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Ah! I'm so torn. Zack Snyder's work over the last several years has given him credibility. From Dawn of the Dead to 300 to Watchmen, he has created a small, but powerful body of work that has me wondering, does he get a pass on Sucker Punch? And, am I hanging my hat on those previous films too much? Do I like Sucker Punch just because I liked those? Am I going easy on it and making an argument for it being better than it probably is?

I should probably be impartial, here. However, I can't honestly say what's informing what I'm about to say about Sucker Punch. Is my inner fanboy purple-nurpling my cinematic sensibilities into a more favorable perspective on a movie that has some obvious and gaping holes?

OK, I think I've asked enough questions and should get on with it.

I can't truly say what Sucker Punch is about. It is bookended by a very simple story, but the middle of it, the meat of the tale that's being told, takes several huge and unreasonable steps toward a tapestry of metaphors that it's near impossible to connect them back to that original concept.

Baby Doll's (Emily Browning) wealthy mother dies. She has an abusive stepfather. She accidentally kills her younger sister while trying to protect her. She is committed to a mental hospital. To hide the truth, the stepfather arranges with an orderly (Oscar Isaac) to schedule Baby Doll for a lobotomy. She has five days in the institution before the doctor arrives for the procedure.

That's the bookend on the left.

Then we take a step away and rather than being in a mental hospital for young women, the story plays out in some psuedo-brothel, night club in a nondescript era, maybe the 1950s. Maybe not. Baby Doll is one of the new girls in the stable dancers, awaiting the arrival of the "High Roller" (Jon Hamm... Jon Hamm's John Ham... sorry, it's a reflex.)

Aware that the High Roller means trouble, Baby Doll hatches a plan to escape along with and aided by a few of the other girls, Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Amber (Jamie Chung). The plan is fed to her by an angel? Her subconscious? All I know is that it looked a lot like Scott Glenn.

Take another step back. When Baby Doll dances, the world shifts to a lot of what you see in the trailer. Apparently, her dance is something so provocative and salacious that we don't actually get to see it. Instead, we get to see the team of beauty badasses setting out on Scott Glenn-prescribed missions amid a ballet of hyper-stylized action, a look that has become a bit of a trademark for Snyder.

The story jockeys between the club and the... let's call them "dream sequences." And with each dream sequence the movie finds its strength, an exciting assault on the senses. It's a world without boundaries or restrictions or rules. Who's to say Amber can't hop in a futuristic, mechanical assault vehicle to bash through the lines of Steampunk Zombie Nazis. Knights, dragons, robots, and giant stone samurai? Why not? It works like levels in a video game. There's a goal and a boss for each level, and it ratchets up in difficulty as you go along.

It's wonderful eye candy. It unpins you from the cumbersome tale and lets you have fun. It's loud and exciting because it can be. That's Snyder's achievement here. He thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if..." and then he did it.

Wisely, the pace of everything is swift. You never linger too long on any plane of the movie before you're moving on. And, when you've had enough and your eyes are stuffed to the brim, it ends. Quickly. Calmly. Confusingly? The other bookend is set in place.

Hm... Yeah, I don't know.

The story is very thin and loose. It's almost irrelevant. But, you needed something propping it up and tying it together. I suppose it works well enough. Well, let me clarify that. It works well enough assuming you're able to divorce yourself from the need for narrative. If you can ignore the story and enjoy the ballet of absurd over-the-top-ness, you're gold. However, if you're looking for why's and how's and what's, then this might not work for you. If you're looking for a story that make sense, tip-toe pass Sucker Punch. It's likely not your cup of tea.

So, if Sucker Punch is a blended concoction of Zack Snyder's previous films, video games and music videos, I'm fine with that. And you know what, I think this gives me confidence in the reboot of the reboot to Superman that he's directing. I think this movie shows, if nothing else, he has vision and creativity. I've read that he's going to tone Superman way down from his other films. Obviously that makes sense. Still, the lesson is that Sucker Punch shows obvious passion for his craft. And, from Watchmen, you know Snyder knows how to marry that craft with a respect for the material.

In closing, I'll say this, whether you rush out to the theater or not, make sure to pick up the soundtrack. It's amazing. Love it. Bought it. Fantastic. If you go to the gym, get the soundtrack. It kicks ass. It's driving and ferocious and unlike the movie, it doesn't need a story.

-Tom