A Wort Report Double Feature: ‘Sucker Punch’ and ‘Your Highness’ Reviewed

Sucker Punch

Although I saw Sucker Punch during its debut weekend—on the night of March 27 to be exact—I’ve held off on posting my definitive opinion of it. This delay is partly because of a hectic work schedule over the past few weeks, but it’s also because I frankly wasn’t even sure if I liked it or not. Yes, the visuals are astounding, which is pretty much expected from Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) at this point. However, I feel that the core narrative robs the viewer of the opportunity to enjoy much of what they see on screen. It’s cool to watch hot chicks in lingerie fighting steam-powered zombies, orcs, dragons and robots, but when the battles exist on a plane that’s two planes of existence removed from the film’s version of reality, there’s little reason for the viewer to get excited about any of it.

Sucker Punch revolves around Baby Doll (Emily Browning), a girl who is institutionalized by her abusive father and is scheduled to be lobotomized in five days. Once she’s locked inside the confines of a mental asylum, Sucker Punch shifts to another level of reality, where the girls are instead dancers in a sleazy bordello. When Baby Doll and her fellow inmates seek out each of the five items that will grant them their liberty, the film shifts perspective yet again, taking the viewer to outlandish fantasy settings ripped straight from your favorite video games.

If all of this sounds confusing, that’s because it is. Sucker Punch is hardly the “turn-off-your-brain” popcorn flick its trailers would have you believe. As vignettes, each of the film’s battle-torn dreamscapes is a testament to Snyder’s ability to dive into the brain of the average 13-year-old male and give them exactly what they want. However, these set pieces are packaged in such a dire narrative wrapper that we’re never really able to sit back and soak up the manic spectacle.

It’s hard for me to outright recommend Sucker Punch to the average viewer, yet I do think Snyder should be commended for trying something different. The film borrows from a variety of sources—including Japanese anime, video games, comic books and several other sci-fi/fantasy films—but all of these influences are pieced together in a wholly original way. Sucker Punch isn’t a sequel, a reboot, a prequel or an adaptation, and even though it was hardly a box-office success, it takes risks in a genre that has become increasingly dependent on built-in audiences. We should appreciate that.

Your Highness

Speaking of built-in audiences, sophomoric fantasy farce Your Highness opened this weekend. A medieval take on the stoner comedy, this film was helmed by Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green, who reteams with James Franco and Danny McBride to mix swords and sorcery epics with dick and fart jokes. If you’ve seen and loved the red band (R-rated) trailers for the film, there’s no reason why you won’t enjoy Your Highness. It doesn’t approach any comedic high water marks by any means, but I think we all need some filthy, low-brow humor once in a while. I paid $11.25 for my ticket, and I feel as though I got my money’s worth.

Starring alongside Franco and McBride is the Black Swan herself, Natalie Portman, who flexes her comedic muscles once again after the surprisingly good No Strings Attached. The Oscar-winning actress is showing a lot of range as of late, and I can’t wait to see her in Marvel Studios’ Thor, which hits theaters March 6.

Zack Snyder Describes His 'Realistic' Take on Superman

Based on his hyper-stylized previous films—Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen and the just-released Sucker Punch—Zack Snyder doesn’t seem all that interested in realism, but the director affirmed in a recent interview with io9 that his forthcoming Superman reboot will be “the most realistic Superman movie ever made.”

So I take it the Man of Steel won’t be flying around the world to turn back time or flinging cellophane “S” emblems at the bad guys, will he?

Snyder explained, “It takes place in the real world much more than [my previous films]... I mean, I’ve just never had the subject matter that needed that, you know what I mean? Like everything I’ve done up to this point really has the benefit of existing in a stylized world. It’s fun for me that the most realistic movie, the movie that I’d say I'm making in the most realistic way of any movie I've ever done is a movie called Superman! That's kinda fun!”

Interesting. While one might assume based on this statement that the next Superman film will be a dark and gritty Batman Begins-esque reimagining of the Last Son of Krypton, Snyder clarifies that this isn’t the case.

I wouldn’t say, “Oh, that’s what Chris did with Batman…”, but I’m just saying that makes sense to me for the character. Because I’d say that the thing that makes him real, and the thing that makes Superman awesome, is if you feel like he's real, what makes him real is that he exists in a world that you can say, “Oh yeah, I’ve been to that grocery store, I’ve been to that.”

Honestly, I think Superman is a comic book character that would work quite well in a stylized world, but we’ll see what Snyder has in store.

Speaking of Snyder, I’ll be seeing Sucker Punch later tonight. To find out what I thought of the movie, follow me on Twitter.

Zack Snyder's 'Superman' Reboot in Crisis?

Apologies in advance for the complete and total lack of updates over the last seven days. If you know where I work, you know my life’s been crazy since Monday night. If you don’t, well, let’s just say my week has been “electrifying.” You smell what I’m cooking? Rock on.

Sports-entertainment aside, there has been a great deal of nerd news breaking online this week, including word that Warner Bros.’ faith in Superman reboot director Zack Snyder—whose previous Warner Bros. projects include the under-performing Watchmen and The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole—has been shaken. New York Magazine’s Vulture blog reports that Snyder’s forthcoming action spectacle Sucker Punch is testing extremely poorly. One insider is quoted as saying “It was bad ; like, really bad. They’re [Warner Bros. execs] really not happy with it over there.”

This isn’t the best news for Superman fans who just recently celebrated the casting of British actor Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel. Insiders also note that the script for the unnamed reboot suffers from some devastating third-act problems, which have likely induced some studio hand-wringing as the project nears its 2013 deadline. If a Superman film isn’t in production at that point, Warner Bros. must re-license the rights to the franchise from the estates of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Additionally, Vulture reports that Snyder’s 300 sequel, Xerxes, has been re-assigned to Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie. Could his Superman film fall into another director’s hands if Sucker Punch doesn’t deliver a knock-out blow when it hits theaters on March 25? Stay tuned, Wortmaniacs.

The 'Sucker Punch' Trailer Hurts Real Good

Regardless of how you feel about director Zack Snyder, you have to admit that his films—which include his Dawn of the Dead remake, 300 and Watchmen—look phenomenal. Therefore, it is with great excitement that I present you with the trailer for his high-octane action film Sucker Punch, which hits theaters next March.

The film centers around a young girl who, after being institutionalized by her sinister father, creates an over-the-top alternate reality for herself to aid in her escape from confinement. Dragons? Check. Ninjas? Check. Robots? Check. Gunfire? Check. Smoking hot women kicking ass? Check and mate.

I officially cannot wait to see what Snyder does with his Superman reboot, which is still in the early stages of production.

Check out the Sucker Punch trailer below.