Sucker Punch

"You will be unprepared."

2011 1h 50m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

23%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 5,265🥫23%Rotten Tomatoes●33Metacritic★6.1IMDB · 259,805

ActionFantasyThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young woman, institutionalized by her abusive stepfather, retreats into a vivid fantasy world where she envisions a plan to escape. Gathering a group of fellow inmates, she embarks on a quest to collect five mystical items, blurring the lines between reality and imagination.

“You will be unprepared.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Emily Browning
Babydoll
Abbie Cornish
Sweet Pea
Jena Malone
Rocket
Vanessa Hudgens
Blondie
Jamie Chung
Amber
Carla Gugino
Dr. Vera Gorski
Oscar Isaac
Blue Jones
Jon Hamm
High Roller / Doctor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: Zack Snyder, Steve Shibuya, Zack Snyder
Languages: English, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $82M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

212+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Zack Snyder, shot by Larry Fong. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tyler Bates. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William Hoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Emily Browning and Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Zack Snyder directs. Larry Fong behind the camera. Tyler Bates scores. William Hoy cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $82M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 15 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
4212+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Zack Snyder, shot by Larry Fong. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Tyler Bates. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor William Hoy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Emily Browning and Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "You will be unprepared.".
10IMDB entry: tt0978764 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 18 themes, including "samurai", "escape", "asylum", "brothel".

The technical file

Cinematography: Larry Fong
Original score: Tyler Bates
Editing: William Hoy
Production design: Rick Carter
Costume design: Michael Wilkinson
Makeup / hair: Michael Ezell
VFX supervisor: John 'D.J.' Des Jardin
Sound: Chris Jenkins
Stunt coordinator: Damon Caro
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $82,000,000
Box office: $89,792,502
Return: 110% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Sucker Punch (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes: 23% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 33/100
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 259,805 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

1 win & 11 nominations total

Also by

Zack Snyder

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

ohlalipop2017-02-09
I was surprised to actually like this film. Baby Doll, Sweet Pea, Rocket, Amber and Blondie are the 5 main characters in the film. As much as I like Baby Doll and her costume, I really liked Sweet Pea. Something in her was so familiar. She's the big sister who will do anything for her younger sister. That's me. I like the action scenes. Baby Doll was so sexy. I liked this movie.
DoryDarko2017-02-21
★ 3/10
Wow… Here I was, thinking I was going to get to see an awesome comic- like film about a group of girls kickin' a whole lotta butt surrounded by mind-bending fantasy scenery. Technically, I was right… But only technically. Sucker Punch is like Chinese food. You can eat three plates and it will still leave you feeling hungry. It's a great deal of empty calories, is basically what I'm saying. Substance? Nah. Let me just get right into it. What's wrong with Sucker Punch is the screenplay. Not the actors, not the director, just the story. This story revolves around a group of five girls in an institution for the mentally insane, in a fantastical, steampunk-wannabe 1940's (my best guess) setting. They are treated horribly and their lives are miserable, and to cope with it all, the main protagonist Babydoll, escapes into her fantasies and in this trance-like state, devises a plan for them all to escape. The concept is not bad. It might have even been really exciting, had it not been executed so laughably unrealistic. And by 'unrealistic', I don't mean the fantasies themselves. I'm referring to the fact that these fantasies were so obviously not dreamed up by an actual teenage girl, but rather they look like the perfect fulfillment of the wet wishes of a horny teenage boy. It is very likely that a teenage girl WOULD dream of being able to wield a samurai sword and beat up every monster, dragon and every other kind of bastard who crosses her path. She WOULD dream of coming out of every battle completely unscathed and with every hair on her pretty head still perfectly in place. She would NOT, however, be doing all of this scantily clad in sexy lingerie wearing fishnet stockings and high heels… I am a girl, with very vivid imagination. Trust me on this one. It was, in one word, ridiculous. Another thing that really bothered me was the way these characters were worked out. As obviously miserable as their personal predicaments were, I could not relate to a single one of them. They were all completely 2- dimensional and just flat-out uninteresting. I didn't care about what happened to a single one of them. I don't believe all of the blame for this falls on the actresses (although theirs weren't exactly Oscar winning performances...), again, I chalk it up to poor screen writing. The only one who was able to make her character slightly more than moderately interesting, was not even one of 'the girls', it was Dr. Vera Gorski, played by Carla Gugino. At least she was interesting to watch, and she was even somewhat of a scene-stealer, taking much thunder away from the girls simply because she (both the actress and the character) had the biggest personality. All the others, I felt were mostly just going through the motions, because they had zero character development and no interesting dialogue to work with. And that's bad when you're talking about the characters that are supposed to carry the story. A pleasant (and much needed surprise) came in the form of Scott Glenn, who only appears in the fantasy segments as several different versions of a wise man. That was a nice touch. However, the one thing that really stood out for me as the true axis of failure that sums up Sucker Punch, was the feeling of total confusion that was present from the beginning and never cleared up. I'm not saying I didn't 'get it', I'm saying it was a hot, incoherent mess. And I usually don't mind being thrown back and forth and to and fro throughout a film, I don't mind playing guessing games and wondering what it will all lead to. I DO mind when the roller-coaster ride is over and all I feel is queasy. Some people have suggested that this is a really deep and complex film, but honestly, I think they're just reading too much into it. The stupid thing is, for the most part it was completely predictable, and STILL it lacked structure and decent storytelling. That may seem like a paradox, but there's an easy way to explain it. In the words of the great Roger Ebert: "Now that's bad filmmaking." The only element in Sucker Punch that was somewhat redeeming, were the visual effects. I must say, it was all very gorgeous and eye-pleasing. Also, the soundtrack was excellent, filled with very well performed covers of well-known songs and some perfectly chosen originals. Emily Browning, who plays Babydoll (and also sings a few songs on the soundtrack), was a good choice for the lead role, but I must say, in all honesty, that was mostly because she was visually very appealing as the main protagonist. More simply put – she was very pretty. Still, I'm not sure that's enough to carry a film. All in all, I'm left feeling – Zack Snyder… Dude. What were you thinking. You can do so much better than this. I guess I just finally have to come to terms with the fact that everybody's human and is bound to make one big mistake at least once in their lives. Zack… this is yours. Sucker Punch sucks. (November 2013)
John Chard2017-11-07
★ 7/10
Snyder pushing buttons for polarising results. Off the bat I have to say I'm over thirty years older than what some pro critics have claimed is the demographic for this one. Sucker Punch, as reviews etc attest, is not for everyone, it has been called any number of things in derogative fashion, which since I enjoyed the film a lot means I'm a misogynist fetishist gamer, which to the best of my knowledge is not true. Lest I'm in the closet and now in middle age about to unleash traits and feelings previously untapped. Which if the latter is true you would have to say well done Zack Snyder, for that's serious film making... Sucker Punch is loud, full of visual orgasms, musically adroit, exciting, clever and very sexy. Snyder has made no secret of his fetish leanings when making this piece, but it hardy constitutes a dark seedy mind at work. It can easily be argued that the film is very much pro women, the story itself - in amongst the explosive thunder of the fantastical action - is tender and beautiful, complete with emotional kickers. Perhaps it's in the eye of the beholder? But I see a strong female led action movie, with shifting fantasy realms, and cunningly it calls for deeper ponder come the finale. Love it or hate it, Snyder has pushed buttons with this exercise. Better that than another cash cow sequel or another remake, re-imaging or rebirth. 7/10