2012 Cannes Marathon: Agora

(Played Out of Competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Alejandro Amenabar and written by Amenabar and Mateo Gil, Agora is the story of a slave who falls for the philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria as she is concerned with changing ideas about the ways of the world in 4th Century Roman Egypt. The film is a historical drama about Hypatia and her philosophies that was deemed controversial at the time. Starring Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Sami Samir, Rupert Evans, and Michael Lonsdale. Agora is an ambitious but extremely messy film from Alejandro Amenabar.

It’s 391 A.D. in Alexandria where the famed philosopher Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) is teaching students about her theory on the universe as her students include Orestes (Oscar Isaac) and Synesius (Rupert Evans) along with her slave Davus (Max Minghella). Though Davus is very interested in Hypatia’s theories as he would assist her, tension over religion boils between pagans and Christians where Hypatia’s father Theon (Michael Lonsdale) is trying to sort things out. Instead, the tension between pagans and Christians has Davus be interested in what they’re about while Synesius reveals himself to be a Christian. Yet, Davus is also in love with Hypatia as the tension between the Christians and pagans start to become violent as Orestes gets involved with the battle while Theon is wounded by own slave.

While Davus manages to try and help out Hypatia, he is torn between his sudden interest in Christianity and love for Hypatia where all of the pagans including Theon and Orestes await word from the Romans. What the Roman Emperor reveals would force the pagans to leave Alexandria as the Christians take over while Hypatia becomes desperate to save the scrolls in the library as the Christians finally destroy the place. Davus meanwhile, makes his decision to join the Christians forcing Hypatia to free him as the two go their separate ways. Years later, Orestes has become prefect of Alexandria as he and many have already converted to Christianity while Hypatia becomes more interested in the motion of Sun, Moon, and the universe to fulfill a theory she’s been trying to work on. Davus has become part of a group of Christians as a new conflict is emerging between the Christians and the Jews.

With Orestes overwhelmed with trying to control the conflict, Synesius returns to Alexandria as the Bishop of Cyrene to try and calm things down as the Christians are led by the more extreme Cyril (Sami Samir). Instead, things go out of control when Cyril decides to target Hypatia with claims of witchcraft as Orestes tries to defend her. Instead, Synesius tries to make a deal for Hypatia to accept Christianity only for her to refuse as she makes a personal breakthrough about her theory of how Earth orbits the sun. When Davus learns what Cyril will do to Hypatia, he tries to return to the woman he had loved and save her.

The film is essentially a look into the final years of Hypatia from the eyes of a slave who fell in love with her only to part during the rise of Christianity in Alexandria. There, Hypatia is trying to uncover the theory about how the Earth moves around the sun while she is adored by two different men who are intrigued by her philosophies but are torn by different loyalties. It’s a concept that is quite interesting as well as Hypatia’s theories about the movement of the Earth.

Unfortunately, the screenplay that Alejandro Amenabar and Mateo Gil create is a mess. Largely due to some of the dramatic liberties that is presented as it really makes the story so drawn-out that it loses a lot of its intrigue. Plus, the characters such as Davus and Synesius are badly underwritten while Orestes isn’t as developed as well. For an audience that doesn’t know about Hypatia or some of these characters, it makes the story far more confusing to follow as there’s all of this drama that really becomes quite boring.

Amenabar’s direction is pretty big and ambitious for the way he presents late 4th Century Alexandria with its buildings along with shots of Earth that is presented throughout. The stuff about science is quite interesting but Amenabar seems to try and draw the audience in with all of these dramatic stories that really becomes a bit over-dramatized at times. There’s a lot of compositions that is a joy to watch but the execution of the drama such as the library raid and the stuff involving the battle between the Christians and Jews are poorly managed. The audience wouldn’t really know why there’s all of this tension and the stuff involving Davus’ affections for Hypatia and how he has become part of this group of radical Christians just makes everything else seem uninteresting. The overall result is an overblown and very tedious film.

Cinematographer Xavi Giminez does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the daytime exteriors to display the hot sun of Alexandra, though it‘s shot in Malta, to some entrancing work in the nighttime interior and exterior shots in the film. Editor Nacho Ruiz Capillas does fine work with the editing to play out the intensity of the battles as well as the rhythm for Hypatia‘s numerous discoveries as she tries to play out her theories. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas, with set decorator Larry Dias and art director Frank Walsh does amazing work with the set pieces created such as the pagan statues and the library that Hypatia loves.

Costume designer Gabriella Pescucci does nice work with the costume design from the robes that Hypatia creates to the different array of slave garbs and Christian uniforms that Davus wears. Visual effects supervisors Felix Berges and Eduardo Diaz do wonderful work with the visual effects to create amazing wide shots of Alexandria as well as the scenes in Earth and outer space though the sequence in the raid where scrolls are being thrown doesn‘t look so good. Sound editor Glenn Freemantle and co-sound designer Tom Sayers do superb work with the sound from the intimacy of the meetings to the raucous world of the crowd gatherings. The film’s score by Dario Marianelli is pretty good for the way it plays out the world with Arabian vocal chants and bombast orchestral arrangements although it does tend to swell up the drama to overblown places.

The casting by Jina Jay and Edward Sands is also good for some of people that is made for the ensemble as it includes some noteworthy performances from George Harris as Heladius Dignitary, Homayoun Ershadi as Hypatia’s assistant Aspasius in the film’s second half, Manuel Cauchi as Cyril’s uncle Theopolis, and Sami Samir as the extreme Christian leader Cyril. Michael Lonsdale is pretty good as Hypatia’s father Theon who tries to deal with these changes in the film’s first half while Rupert Evans is decent as the very quiet and spiritual Synesius who starts off as a student only to become this very spiritual bishop where he doesn’t really get to do anything but say a lot of stuff about being true to God. Oscar Isaac is stellar as Orestes as a man that is trying to win over Hypatia as he becomes the closest thing to a lover that she has although Isaac doesn’t sell some of the melodrama in the film’s third act.

Max Minghella is okay as the slave Davus who would aid Hypatia in her theories during class while dealing with these changes as there’s some good from Minghella but the script’s weakness doesn’t do enough to explain his actions in the film’s second half or why he had become so quiet in that second half. Rachel Weisz is wonderful as the very philosophical yet confused Hypatia where Weisz humanizes the philosopher by displaying a woman who is driven by wanting to find the answers to the universe while having trouble dealing with what to do as a woman with a personal life as it’s one of Weisz’s best performance in an otherwise poor film.

Agora is a bloated and very dull film from Alejandro Amenabar. Despite some great set pieces, interesting thoughts on science, and Rachel Weisz’s performance, it’s a film that tries to be a period epic but without a strong script to support it. It’s a film where history buffs might be interested in the subject but will be disappointed by some of the liberties it took to tell the story. In the end, Agora is a terrible film from Alejandro Amenabar.

Alejandro Amenabar Films: Thesis - Open Your Eyes - The Others - The Sea Inside - Regression - The Auteurs #51: Alejandro Amenabar

© thevoid99 2012

Drive (2011 film)

Based on a novel by James Sallis, Drive is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver who works as a getaway driver at night. When he meets and falls for a young woman, his life starts to get into trouble when he gets involved for a robbery that goes wrong as he seeks answers on what is really going on. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and an adapted screenplay by Hossein Amini, the film is an ode to the dark films of Los Angeles of the 1980s as well as the car films of the 1970s. Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Oscar Issac, Christina Hendricks, and Albert Brooks. Drive is a hypnotic yet hard-boiled film from Nicolas Winding Refn.

An unnamed driver (Ryan Gosling) works as a Hollywood driving stuntman and mechanic by day while his occasional night job is being a driver for robbers for about five minutes. With help from his friend Shannon (Bryan Cranston) who sets up the jobs, the driver doesn’t say much other than do his job. The driver’s life is a quiet one as he runs into his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio as they meet up every once in a while at their building. The driver starts to befriend Irene and Benicia (Kaden Leos) as they begin to enjoy each other’s company while Shannon introduces the driver to a mob boss named Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks) and his partner Nino (Ron Perlman). Bernie wants the driver to drive his stock car for riches with the driver asking little in return.

When Irene’s husband Standard (Oscar Issac) is released from jail, the driver meets Standard as things seem fine until he finds Standard lying in a hallway beaten. Realizing that Standard is in trouble due to some money he still owes and Benicio being threatened, the driver is asked by Standard to take a job. The driver reluctantly does so as he meets Standard’s boss Cook (James Biberi) for instructions as the driver takes Standard and a woman named Blanche (Christina Hendricks) to rob a pawn shop. Things seem to go well until another car appears as everything falls apart. When the driver learns that it’s a set-up, he wants answers as he figures out that the money stolen belongs to someone else. With Irene and Benicio in danger, the driver decides to confront the people who are behind everything.

The film is about a quiet yet very professional driver who has a job and just does without any questions or answers. When he is asked to take part of a robbery to help someone, he unknowingly gets involved into something much bigger that threatens the life he lives in as well as the woman and child he cares for. The premise that screenwriter Hossein Amini creates is pretty simple yet the stakes and everything that the unnamed driver has to go to is very big. While he has a guy that sets up things for him, it’s only about money but when it doesn’t just involve money. It becomes much more complicated when it involves the mob and other sordid criminals as it’s only the driver becomes the target.

The script has elements of films like Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai in the way the driver is portrayed. He is this stoic, observant man that does something and keeps his mouth shut. Yet, unlike Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver and Jef Costello in Le Samourai, the driver is a much more accessible person that doesn’t say a lot and keeps things simple. He doesn’t seem like the threatening individual but when provoked, all hell breaks loose. The driver is a very complex character as Amini creates a character that is very interesting in the way he does things. He always wears gloves when he’s driving while on the job, he has a watch with a timer as if he is a cab driver with the meter running and his time is very precious and limited. Amini’s script works to create a character as provocative as the driver while others such as Irene, Shannon, and Bernie are just as interesting.

Irene is just a young mother who also craves something simple as she finds solace in the driver though the return of her husband makes her a bit uneasy due to his criminal past. While Standard isn’t a bad guy and is a good father, he’s just someone that Irene wants to believe that he’s still good but knows something isn’t going to go right. Shannon is a character that is someone that just wants to set-up the job and get his cut while hoping for good things as he has a long-term relationship with Bernie. Bernie is a mob boss that also has a simple way of things as he doesn’t want complications as he has a similar idea of doing things like the driver. When things go wrong, Bernie becomes a monster that no one expects. The script Amini creates is amazing for its study and the suspense that is made for a film like this as there’s a great balance of human drama and unsettling chills for its crime elements.

The direction of Nicolas Winding Refn is very evocative for the way he presents the film in such grand style. Taking ode from the films of 1980s Los Angeles films like William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in L.A. and Paul Schrader‘s American Gigolo, Refn creates something is very entrancing and seductive to stylistic element of the film. There are a lot of aerial shots of the city that makes it truly out of this world where it’s about finding the right location to hide in and give the film a look that is indescribably haunting. There’s a lot of scenes shot at night to play up the visual style of the film while some of the daytime scenes are very straightforward.

Refn’s approach to the fast-car scenes and some of the violent moments are very stylized with the latter being very brutal and almost nihilistic. The car chases and fast-car scenes are presented in a style that is sort of reminiscent of Hollywood blockbuster films but Refn allows the audience to know what’s going while maintaining a certain rhythm to the film. Refn’s direction also has scenes where he plays things much simpler in terms of how he frames things while bringing something that is elegant before something bad is to happen. Refn is always engaged by what is happening as he doesn’t pull punches nor does he underplay anything. The overall presentation and emphasis on style that Refn needed for a film like this is truly the work of a filmmaker that can bring something to the table and make it fresh to a genre like the car-driven crime film.

Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel does a phenomenal job with the film’s stylish photography that adds to the eerie look of the film. From the many exterior nighttime scenes of Los Angeles filled with an array of lights from the locations and helicopters of the film. Sigel also plays up the style for some of the nighttime interiors including the elevators as well as a slightly-colorful look to the daytime interior and exterior settings, with the exception of a small scene in a ravine, as it’s definitely one of the film’s technical highlights. Editor Matthew Newman does a great job with the film’s stylized editing with the use of fast-paced jump-cuts for the driving scenes to dissolves for more dreamier montages in the film.

Production designer Beth Mickle, with set decorator Lisa K. Sessions & art director Christopher Tandon, do some nice work on some of the set pieces created such as Shannon‘s garage, the apartments that the driver and Irene live in, and the pizza place owned by Nino. Costume designer Erin Benach does a very good job with the costumes from the casual clothes many of the characters wear to the sliver jacket with a scorpion on the back that the driver wears. Sound editors Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis do an amazing job with the sound work to capture the sound of cars and various other things in the varied locations that is presented in the film.

The film’s score by Cliff Martinez is a real highlight of the film for its brooding yet atmospheric electronic score. Featuring more intense, pulsating pieces to exotic, ambient cuts, Martinez’s score serves as a chilling accompaniment to the world of the driver. The soundtrack features various electronic-driven pieces from Desire, the Chromatics, College featuring Electric Youth, Kavinsky featuring CSS & Lovefoxx, and Riz Ortolani with Katyna Ranieri that adds to the 80s vibe that Refn wants for the film as the overall score and soundtrack is truly mesmerizing.

The casting by Mindy Marin is superb for the ensemble that is created that includes small appearances from Russ Tamblyn as a doctor, James Biberi as the small-time crime boss Cook, and Jeff Wolfe as a henchman of Bernie. Other notable small but memorable appearances include Christina Hendricks as a fellow criminal, Oscar Issac as Irene’s troubled husband Standard, and Kaden Leos as Irene’s son Benicio. Ron Perlman is excellent as the more brash yet violent Nino while Bryan Cranston is great as the driver’s friend Shannon who tries to help the driver when things start to go wrong.

Albert Brooks is phenomenal as Bernie Rose, a mob boss who wants the driver to be his number one guy only to find out that things are going his way where Brooks show a side of him that is very unsettling as it’s definitely a surprising performance from the comic actor. Carey Mulligan is wonderful as Irene, a young waitress and mother who finds comfort in the presence of the driver as she deals with her husband’s return and the chaos that surrounds her. Finally, there’s Ryan Gosling in a tour-de-force performance as the unnamed driver. Gosling brings a real cool yet nearly-silent performance as a quiet man who does things in a simple yet disciplined manner. Gosling allows himself to be a badass without really doing but speak in a calm but confrontational manner. When the character gets pushed, Gosling becomes a total badass that no one should fuck with. It’s definitely a performance that is truly spectacular as it truly adds to Ryan Gosling’s great reputation for putting out amazing performances in film.

Drive is an outstanding film from Nicolas Winding Refn featuring a haunting yet exhilarating performance from Ryan Gosling. Armed with a great ensemble cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Albert Brooks plus amazing technical work and Cliff Martinez’s hypnotic score. It’s a film that is extremely intoxicating to look at as well as being tough and giving a new spin to the professional hitman/driver sub-genre. While it’s a more mainstream film from Refn, it is a film that is still edgy for the way he gives the film a presentation that is definitely one-of-a-kind. In the end, Drive is a flat-out intense yet mesmerizing film from Nicolas Winding Refn.

Nicolas Winding Refn Films: Pusher - Bleeder - Fear X - Pusher II - Pusher 3 - Bronson - Valhalla Rising - Only God Forgives - The Neon Demon - The Auteurs #12: Nicolas Winding Refn

Drive OST

© thevoid99 2011

Sucker Punch

Since scoring a major hit with 2007’s adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel 300, Zack Snyder is considered to be one of the hottest directors working in Hollywood. With his dazzling visuals and slow-motion action edits, he’s created a style that has won over audiences. While his 2009 adaptation of the famed Alan Moore graphic novel Watchmen wasn’t a big hit and received mixed reviews. Snyder still got lots of attention and praise from some including Christopher Nolan who asked him to direct a re-boot of the Superman franchise for a 2012 release. Snyder accepted the job while he is set to wow audiences once again with his fifth feature film entitled Sucker Punch.

Directed by Zack Snyder based on his own original story. Sucker Punch tells the story of a young girl in the 1950s being sent to a mental institution by her step-father. Befriending fellow inmates, she and her inmates use their imagination to create a world where they attack their foes into an epic battle. Screenplay by Snyder and Steve Shibuya, the film is a mixture of fantasy and action as it’s all told from the perspective of a young girl as she’s joined by other young women and a wise man to war. Starring Emily Browning, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung, Jon Hamm, Oscar Issac, Carla Gugino, and Scott Glenn. Sucker Punch is a decent although messy film from Zack Snyder.

After the death of her mother and an awful confrontation with her stepfather (Gerard Plunket), Baby Doll (Emily Browning) is sent to a mental hospital. Running the hospital is an orderly named Blue Jones (Oscar Issac) who likes to keep tabs on things and create problems. During her stay, the hospital’s psychiatrist/dance instructor Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) suggests for Baby Doll to retreat into a fantasy world. Baby Doll fantasizes a world where Blue runs a brothel where all the girls are dancers for the brothel. Baby Doll befriends Rocket (Jena Malone) who shows her what goes on as well as introducing her to fellow inmates including Rocket’s older sister Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung).

During a dance session with Madam Gorski, Baby Doll fantasizes about escaping into another world with help from a wise man (Scott Glenn) who reveals that in order to escape. Baby Doll will have to acquire four objects to escape while the fifth one is a mystery. During a battle with samurais in her fantasy, Baby Doll realizes she has the power to help her friends escape as Rocket goes along with the plan along with Blondie, Amber, and a very reluctant Sweet Pea. During a dance performance which allows Baby Doll to go into her fantasy world with the rest of her friends, she fantasizes being in a World War I battle to retrieve a map that is needed. The mission becomes a success as Baby Doll’s public performance for the mayor (Alan C. Peterson) allowed Amber to get the lighter needed for fire.

Blue suspects something is going on as Madam Gorski is helping Baby Doll prepare for her own dance recital for the city’s High Roller (Jon Hamm). With two objects in a knife and key is needed, the girls are on their way to freedom. Yet, Madam Gorski is suddenly the target where the attempt to get the knife succeeds but with a price. With the key still needed, Baby Doll also has to find out what the fifth object is once the High Roller arrives as she makes another plan to escape.

The film is about a girl who retreats into a fantasy world and then goes into another fantasy world so she can escape with her friends. While in theory, it’s an interesting idea that requires a narrative that is strong and has characters that are very engaging. Unfortunately, the script is handled quite clumsily where things get a bit confusing while there’s excessive elements that could’ve been pulled. At the same time, some characters either don’t get enough to do while there’s some moments where there’s too much exposition that goes on in the film. Though it starts off very well while has some very interesting moments during the middle. The story falls apart by the third act while there’s moments where the focus on objects suddenly become confusing towards the end of the film.

While it’s Zack Snyder’s first original project with a script co-written with Steve Shibuya. Snyder and Shibuya try to cram a lot of ideas into the story where it’s supposed to be a prison break film mixed in with lots of fantasy relating to samurai films, World War I films, and sci-fi. While a lot of that has exciting moments, when it comes to the scenes at the hospital/brothel scenes, it loses not only some momentum. It creates a story that is very uneven and at times, the pacing lags where for a film that has a 110-minute running time, it feels longer than that. While the story is interesting and has some moments along with some fully-realized characters. It’s just that it’s not a very strong story that ends up being very messy.

Snyder’s direction for the film is truly spectacular in its visuals where for all of the hyper-fantasy sequences he creates. It definitely shows ambition and is presented with a large canvas. The problem is that it’s also a bit overwhelming at times while the pacing in its transition from the hospital/brothel scenes to the fantasy sequences are off. While he can create simple moments in the conversation scenes with the girls, there’s times when the just goes overboard with style. Snyder’s trademark of slowing the action down with slow-motion edits does have their moments. Yet, it’s also overdone at times where Snyder could’ve just had the camera go on for another 30 seconds without slowing it down.

Snyder’s emphasis on visuals and creating a fantasy world is truly dazzling. The problem is that Snyder is really pulling a lot of film references to help with his ideas. Even in the first 10 minutes where once Baby Doll is at the hospital and there’s a conversation about her being lobotomized. It then leads into this other reality and then to a fantasy. While some viewers will think of a film like Inception, the film that Snyder is really drawing ideas from not just in narrative but scope is Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Brazil is a dystopian fantasy story about a man who dreams to escape his dismal world by pretending to be a hero who fights evil forces including a huge samurai. For anyone who knows that film, will be aware that there’s a lot of references to that film as well as Blade Runner and The Matrix. The only thing Snyder doesn’t really have is a lot of humor which is prevalent in Gilliam’s work. While Snyder does have a lot of great visual ideas and can create amazing action sequences. It’s clear that with this film, he’s becoming a bit of a parody of himself while is in need to really tighten his ideas into a cohesive story.

Cinematography Larry Fong does an excellent job with visual look of the film from the blue-gray look of the mental hospital to the more colorful world of the dressing room and brothel scenes. Even as he creates different color schemes for each of the big fantasy sequences whether it’s the yellowish look of the medieval and futuristic scenes to the grayish, gritty look of the World War I sequence. Fong’s work is definitely one of the film’s technical highlights. Editor William Foy does some good work with the editing in creating rhythmic yet hypnotic work in the action sequences. Even in creating some good transitions to help build the momentum. Still because of the messy narrative, the editing at time suffers due to its emphasis on style.

Production designer Rick Carter and art directors Stefan Dechant and Grant Van Der Slagt do some amazing work with the art direction from the look of the Japanese temple where Baby Doll meets the wise man to the look of the stage where Baby Doll performs her routine to the mayor. Another notable feature is the look of the hospital to portray the bleak world the girls really live as the objects also play a part for the story. Costume designer Michael Wilkinson does some wonderful work with the costumes from the brothel clothing the women wear to the leather-driven clothes the girls wear in the fantasy as it‘s another of the film‘s technical highlights.

Visual effects supervisor John “D.J.“ Des Jardin does a spectacular job with visual effects from the recreation of the zeppelins in the World War I sequence to the look of the dragon in the medieval scenes. The visual effects really play up to the hyper-fantasy world that Baby Doll lives in along with the exterior look of the mental hospital the girls live in early in the film. Sound editor Scott Hecker and sound designer Rick Hrmoadka does some nice work with the sound from the layers of fire and gunplay that goes on. Even in the smaller moments about how shoes tap on the floor as the sound work is truly extraordinary.

Music composers Tyler Bates and Marius De Vries do some good work in the music as they bring in a mix of broad orchestra mixed in with electronics for the film’s score. Yet, the soundtrack is mostly dominated by a mixture of alternative rock and electronic stuff. Three songs by the Smiths, Eurythmics, and the Pixies are covered by Emily Browning while the rest of the soundtrack features variations of Bjork’s Army of Me and a mash-up of Queen’s We Will Rock You and I Want It All. Other tracks include very hypnotic, industrialized covers of Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit, the Stooges’ Search and Destroy, and crazy cover of The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows by the Kills/Dead Weather’s Alison Mosshart and Autolux’s Carla Azar. The last song played on the film is a campy cover of Roxy Music’s Love Is the Drug by Oscar Issac and Carla Gugino as it’s a fun soundtrack that plays to the film’s dazzling visual style.

The casting by Michelle Allen, Kristy Carlson, and Lora Kennedy has some good moments but some of it isn’t inspiring. In small parts, there’s some memorable appearances by Gerard Plunket as Baby Doll’s stepfather, Alan C. Peterson as the mayor, Malcolm Scott as the fat cook, and Frederique de Raucourt as Baby Doll’s little sister in the first major sequence of the film. Jon Hamm is pretty good as the High Roller/doctor but he’s only in the film for about 5-6 minutes. He appears briefly early in the film and then appears for a brief minute as the High Roller, and then has a big moment near the end of the film. Hamm is a very high-profiled actor but he’s really wasted throughout in his small appearance.

Scott Glenn is superb as the wise man who guides Baby Doll and the girls into battle and helping find the objects in the hyper-fantasy scenes as he just goes out there and be cool. Glenn’s performance is one of the highlights as he’s a guy who really can’t suck no matter how bad a film can be. Oscar Issac is very good as the devilish Blue Jones with his sleazy persona and an intimidating presence that makes him into a hammy yet fun villain to root against. Carla Gugino is excellent as Madam Gorski, the therapist/dance instructor who allows the girls a chance to escape through their minds as her role is a bit ambiguous. Still, Gugino sports a campy Polish accent that allows her character to be one of the most enjoyable moments of the film.

Jamie Chung and Vanessa Hudgens are all right in their respective roles as Amber and Blondie. While they don’t get much to do except kind of be eye-candy. They have their moments when they’re in battle or be in some kind of spectacle while having a great rapport with the rest of the girls. They’re just don’t have enough chops to really play to the drama which is probably why they’re not given much to do. Emily Browning is pretty good as Baby Doll when she’s doing action scenes or leading the gang to have a jailbreak. The problem is that she doesn’t express herself very much as she either cries or gets worried while having a very icy expression throughout the film. There’s something that doesn’t really work in the performance as she seems unsure in her performance.

The film’s best performances easily goes to Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone in their respective roles as the sisters Sweet Pea and Rocket. Cornish is wonderful as the reluctant, cynical Sweet Pea who is trying not to get into trouble while wanting to protect Rocket. Even as she tries to get everyone to calm down and just be careful while getting into the action proving to be a real capable badass. Jena Malone is phenomenal as Rocket, the most outspoken person of the group who shows Baby Doll what goes on in the hospital and be the first to always be on board to escape. Malone not only shows that she can kick some ass but delivers the film’s often cheesy dialogue with great ease. Cornish and Malone also have some amazing chemistry as the sisters with Cornish being the most cautious and Malone as the most outgoing where they play off each other so well. Particularly since, with the exception of Baby Doll, they’re characters have a small back-story that is interesting which explains why they’re often together. If there’s a real highlight of the film, it’s Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone.

Sucker Punch is an entertaining, visually-ambitious but somewhat disappointing film from Zack Snyder. Due to a messy script, a lack of a cohesive story, and too many ideas that tend to overwhelm the story. It’s a film that needed more work though it isn’t a total waste of time. Fans of Snyder’s work will enjoy the visuals but if they’re looking for a engaging story. It’s not the right place. While the performance of some of the cast is either lackluster or uninspiring with the exception of Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Scott Glenn, Oscar Issac, and Carla Gugino. It doesn’t have a lot to offer which will definitely worry some viewers as they see that Snyder is going to direct the next Superman film coming in 2012. In the end, Sucker Punch is an okay but underwhelming spectacle from Zack Snyder.

Zack Snyder Films: (Dawn of the Dead (2004)) - 300 - Watchmen - (Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole) - Man of Steel - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Justice League - Zack Snyder's Justice League - (Army of the Dead) - Rebel Moon

© thevoid99 2011