Sucker Punch is a 2011 fantasy action film directed by Zack Snyder and co-written by Snyder and Steve Shibuya. It is Snyder's first film based on an original concept. The film stars Emily Browning as "Babydoll", a young woman who is committed to a mental institution. As she collects items she needs to escape, she enters a series of fantasy worlds where she and her fellow inmates are strong, experienced warriors. Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac and Scott Glenn also star. The film was released in both conventional and IMAX theatres in the United States on March 25, 2011. The film received generally negative reviews and underperformed at the box office, grossing $89.8 million against its $75–$82 million production budget.
Plot Following the death of her mother, a young woman is framed for her sister's murder by their stepfather, who is infuriated after being excluded from the will, and is subsequently committed to a mental institute. Upon arrival, her stepfather bribes orderly Blue Jones to forge psychiatrist Vera Gorski's signature to have her lobotomized and she is given the nickname Babydoll. Babydoll slips into a fantasy world in which the asylum is a brothel owned by mobster Blue and she and the other patients are sex slaves. She befriends fellow patients Amber, Blondie, Rocket, and Rocket's sister, Sweet Pea, and imagines Dr. Gorski as their dance instructor. Blue intends to sell Babydoll's virginity to the High Roller; in reality, a doctor is scheduled to perform her lobotomy. Babydoll performs an erotic dance during which she fantasizes she is in feudal Japan, meeting the Wise Man. He tells her that she needs four items to escape: a map, fire, a knife and a key. There is a fifth unrevealed item that only she can find which requires "a deep sacrifice" and will bring a "perfect victory". She fights three samurai giants, then finds herself back in the brothel. Babydoll convinces the four other girls to join her in escaping. She dances as a distraction while the others obtain the necessary tools. During her dances, she fantasizes about adventures that mirror the escape efforts, such as infiltrating a bunker protected by World War I German soldiers to gain a map (as Sweet Pea copies a map of the building in Blue's office), storming an Orc-infested castle to retrieve fire crystals (as Amber steals a lighter from the mayor), and fighting robots on a train to disarm a bomb (as Sweet Pea steals a kitchen knife from the Cook). In the last fantasy, Rocket sacrifices herself, paralleled by the Cook fatally stabbing Rocket as she protects her sister. Blue overhears Blondie relaying Babydoll's plan to Gorski. He fatally shoots Amber and Blondie. Babydoll stabs him with the kitchen knife and steals his master key, then starts a fire to distract the orderlies as they seek an escape. Babydoll deduces that the fifth item is her own sacrifice, and that this is Sweet Pea's story. She distracts the men long enough to allow Sweet Pea to escape. In the asylum, the surgeon completes Babydoll's lobotomy. Gorski notes that during her short stay, Babydoll stabbed an orderly, started a fire, and helped another girl escape. The surgeon, who doesn't agree with the procedure, asks Gorski why she authorized it, and Gorski realizes that Blue has been forging her signature. The police apprehend Blue as he attempts to rape Babydoll. As he is being arrested, Blue incriminates Babydoll's stepfather. Sweet Pea is stopped by police as she tries to board a bus, but the driver (the Wise Man) misleads the police and lets her board.
Cast
Production
Development
Sucker Punch is described by Snyder as "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns". The film first gained attention in March 2007. Snyder put the project aside to work on Watchmen first. The film was co-written with Steve Shibuya, who authored the original script on which the story is based. Snyder directed and produced with his wife and producing partner, Deborah Snyder, through their Cruel and Unusual Films banner. Wesley Coller served as executive producer. Warner Bros. Pictures announced in early 2009 that they would distribute Sucker Punch due to the success of Snyder's previous film, Watchmen. "They've never said, 'Ahh, it could have been shorter', or, 'Too bad it's so R-ish.' And that's really cool. I'm challenging them again with Sucker Punch." In early interviews, Snyder stated that he would make Sucker Punch an R-rated film, but a later interview stated that he was aiming for it to be rated PG-13. In its theatrical release, the movie was ultimately rated PG-13. Snyder cut many crucial scenes before the film's release in order to satisfy the MPAA's censors, but claimed that the home media release of the film will be a director's cut and closer to his original vision. When Snyder was in San Diego hosting a Blu-ray live screening of Watchmen for San Diego Comic-Con, he handed out T-shirts for Sucker Punch featuring the first art for the film. The art was designed by Alex Pardee of Snafu Comics, with title art work by Los Angeles graffiti artist Galo Canote. Pre-production began in June 2009 in Canada. Snyder had also added that he enjoyed the freedom of filming his own original script. Photographer Clay Enos was hired to take still pictures on set and to take portraits of the main actors.
Casting
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