to be stuck in a mental hospital and looking for a way out.

I know some have found the plot confusing. In fact, I overheard some guys leaving the theater saying that they liked the music and visuals, but didn't undertand it. I did not find it that hard to follow, but it could have used a little more work when it came to layering the story. I'm pretty sure a Director's Cut Blu-ray will be released with an R rating and hopefully some more scenes to help clear a couple of things up.

There is a lot of music in this film and not just a background score. The lead actress, the ever so cute Emily Browning, actually sings an entire cover of "Sweet Dreams" over the opening scenes and the classic rock tune "White Rabbit" gets covered at length as well as some other nice songs.

The acting and dialogue are adequate, with nobody really standing out other than the main girl. Or maybe I was just transfixed by Emily Browning's appealing face and lips?

I can't say that I've seen a bad Zack Snyder flick, so maybe the future of Superman is in good hands after all.

Okay, now you know how I feel about it so let me attempt to review. Sucker Punch is the first movie I've gone to see twice at the theater in decades. I would make it three times if it was still around since there's noting else I want to see this weekend. I realize that most critics are trashing it and apparently a lot of viewers are disappointed. I will ramble a bit but try to eventually address those reactions.

First of all, critics had their own preconceived ideas of the movie they wanted to see and they didn't get it. They persist among other things in believing it is wrong that perfectly normal people admit ambivalence fascinations concerning sex and violence directed towards women. They also believe that too much action, music and camera work mean a movie can't have any real emotional impact. Oddly at the same time these folks complain that Sucker Punch is a downer. Can it have no emotional impact and be a downer at the same time? Some have said that the movie is a mishmash mess. Some have said it feels too much like a video game. They are all wrong. They don't "get" it.

The movie fits together like clockwork. Every little thing is important. It all comes full circle. All but the first ten or fifteen and last five minutes are not real. (Guestimated times) The first section depicts the traumatic event that has created the mentally disturbed Baby Doll character. I think some critics are forgetting that she may actually belong in the institution. As a result the jarring music and camera work makes sense for the first section to depict her trauma and then the rest of the movie is not supposed to be real. It is a depiction of multiple levels of the world created in Baby Doll's mind to deal with her situation. I think it works perfectly in that regard. Do girls dressed as schoolgirls or dancers in wild fight scenarios look like a video game. No doubt. There's a reason. Baby Doll has imagined them as kept girls in a dance hall setting, but the dancing is a euphemism for sex. So when she jumps to the other level to escape that horror of the institution she leaves them in that costume in her mind. Clues in the opening section and dialogue in the last section explain how all the action scenes are euphemisms for the struggles to do the things that transpired in "reality."

I think some viewers were disappointed that the climax wasn't a huge winning-battle fist-pump moment, but by the time the movie gets there the conclusion made perfect sense to me. Sure, part of me wants to see everyone escape and triumph and get revenge and all that. But that would be the same sort of empty lame action movie conclusion that critics generally pan. Not that I'm not a "sucker" for those sorts of endings myself, but this movie takes another approach to identifying what triumph is.

I've chatted with a couple of folks who didn't like the movie as much as I did and here's the thing. I believe Jack Snyder made the movie he wanted to make, something which movie makers don't get to do all that often. He's a geekdom enthusiast. His style is live-action comic book style. He made 300 and Watchmen for heavens sakes! What did the critics and people expect? Sucker Punch is a powerful movie with depth but comic book sensibilities as to pacing and visuals. Some of us like that! I personally don't need a lot of touchy feely meandering around to get to know the character stuff. As a comic reader a couple of frames that hit the nail on the head to explain the character are enough for me. It would ruin this movie to meander around getting charactery since the whole thing functions as a modern allegory or fairytale. Snyder keeps things moving like a good comic at all times. There is no rest for the viewer.

I think everyone, even the critics, agree that the visuals are stunning. I would point out that the girls are as well. And they all do an excellent job. I often roll my eyes at actresses in these sorts of action sequences, but never did here. Not that they're accomplished martial artists or anything like that, but Snyder understands how to make the action look good. On the flip side they are all excellent actresses which means they deliver the dramatic moments quite well.

Obviously I loved this movie. Easily movie of the year, perhaps the decade. Snyder took chances and made an original movie. I can certainly see why some folks don't like it. Perhaps they wanted a rah rah victorious ending and didn't get it. More likely they don't have comicbook sensibilities. But for anyone to claim Sucker Punch is not an amazing work is to fail to see how well crafted it is.

The critics asses are mine!
I have all the weapons I need. Now I WILL fight!