'Sucker Punch' trailer hits its mark

Posted Monday, August 2, 2010 at 4:24 PM Central
Last updated Monday, March 14, 2011 at 12:42 PM Central

by John Couture

The only bad thing about Comic Con, other than the fact that we don't get to go, is that there's so much new stuff released there that it takes some time to disseminate all that information to the masses. Given, that I've never really been a big fan of Zack Snyder and that I didn't have high hopes for Sucker Punch, I took my time in getting around to watching the trailer that he dropped at Comic Con.

I took about 8 days too many to finally see it. While I'm still a bit skeptical that Snyder will be able to pull off the fantastical yarn without drawing comparisons, and similar lackluster box office performance, of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, I will say that I'm intrigued by this first glimpse.

At first blush, it strikes me as Inception meets Girl, Interrupted meets Kill Bill and the film will certainly benefit from its comparisons to Inception. There are also legions of Zack Snyder who quibble with my lack of respect for the director who will undoubtedly support his latest offering.

But, as M. Night Shyamalan can attest, there is such a thing as too much use of a gimmick. Here's the synopsis straight from the director's mouth:

Set in the 1950s, it tells the story of Baby Doll (Browning), who is trying to hide from the pain caused by her evil stepfather and lobotomy. She ends up in mental institution in Brattleboro, Vermont and while there she starts to imagine an alternate reality. She plans to escape from that imaginary world but to do that she needs to steal five objects before she is captured by an unknown adversary. She has 5 days to escape before being lobotomized. In order to cope with the situation, she enters the hyper-real world of her imagination, and the lines between reality and dream begin to blur. She is joined with friends who are inmates from the institution. Lessons learned in the said fantasy world could help the girls escape their real-world fate.

So, check out the trailer and let us know what you think. Sucker Punch hits theaters on March 25, 2011.