Man Of Steel

It's a bird.  It's a plane.  It's ... not your granddad's or even dad's Superman.

It's Zack Snyder's Man Of Steel (2013).  And not that there is anything wrong with that. Film and television has changed so much altering the approach taken to these longstanding icons through time.  It's always changing.  That's no surprise.  How we embrace it or accept those changes is another matter.  Thus the latest approach to Superman is yet another step in the character's evolutionary process.

I've never been an avid reader of Superman.  I've picked up a few comics featuring the great one along the way. I recall having a few DC Comics Presents. Issue #26 featured Green Lantern and also spotlighted the very first appearance of The New Teen Titans, a series which I loved under the watchful and guiding eye of Marv Wolfman and George Perez (1980-1984).  Those were truly some of the most impressively drawn and told stories in comic books.  I digress.

Time-tested heroes like Superman and Batman though are always ripe for reexaminations.  Following a fantastic Batman trilogy it's wonderful to see Man Of Steel carrying a writing and production credit that includes Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer (the team behind The Dark Knight).

Nevertheless, visually this is very much the film of a developing visual auteur in Zack Snyder. I'm not the least bit surprised by the mixed reviews to Snyder's work.  He's far superior to Paul W. S. Anderson who enjoys the visual playground, but like that director Snyder too is often misunderstood.  He may not be scolded to the degree of Anderson, but critics seem to dismiss the man's keen eye behind the camera and the framing of a moment.  Unlike Anderson, Snyder's work is often graceful and poetic in the mold of a Ridley Scott.  Snyder approaches the Kansas fields and the farm sequences like Scott would the fields of barley in his Academy Award Winner Gladiator (2000).  I don't pretend Snyder has reached the heights of Ridley Scott, but he's off to an impressive start.

Snyder is acutely aware of the visual canvas within which he works.  In fact, sometimes, his interpretation of story, perhaps to the detriment of Snyder, flies in the face of expectations for something entirely visual altogether.  His films sometimes defer as movies should to a moving story book like approach - a graphic novel (300, Watchmen) come to life.

I first saw Snyder's 300, Watchmen and Sucker Punch on Blu-Ray.  Man Of Steel is the first picture from Snyder I took time out to see on the big screen.  Like Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), Man Of Steel too has its flaws but is equally smart, big, and bold summer blockbuster fun.  It's a densely packed and action packed story for all ages like Abrams own film and not unlike most of today's cinema there are plenty of hyper-kinetic, high energy CGI moments to dull those teenage senses.  It's to be expected, but amidst all of the visuals and special effects, at least Abrams' and Snyder's creative teams have a story to tell.  It's the least we can expect beyond the carnage.


 In fact, like Star Trek: Into Darkness with its own retelling of the original Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan (1982), Man Of Steel is a wonderful re-imagining and technically magnificent retelling of elements from Richard Donner's original Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) films.  Man Of Steel comes in at a whopping 2 hours and 20 minutes because it's essentially a fusion of those two aforementioned stories minus Lex Luthor.

Personally I love the elements of those original films Snyder drew from for Man Of Steel.  The aspects of Clark Kent's coming of age tale combined with the destruction of Krypton and the escape of the vicious General Zod equates to a positively epic Man Of Steel.  The updating of the Richard Donner and Richard Lester films respectively make for another terrific look at this character with subtle differences.


So yes, there's not a whole lot of comic book baggage for me personally coming into Man Of Steel.  I reserve that baggage for a franchise like the X-Men. I was much more of a Marvel Comics fan growing up.  Most of my weekly allowance went to X-Men, Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Micronauts and The Avengers books.  It wasn't often I spent money on the DC Comics line.  For better or worse my influence was the Bronze Age of Marvel. Thus, seeing X-Men screwed with in each successive film diverging significantly from any sensible comic timeline does played with the loyal-to-the-comics aspect of my heart.  Sorry, I digress again, but it's worth noting that artist/ writer John Byrne delivered a strong take on Superman in a six part series called The Man Of Steel for DC Comics.

Man Of Steel and Zack Snyder simply have no worries they could possibly suffer my comic book wrath - so these things are indeed subjective.  These feelings we draw from are entirely a result of influence and expectation.  People's feelings on these mythical and legendary figures like Superman certainly cannot be discounted.  I certainly don't begrudge those who come at it with any kind of negativity as far as how respectful the film is with regard to the existing comic books.

Within the context of a long line of comic book films, Man Of Steel simply succeeds on its own merits as a powerhouse of a picture in its own right.  Meticulous, entertaining, well-cast.  It's summer fun pure and simple.


Getting back to Snyder, the man is a visual Superman of a sort. With his cleft chin, he's the Henry Cavill of the special effects world at the moment.  He walks an awfully tight rope when it comes to convincing others he is a man firmly in charge of his movies.  If you visit this site with any frequency, you'll be surprised to know I enjoy his films so much given his excessive use of visual effects and CGI, but despite Snyder's heavy use he does so with style and flair.


Man Of Steel has plenty of style and the character moves and a character like Superman really should, but he is fast in this one.  In fact, most of Snyder's films do just that - they move.  Watchmen (2009), 300 (2007) and Dawn Of The Dead (2007) manage to reach tomato status over at Rotten Tomatoes, but don't do so with any real command. That's unfortunate because Snyder's films are the works of a man firmly in charge of a vision.  The sorely underrated Sucker Punch (2011), which is nothing short of a masterpiece mashes up all sorts of genres (fantasy, anime, drama, war, science fiction) and does so with aplomb.  It received a walloping 23% tomato splat yet it adapted elements of anime more originally than del Toro's Pacific Rim (2013).  People completely missed the boat on that one.

Man Of Steel misses the mark falling just under the 60% mark at 56% no doubt a combination of Snyder's handling of the character and his approach to cinema yet again.  Snyder is a lightning rod when it comes to his pictures.  It's not a surprise it does fall short. His challenging approach to ideas in all of his films have stirred some degree of controversy with each and every one. Snyder just never gets the love.  He rarely gets the respect and he pays for it each and every time.  But his films stand on their own and Man Of Steel will too.  I may officially be in love with Antje Traue.











Man Of Steel takes many of the visual flourishes he employed for Sucker Punch and Watchmen using computer effects and slow motion, but this time grounds his film in an old-fashioned story of a man and his Earth family.  Snyder does remarkably well stepping away from pure fantasy.  Nevertheless, his Man Of Steel is framed in grand cinematic displays and sometimes pure science fiction where he excels. Aesthetics often pay homage to Scott's H.R. Giger so pronounced in Alien (1979) in a very specific spaceship sequence as well as General Zod's space helmet which easily references the space jockey in Prometheus (2012).  As a result, Man Of Steel is something of an exciting, but sometimes tender treat about a man taught to blend in and be normal.  As much as he captures those big bounding soundtrack moments or the comic book action of its final hour, he also manages to slow things down, keep things quiet, reflect on a moment.  Old softies like me appreciate those sweet character moments.  And in a day and age where it is increasingly difficult to speak freely Snyder's version of this Superman is ever so timely.





I've read some critics were unhappy with the picture complaining Snyder is ineffective in capturing the emotional moments in his characters.  This is never overdone to be sure, but there were more than a handful for this writer.  Man Of Steel is hardly excessively sentimental but it has its moments.

Two important moments really placed a lump squarely in my throat.  Both are directly linked to Clark's loyalty to family and his love for his Earth mother and father, the Kents.





(Spoilers) First, When his father, Jonathan Kent played by Kevin Costner, passes, his father places his arm in the air holding his son at a distance a twister nears.   He waves him off to prevent Clark from exposing his identity and thus sacrifices his own life for his son.  It is all visual power.  Out of love and protection for him his sacrifice is profound.  It is moving cinema.



Second, Clark tells his mother he has come to determine who he is and where he comes from.  His mother is happy for him, but actress Diane Lane, as Kent, plays the moment brilliantly both at once happy for her son and concerned she will lose him forever.  How could there be a dry eye in the house?  But most certainly there was.  I guess I'm just not that hardened.  My son thought it was very nice, but his dear old Dad was quietly wiping a tear in the privacy of his darkened space within the cinema. (spoilers over)





So as much as this is a reinterpretation of the classic films of Donner and Lester, and as much as this Superman is, in a sense, a reinterpretation of the time tested and age old character, Superman is still very much an old, good, kindly soul from Krypton.  Man Of Steel, despite being entirely a creation of contemporary cinema and modern expectations, is still an old-fashioned story of a boy beloved and raised by the Kents and given the kind of strong moral fiber his real father Jor-El, played by Russell Crowe, would have expected of Kal-El, Clark's birth name.  As much as the destruction of Krypton was destiny (and a world seemingly infused with the kinds of struggles potentially destined for Earth), it seemed like pre-destination that Kal-El would reach Earth to be loved and raised by these parents that were like perfect surrogates in the absence of his own loving mother and father.  Imagine if he had fallen into the wrong family's hands?



Clark comes from loving parents, a loyal family, an All-American upbringing, and even contends with the tinkering of identity - a man attempting to mask who he is to try and fit.  It's a developing trend in our own world.  Christopher Reeve once did it with a more traditionally comic approach. Man Of Steel reworks the tale for a new generation.  Snyder could have taken this character much too far, but instead infuses the look of the film brilliantly coupled with Goyer and Nolan's golden touch into something timely yet timeless.  Henry Cavill, too, fits the bill quietly embodying a man of strength and kindness not given to fits of rage but entirely likable like Reeve who once fit that suit so magnificently.



As I mentioned, there are some terrific existential moments within Man Of Steel about identity and where we come from.  There are questions of loyalty and where it is that loyalty should fall for a man born of two worlds like Superman.  General Zod, played by an overly defiant Michael Shannon, takes a hawkish approach to his defense of Krypton and his people.  Superman like his father sees the failings of taking such measures too far.  Superman himself is the first natural birth in centuries as Jor-El defies Kryptonian law for freedom.  In fact, we should take heed of Krypton's tight controls over the birthing process and direct government oversight.  It's the kind of government intervention that continues to rise over the last so many years with no end in sight.  Even Superman notes "Krytpon had its chance."  Rome had its chance too.  You can't help but wonder if that's not an indictment on our own existence as a people.  The great American experiment continues.  We have our chance now, but an incapable and completely incompetent government continues to grow and fail to protect its people and a nation of laws.  Are we doomed for the abyss too?  We can give away the farm all day long.  We can share everything we have with all of humanity, but it doesn't mean everyone will be good shepherds with the planet.  Man Of Steel stakes itself in people needing to take a leap of faith.  It posits that trust comes later.  If anything, that's a pretty bold stance outside of conservatism.  The question still remains for me on whether or not humanity can be trusted.  In that respect, Superman wonders the same.  The question remains open.  But Superman, as a character, forsakes the inflexible Zod and indeed represents hope by believing and putting faith in humanity by respecting its chance or its shot at existence.  We can only hope a refinement of sprawling government institutions on our own planet occurs before crippling us all.



Obviously some have found the more traditional moments tied to the Superman character something of a distraction.  But isn't that who Superman is?  He's guarded, old-fashioned, loyal, loving, kind, introspective but indeed a family man.  Have we moved so far from the strength of such values that such an ideal be scorned.  I shouldn't think so.  Clearly there is room for all, and the open conversation should be an acceptance of all.  Superman is a pleasure because it still celebrates those things traditional ideals.  It also makes a bold stand about government surveillance, an issue that continues to take on greater resonance with each passing year and yes, under the current administration too. Man Of Steel approaches such ideas and issues rather effectively without preaching and remains true to the essence of Superman.  Snyder makes for a thoughtful handling of summer entertainment. The underrated Pandorum's Antje Traue is a delight to watch in action for Man Of Steel.





Performances are universally excellent.  Michael Shannon is solid but doesn't quite rise to the level of emotional and evil complexity of Javier Bardem's Roaul Silva in Skyfall (2012). I would have enjoyed a little more from his performance.  Sexy German actress Antje Traue (2009's Pandorum) equals the character portrayal of Ursa delivered by Sarah Douglas in the original Superman II.  She's stunning to look at even under all of those optical effects, leather and metal. She has beautiful eyes. She is the Alice Eve (Star Trek: Into Darkness) of Man Of Steel - simply hot to the touch.  Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are so good you want more.  You want more.  You want more.  It's an endlessly entertaining film made all the more so by an outstanding cast led by Amy Adams and Henry Cavill.  It ultimately succeeds despite some questions and the reinvention of aspects of its many characters.  Poor muscle man Non of Superman II has been replaced by a devastatingly powerful robot.  I loved it though.



And speaking of moments of homage, you may have noticed in a scene from Snyder that he clearly morphs Henry Cavill's face into that of Christopher Reeve in tribute in one of the climactic scenes to the iconic portray of the character embodied by Reeve.  That too was a moment that really grabbed me.  It was one of those wow moments with real respect to the history of the character.  It was ever so subtle but definitely there. Kudos to Snyder for a classy touch.



One final thought, I realized watching the new Man Of Steel that it still touched a nerve of nostalgia and evoked feeling for the yester years.  It brought me back watching a young Clark Kent bound through his back yard in a cape as a child long before he was a man of hope and a man of caped crusader steel.  I hadn't remembered this particular memory until seeing it. Like most kids, my brother and I often donned the cape and battled not through buildings but rather plunging one another into the cushions of the living room sofa.

Our capes were lifted straight from our small bathroom closet and pure cotton was affixed to our t-shirts by my mother who rolled them and balled them up on our backs to a point that it somehow generated a level of heavy discomfort on the neck.  Those thick bathroom towels were tough as capes but by God we wore them as the Earth's only defense.  You couldn't have asked for more imaginative, memorable and inexpensive fun.  All you needed was a bath towel and the universe was yours for the taking.

So yes, Man Of Steel really moved me to wonderful memories of those by gone days while giving new fans something far less weighty at the back end. The mind-numbing action is well executed but not necessary for my money.  About the only thing that might have evoked a more positive response was if composer Hans Zimmer had tapped into the musical themes first established by John Williams.  But how one couldn't experience emotion within the visual experience offered by Snyder's rendition of Superman is beyond me.  Man Of Steel really can't be compared to the Nolan trilogy for Batman, but it stands tall on its own two feet as the start of something special.  The two characters may reside within the DC Universe but they have two entirely different stories to tell.  Batman Begins (2005) really failed to find an audience and that film ranks as one of the best in comic book film history.  Man Of Steel may not rise to that level with its mix of character and action but it has all the markings of one of the stronger films and comes close.



On a cinema note, I recommend purchasing the two-for-one candy deals at the local drug store and carrying them into the theatre in your pockets.  This allows for re-channeling of funds to a larger popcorn.  Mind you, what I discovered with my popcorn on this occasion was that movie popcorn, while awesome, really tends to go downhill following the first 20-25 kernels that are completely obliterated with butter and salt.  Those kernels are damn near movie nirvana and treat heaven.



But the dynamics of popcorn butter and salt distribution aside, Man Of Steel is an excellent achievement in the short but impressive career of Snyder and a noteworthy chapter in the legacy of Superman in cinema.  And just like opinion on the director's work it is equally divided on the latest interpretation of the iconic alien turned American hero. Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster first introduced their hero in comics in 1938.  Their dynamic character lives on in Man Of Steel, just as the very original title of the film itself sets it apart.  It bears its own unique stamp within the long and storied legacy of this character while staying true to the framework of his origins.  The dynamic and exciting technologies of today are employed to bring explosive life to the latest iteration of the hero.  As much as Marvel has its Captain America, DC Comics has its American champion embodied in Superman.  And like the fabric of the film's content Man Of Steel is a product of our society today.  Despite those flaws I'll take this Kryptonian turned American Superman any day.  And boy he was perfect with that popcorn.



Man Of Steel: B+.
Writer: David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan.
Director: Zack Snyder.

Sucker Punch

"German doctors and engineers have worked out how to return their fallen to the front lines – their using steam power and clock works to keep them moving. So don't feel bad about killing. They're already dead. Remember ladies if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." -Sucker Punch-

Chicks with guns! Wait, make that chicks with red hot weaponry! Excuse me. Scratch that! Make that, red smoking hot chicks with sizzling hot guns. Yes, that's much better.

Sucker Punch [2011] is like an abject lesson in the art of distraction. It's the fully digital cinematic equivalent of Kevin Mitnick's The Art Of Deception, a book that traces the act of hacking and obtaining information. Snyder, too, presents a story light on character, light on substance and explanation, but the epitome of the aforementioned art of distraction as buxom babes find ways to distract their captors and obtain the necessary keys to their freedom. The fact Snyder is bringing sexy back is indeed a bonus and certainly integral to the very nature of the attack by the stunning actresses selected for their specific roles in getting past a male-dominated incarceration inside of a mental ward/ brothel.

Sucker Punch, on the surface, is all about girl power and Snyder is here to spice up our lives. The fulcrum by which Sucker Punch swings is upon the mighty shoulders of six incredibly sexy, young women including Emily Browning [Baby Doll], Abbie Cornish [Sweet Pea], Jena Malone [Rocket], Vanessa Hudgens [Blondie], Jamie Chung [Amber] and Carla Gugino [Dr. Vera Gorski]. I defy you to pick your favorite for pin-up material. I tried. I failed. Good luck! These are indeed six of the most voluptuous girls in celluloid cinema without an ounce of it on their bodies. How did Scott Glenn not positively shit himself from being surrounded by positively insane levels of estrogen and sexuality not to mention garter-bedecked legs that simply won't quit. GULP! [Turning off water in cold shower].

The rest of the cast are mostly dastardly men with a nice turn by Oscar Isaac as Blue Jones. But the stars of this show are the women and the effects and, while very much an illusion [make-up and computers can work wonders], both are spectacular.

A modern day Cinderella story. To further illustrate the technique of distraction, my 95 year-old grandmother proceeded to share with me a story from her childhood on the same day I watched this film. She grew up at a time where no one had television. Entertainment meant getting to the local baseball games. To do that you had to pay to get in and she had no money being from a family with five other siblings. They had very little. You had to get creative as the artful dodger of the local ruffians as she often proudly boasts her many exploits of beating up the boys in the neighborhood who gave her trouble. So like many kids in the 1920s, she snuck into the games. How was that achieved you ask? Well, there were several children and one of them had to be the bait. That child would locate at the far end of left field, while the others remained at the far corner of right field. Over the fence in left the friend would go chased by the local security people, while the rest filed over to make their way into the game at the other corner undetected. It was a beautiful move and apparently it was done often. She swears she never paid for a single baseball game. Mind you, I don't condone this kind of behavior, but of course, times were different then. It doesn't make it right, but it happened.

My point is that, today, Zack Snyder gives us Sucker Punch, a movie that plays us with the magic of the movie image and his visuals are indeed doing that - moving. What better way to not only infuse a story about an attempted run at freedom from institutionalization than through efforts to distract and ultimately escape, while not only distracting the audience from any hard questions about the material, but delivering his viscerally trademark sucker punch. This is the crux of a fairly shallow film with an arguably unsatisfactory, but still worthy and tragic ending to an unfortunately disturbing film framed within its dark subject matter. The setting is dreary and would generally be unappealing in its execution, but Snyder handles it artfully and artistically as only Snyder can. We are quick to forget the gravity of the situation established for our heroines through the distraction of four extraordinary, visually magnificent set pieces that comprise the bulk of the film. What is a better distraction than perhaps five of the sexiest women on the planet kicking ass in four fantasy set pieces? They are drop dead sexy. So, thank you Sigourney Weaver. And if you need further proof of just how stimulating those segments are look no further than my teenage son forwarding through the story bits that link those thrilling sequences together. You have to see them. They will thrill the visual mind.

Now, remarkably, Pan's Labyrinth [2006], was another fantasy film whereby its heroine, Ofelia, must retreat within a fantasy world to escape an insertion of fascism in Spain in 1944. Director Guillermo del Toro's exquisite take on the genre is near perfect storybook fairy tale, but unlike Sucker Punch, also firmly established within similar territory, Pan's Labyrinth was nearly universally praised, while Sucker Punch was nearly universally derided particularly for its fetishistic depiction and sexual objectification of women. Of course the Academy, never averse to foreign language pictures with subtitles, lauded Pan's Labyrinth with praise and adoration. Yet, Sucker Punch, like Pan's Labyrinth, sees its heroine, Baby Doll [along with the cast of characters that escape into their fictional world], take emotional retreat into a fantasy tale to escape the harsh realities of their respective worlds, and those places are nothing to write home about. Pan's Labyrinth delicately weaves its tale and gradually lures us into a magical and strange world while spending time and focus on young Ophelia. But the colorful Sucker Punch is considered by many to have missed the mark here, because its fully immersive experience into an equally bold imaginary is louder, sexier and even more dangerous when it comes to walking the tightrope of social mores.

It's also unfair to give Sucker Punch failing marks for its handling of mental illness or the once popularly implemented lobotomy begun in 1935. These were stark realities that frame the world of Sucker Punch and who wouldn't want to escape? Snyder's desire may be to treat the mental illness facility as nothing more than a perverse home for pretty girls, but its as disturbingly conceivable as One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest [1975]. It never really tackles its subject matter with any kind of seriousness, but that's not what Sucker Punch is really about. Snyder certainly falls back on the lurid fantasy elements to tell his tale and merely utilizes the institution as a launching point, though it does tell a fantastic tale that does bring the story full circle drawing attention to the controversial methods of the lobotomy and mental wards of the 1940s and 1950s. So mind you Snyder's story still works, but it lacks some of the emotional strength that grounded del Toro's equally dark material or the kind of fallout from the Jack Nicholson film inspired by Ken Kesey's 1962 novel. So did del Toro have a more assured hand with his tale, while Snyder, on the other hand, still matures? Maybe, but it's more likely that Snyder's approach to filmmaking is much more in tune with audio visually than dialogue in a pure sense.

There is little attention paid to character in this way. Who are these girls? Where do they come from? Why are they here? It's obvious Snyder is hardly a narrative auteur. It's a minor flaw within his invention. He is a product of the MTV age. He's all about images. He's also about the music. Images and music go hand in hand in Sucker Punch. The music is like another layer to the experience. It's through the important application of music we learn more about the psychology of these girls and the world they inhabit. We may not get the facts, but the music delivers personality.

The dance is the film. The accompanying soundtrack is truly emblematic of the mood of Snyder's film and underscores its troubled atmosphere. The inclusion of Bjork and Emiliana Torrini [Snyder apparently with a thing for Icelandic female vocalists] are a nice complement to originals by Emily Browning. Snyder not only scored a smoking hot Browning for the camera, but just the girl to embody the temperature of his film for soundtrack. Renditions of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This [1983], by Browning, along with her take on The Smith's b-side Asleep [1985] and The Pixies' Where Is My Mind? [1988], are given a stirring treatment delivering unique interpretations that ultimately suit the tragic feel of the film. These songs resonate in capturing the mental state of the Babydoll character giving the film its added poignancy. Apart from Torrini's exceptionally dark rendition of Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit from 1967 there are some exquisite duet highlights that round out the collection. Alison Mosshart joins Carla Azar for a wild adaptation of The Beatles' original Tomorrow Never Knows extracted from Revolver [1966]. The accompanying soundtrack is capped off by a fabulously bombastic Moulin Rouge!-like music number riffing on Bryan Ferry/ Roxy Music's Love Is The Drug from Siren [1975] and is propelled by actor/ singer Oscar Isaac with actress Carla Gugino. The song was perplexingly made available only through the film's Extended Cut, but is such an over the top number might have lent further evidence of the kind of big production for which Snyder was clearly shooting. His desire to infuse a film with the blood of music from his own actors a la Australian director Baz Luhrmann's use of Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman is inspired. Like Moulin Rouge! the originals here are truly worth the audio experience. But of course, once again, the Baz concept heralded him as something of a genius, while Sucker Punch was generally overlooked though well-received in music circles. The soundtrack indeed coalesces around the film's visuals perfectly. Honestly, raised and reared on MTV myself, the impact of image and music has always had a profound effect on me. I rushed off to buy the soundtrack Moulin Rouge! after seeing that film. I did the same immediately for Sucker Punch. Into my electronic Shopping Cart it went. The music and film are so closely entwined for these artists that it's mandatory to fully experience both. The score works entirely into the fabric of this audacious film. My only complaint is that the Sucker Punch Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is too short at just nine songs [over 45 minutes of music] Additionally English act Skunk Anansie isn't quite my cup of tea and would be the sole low light.

Generally speaking composer Tyler Bates worked with producer Marius de Vries [Bjork] and noted "the songs and the score just began bleeding into one another." As de Vries noted, the music and lyrics "help navigate the way through the complex scenes and illuminate Babydoll’s state of mind" as well as offer "themes of escape and hope, and redemption through the imagination." Bates correctly indicates "the songs serve as the link to the conscious world of Babydoll" and the score "designed to simply underscore the sense of reality in the various alternate realities/action." The music is clearly part of the experience of these visual set pieces and by entering the listener's subconscious further develop the characters on a different level. The sometimes vulnerable selections aurally reflect the state of mind for characters within Snyder's film particularly for given sequences. Browning doesn't actually have dialogue until the 27 minute marker in the film so that tells you something about the importance of music here. The soundtrack is a giant, swaggering, seductive and alluring electronic-alternative-rock mash-up and it's a great listen. You can gather further evidence of just how Snyder's mind works through the use of this music as well as the featurette Sucker Punch: Behind The Soundtrack.

The music accompanies a wildly inventive selection of four escape sequences. Snyder wears his influences on his sleeve too. The girls are put to the test against an armada of Orc-like creatures and dragons as if lifted straight from The Lord Of The Rings [2001-2003].

World War I is overrun by German zombies where the steampunk aesthetic meets visual director Mamoru Oshii's Jin Roh [1999] and The Red Spectacles [1987]. Without question Snyder demonstrates a clear affection for Japanese pop culture. His zombie sequence is complete with a mecha and female pilot, a clear homage to the best of Japanese anime and steampunk. In fact, on its own live action terms, its the best pilot-in-robot moment since District 9 [2009] and it was so deliciously beautiful in its application it still gives me hope we might one day see a proper live adaptation of something truly worthy like Neon Genesis Evangelion [1995-1996] or Mobile Police Patlabor [1988-1993]. It's stuff like this that makes me want to shake Zack Snyder's hand. Honestly, German combat with zombies looked better than any video game I've ever seen. It's easily one of the best live action, anime-like sequences ever committed to film without a true anime source.

Feudal samurai majin battle Babydoll in a cross between kaiju eiga in the form of Daiei's Daimajin [1966] trilogy meets Akira Kurosawa. Snyder's visual flair for Japanese pop culture is even reflected in Baby Doll's sulky, sex pot appeal complete with a traditional Japanese school girl uniform. Watching Baby Doll slice and dice the feudal warriors was like witnessing the American version of Saya from Blood: The Last Vampire [2000] burst to life.

In fact, even the final action sequence against an army of robots plays like I, Robot [2004] meets The Matrix [1999], the latter of course having its roots in Mamoru Oshii's Ghost In The Shell [1995] as professed by the Wachowski Brothers. The approach even riffs on Snyder's own speed and camera aesthetic employed for 300.

Snyder makes no apologies for his approach to comic book violence or the vast influence of graphic novels and anime on his artistic sensibilities. He is clearly having a hell of a good time with it. He takes pleasure in creating sweeping, grand, epic, action strokes and slowing things down so we can adore the image. He dares us to focus on the beauty of it. He accentuates the simple and the mundane like the falling ash from a cigar making it a thing to admire. Each close-up or panoramic swathe of action is bold and breathtaking. I am very rarely a fan of pictures that are almost purely CGI, generally enjoying all things latex and model miniature over the computer-created unless applied lovingly in small doses. But if you are going to do a picture entirely from computers and green screen then this is how to do it right. Leave nothing to spare. Be bold! Be brilliant! Be fearless! Have your girls grab people by the balls and sock it to them right between the eyes. Sucker Punch is all of that and Snyder's artistic touch is easy to admire. He has the panache of Paul Anderson, but even more perfectionist in his efforts. Snyder is an artist in this way and has it all over many of these directors, Anderson included. You will lose yourself in the fantasy. In fact, when it's all said and done we never actually see Baby Doll dance, but of course those fantasy sequences are purely the mental personification of the dances required by our heroine from the mind of Zack Snyder.

Snyder just doesn't get the respect he deserves. Whatever its shortcomings as a film Sucker Punch still packs a wallop. Snyder has taken his ideas and put together an entirely original pastiche [if that's possible?] woven into a painstaking work of cinematic art. Sucker Punch fits nicely within Snyder's oeuvre next to 300 and Watchmen. The possibility of Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man helmed by Snyder has me elated. The man has guts and his break from the usual mold of filmmakers is welcomed.

Sucker Punch is a big, fat, wet, slobbering, in-your-face, tribute to the grandeur of American action cinema compliments of Wisconsin-born Zack Snyder and all of the influences he has assimilated. It unabashedly puts it all out on the table delivering a visual tour de force that may feel like a teenage boy's wet dream. But the man is a product of his experience and heavily influenced by our image-intense and technologically sophisticated world. Fast edits. Music video free-style. Video game violence. It's a bit like Prego. It's in there.

Quite frankly, like 300 and Watchmen, he's done it again. Why the hell do I love his execution so much? How does he lure me into his world? I'll tell you. While the experience rarely leaves me with anything to ponder on a substantive level like say District 9, I am often overwhelmed by the director's visual acuity and the meticulously crafted detail throughout his films. This is a movie that moves and it moves and it just keeps on moving. It's a bombastic, exciting adrenaline ride. Sucker Punch. Yes, you'll feel that. It's a hard shot to the gut. Snyder called the film "Alice In Wonderland with machine guns" and down the fantasy rabbit hole the cast goes as underscored by the use of White Rabbit in the score.

Incredibly the fact this film was budgeted at 82 million and looks as good as it does is something of an achievement. Can you believe I would say that about 82 million? But the film barely broke even scoring about 90 million at the box office and yet the film deserved so much better. What a crying shame.

Maybe I'm missing something with the Snyder detractors, but 300 was very impressive. Watchmen was epic graphic entertainment in its own right. With Sucker Punch I'm in love. The man is just getting better and better. It's over the top by design and I should have trusted my instincts long ago when I was first wowed by the trailer. I should have discarded the negative feedback and pushed it from my mind like Baby Doll, because this one is all in the head and either you either connect with it or don't. Snyder's punch is a stylish assault on the senses and admittedly I'm drinking his Kool Aid.

Now let's not try to take this exercise to seriously, after all this is mostly a fan boy fantasy mixed brilliantly with a touch of science fiction established within a depressed psychological and physical context. Yes, lobotomies were unjustly used on many innocents and on people that are routinely mainstreamed today in society by simple medications and other diagnosis. These same people were once mentally and physically tortured. It was not uncommon. Today, the mind has come a long way. Snyder unleashes his all-female juggernaut army of one on a whilrwind tour of girl [fire] power. "Who decides why we live and what we die to defend. Who chains us? And who holds the key that can set us free? It's you. You have all the weapons you need - now fight!" Today, more than ever, that is true. Sucker Punch may be a love letter to female empowerment, genuine self-actualization or it may simply be the movie magic and stuff of male fantasy.

Messages aside, Sucker Punch is an ambitious, stimulating, visually challenging powerhouse of cinema fun. It registered a 23% splat at Rotten Tomatoes wedged neatly between Resident Evil: Apocalypse at 21%, Resident Evil: Extinction at 22% and Resident Evil: Afterlife at 24%. That should tell you something about what people find is acceptable when it comes to their women heroines in the action fantasy realm. For some reason sexy and cerebral just don't want to play nice. To them, there's very little redeeming quality of note here. How can so many people repeatedly get it wrong? Emily Browning. Abbie Cornish. Jena Malone. Jamie Chung. Vanessa Hudgens and Carla Gugino dressed provacatively and packing heat. Yes, put simply, like the film, that's pure dead sexy. Distraction from substance or not, it looks and sounds like redemption to me. Sucker Punch: A- [nobody's perfect, but this girl comes close].

Be sure to check out the Sucker Punch animated shorts by Ben Hibon which are a gorgeous complement to the film. The demonic Feudal Warriors. The steampunk zombies in Trenches. Dragon tells the tale of Orcs and men. Distant Planet presents artificial intelligence becoming self-aware.