5 Reasons Why 'Sucker Punch' Has Been Heavily Underrated

The movie Sucker Punch (2011) was directed by Zack Snyder and stars Emily Browning. It is the only movie I know of it's kind. People I have talked to in person have said they love it for its "unique Style," "great music," and... of course, the young women are obviously very attractive, which I do believe is an important part of the movie, because it shows the characters empowering themselves despite... well, you know. Also, sex sells. We all know that.

Sucker Punch is possibly the most underrated movie of this century. It is a hidden gem for millennials, and I am writing this because I am going to tell you why. Every time I rewatch Sucker Punch, I remember why I love it so much. Sucker Punch isn't the blockbuster action people were expecting; instead it's an extremely creative art form that touches on important topics, so I can see why critics were disappointed when they didn't get their action movie that the trailer briefly showed.

The Critics' Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes

"It's technically impressive and loaded with eye-catching images, but without characters or a plot to support them, all of Sucker Punch's visual thrills are for naught."

1. The Story

The story is there and it's not exactly hidden (despite critics' reviews).

Quite frankly, I think the critics simply just don't get it. They are missing the point. The story is at the beginning and at the end. All of the ''eye-catching images" and "visual thrills" are in Baby Doll's head. She is mentally ill, and this is her version of reality that helps her cope with what is actually happening... and I prefer her version better. It all ties in at the end just enough to realize that Baby Doll's version of the story actually had some truth in it.

The characters from the story are all here when she walks in still decently sane, at least for a few brief moments. Everything in the story connects, especially at the end.

2. The Music

Featured Song:

Browning's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"

The cover is much more melancholy that the original Eurythmics version.

Other Sad Songs:

The Pixies cover of "Where Is My Mind?"

This again is much sadder, and arguably more popular (according to YouTube), than the original.

Jefferson Airplane's cover of "White Rabbit"

A nice Alice and Wonderland reference seems appropriate.

• "Tomorrow Never Knows" (Beatles cover)
• "Asleep" (The Smiths cover)

Powerful Songs:

"Army of Me (Sucker Punch Remix)"

The movie isn't all sad; there is, of course, powerful music for when Baby Doll shows her courage and grows stronger.

• 'I Want It All / We Will Rock You Mash-Up" (Queen cover)
• "Search and Destroy" (The Stooges cover)

3. It Helps Remove Stigmatization on Mental Health Issues

Most movies that involve any kind of mental illness make the person seem like some kind of monster. However, in Sucker Punch, the monsters are the step-father and the asylum manager. The "crazy" young woman are seen as the victims, and they are shown having a lot of courage.

To take an even deeper look at it, Baby Doll's psychosis was purely an attempt to escape her horrible reality, and it had nothing to do with genetics. In other words, everyone can become mentally ill, and no one is immune.

4. The Style of the Movie (and the Outfits)

Sucker Punch has a unique style that I rarely see. The begining brings me into the story immediately with its powerful hook, and the ending ties the story together in such a way that I almost cried. I didn't even cry for Daenerys Targaryen's death, so for a movie to bring emotions out from me like that means a lot. It's dark most of the time, yet it leaves a glimmer of hope. The real world is often shown blue and dull, while Baby Doll's version of the story is often bright and full of warm colours like orange.

The Outfits

Obviously the outfits are very sexy, and that's part of the reason why I love it too, but I will get get back to that later...

The costumes are very well done, and a lot of effort has clearly gone into the wardrobe alone.

I want a shiny costume like that...

Seriously, just after this is a huge spoiler. If you haven't finished the movie yet and still plan to do so, I'm afraid you can't read the next point on this list... well, not yet at least.

5. The Ending

The Ultimate Sacrifice. In the end, and to no surprise, the ultimate sacrifice was for Baby Doll to go through with the lobotomy while her friend escapes. It was an extremely selfless move that seemed unnecessary, especially since it was BabyDoll who had the "High Roller" coming for her. However, her plan worked out well, and a part of me believes she knew what she doing. She came to the point where she had to make a choice... How far will she go to get justice?

She did get her justice. She gave everything for it.

Moments after her lobotomy, the truth came out after finding a forced signature. The culprit was found in an abandoned room trying to further abuse Baby Doll. He was taken away by the police immediately. He won't be able to hurt anyone in that mold-covered room anymore.

Even better, as he was being dragged away he immediately confessed in a desperate attempt to squirm his way out of his consequences. He yelled "It's not me you want, it's her stepfather... I'll tell you everything. I'll tell you—I'll tell you about the money."

Which means Baby Doll got justice against her step father as well.

Not the standard happy ending of my childhood movies, but I think this ended better than expected considering the horrors of the 10 minute intro.

Another strange reward, she also secretly wanted that lobotomy.

The doctor was stunned and even disturbed to see that at the last minute, she looked at him in such a way to show that she wanted the lobotomy. He said he had never seen anyone react to the procedure like her before. He even admits that he has his doubts if the procedure is ethical.

I suppose, in the darkest sense possible, she wanted the lobotomy to make the pain go away. So she won't have to remember those awful memories anymore.

So she won't have to remember this night anymore.

Conclusion

I strongly believe that the reason why so many critics didn't like Sucker Punch is because they weren't young women. The story of this movie heavily relates to young woman and touches on serious topics in terms of every young woman's reality. It brings character, personality and strength to young woman in sexy outfits, and I think it's possible that some men can't handle that... or, at the very least, most men are missing the entire point of the movie simple because they don't notice or even care about women's problems.

Hello. Nice to meet you! How are you? Hmm... this feels like a really one sided conversation... why don't you follow me on social media so I can get to know you too!