Made the impulse decision to go and watch Sucker Punch earlier today. Was afraid that I wouldn’t make it in time since I decided at the very last minute after mom had ruined my mood and was afraid I’d miss the start of the movie. Turns out I was right to watch the movie. Traffic was heavy but smooth and I found parking barely 5 seconds I turned into the lot. Walked upstairs very quickly and found no queue in front of the ticket stand, got a ticket very fast AND I had time to buy popcorn!

I sat in my seat about 2 minutes before the schedule start and went “OMG WTF was that The Rock in Fast Five? WANTSSSSS!” and “McAvoy in XMen First Class so hot do want!” when the trailers came on. Then the KLMU advertisement came on and I cringed. Not so much because of the cheesy song, but the roles they made the girl play. I mean, women in Malaysia CAN be more substantial than just a pretty face, right?

Then the movie started.

This was where the magic began.

The background was told in a very quick, yet easy to digest manner. It’s as though I was reading a book instead of watching a movie. You see, books make me think and they make me use my imagination. But at the same time, I’m swept away by the elements in the story; the plot, the characters, their thoughts and their reaction to the things around them.

Yes, watching Sucker Punch was very much like reading a novel. Except with more visual imagery. The fight scenes feel as though I’m playing a game, but I could understand what they signified. What they were supposed to represent and what it meant to each character. The only thing that made me scratch my head was the Missions Giver man. For a moment I thought he was Leonard Nimoy because there was something in his accent.

That’s a minor gripe, but for everything else…

Oh gods! How I understand how they structured the story! I mean, I could actually understand the different layers worked. What it meant. The story is told from Baby Doll’s point of view, and like any good novel, the most important thing to understand is this: Sucker Punch is a novel told from the first person perspective of Baby Doll. No one else. So as long as you keep that in mind, everything else makes sense.

I will admit this. Visually, Sucker Punch is meant to appeal to those who are easily scintillated. To those who enjoy watching a movie for just the hot babes (aka part of the crowd that made Megan Fox famous and the reason why we have “Bieber fever”) . I counted at least 3 pantsu shot in the first fight scene alone. But that wasn’t just it.

Sucker Punch works when you realise what you’re seeing through Baby Doll’s eyes is being reflected in the real world. Reality is there. It intrudes on the girls in the most unpleasant, gruesome way, without actually being there. At the same time though, it feels really antiseptic. Like you’re watching an “approved” version. There were moments in Sucker Punch where I thought it would evoke the same intensity of feelings as Watchmen did (which was director Zack Synder’s previous work). It didn’t and in a way I am disappointed.

However, Sucker Punch works! A lot of people will say that Sucker Punch doesn’t make sense, and I don’t blame them. It’s very easy to forget that Baby Doll’s not in an asylum when you watch her story, but if you keep the fact that she’s in asylum and that she’s trying to escape…

It makes a whole lot more sense.

4.5 out of 5.