Zack Snyder's overly stylized (and terribly long) Sucker Punch is by no means a masterwork, but its hardly the pile of crap some would have you believe. It's an ambitious, mind numbing, mess of a movie that has the sheer audacity to fuse the likes of Moulin Rouge, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Brazil without obtaining the undeniable impact of any of those films. Having said that, Sucker Punch has quite a bit to admire, even if it's themes and plot threads never truly gel into a single cohesive movie experience. Doesn't sound like much of an endorsement, I know. The fact is, I was strangely fascinated by the overall look and dreamlike tone of this picture, and it was oddly entertaining seeing Snyder randomly throw in everything but the kitchen sink. And without sounding like a pervert, I got a true sense that Snyder really enjoyed photographing Sucker Punch's attractive (and kick ass) female leads.

At the heart of this somewhat hollow beast of a movie is Baby Doll (played by Emily Browning), a young woman who will stop at nothing to break a group of gal pals out of a...prison of sorts. As she and her new friends attempt to obtain the tools necessary to make their escape, Baby Doll constantly slips into a fantasy world that mirrors the very twisted world she's trapped in. Sucker Punch plays like a graphic novel, only it isn't based on a graphic novel at all. The story was created by Snyder and Steve Shibuya, and stylistically, its reminiscent of Snyder's own adaptation of 300 and Robert Rodriguez's take on Sin City. The first act of Sucker Punch is surprisingly engrossing, but then things slowly unravel and it all culminates in a final act that is over the top, mean-spirited, cynical, and downright ugly. Furthermore, the stuff with Scott Glenn--the actor plays a protector and voice of logic for the girls in the fantasy world and the real world--is even goofier in the context of the movie than it was in the coming attraction trailer.

Still, the digitally created landscapes and onslaught of strange creatures (dragons, robots, undead Samurai warriors, zombie soldiers, etc.) are quite a sight to behold, and this would be one hell of an experience to catch in Imax. Oh, and did I mention that Sucker Punch was initially conceived as a musical? Key musical numbers were cut from the film (you'll get a glimpse at one during the closing credits), but there's plenty of rock tunes playing throughout the film giving it a sort of extended music video feel. I suppose calling Sucker Punch a glorious failure is appropriate, but strangely, its a failure I wouldn't mind exploring again. Call me a sucker.