We saw a few chunks from Zack Snyder’s OTT action adventure-fest Sucker Punch at Comic-Con, and the teaser brought some new footage. But now the trailer for the film has arrived, and it’s a full-on head-spinner.
Blending elements from The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix, video games, World War One, Steampunk and a whole host of others in an almighty genre mash-up, Snyder’s film promises to be something new made from lots of things you’re familiar with.
It’s primarily the story of Baby Doll (Emily Browning), a girl whose family has been torn apart by tragedy and whose wicked stepfather has thrown her into an asylum to await a lobotomy that will “cure” her wilful tendencies before she’s offered up to an unsavoury character with designs on her body.
But even as she contemplates her dark future, Baby Doll finds a way to escape into her mind’s own world, a fantasy filled with giant robots, Zeppelins, warrior women, nightclubs and anything else her brain can conjure up. Plus, as she’s told by a mysterious wise man (Scott Glenn), her imagination is her path to sanity and salvation, provided she completes a mission filled with finding certain objects.
With Carla Gugino, Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung, Vanessa Hudgens, Jena Malone and Jon Hamm also in the cast, Sucker Punch looks to be another audacious effort from the man who made 300 and Watchmen.
Will it live up to its promise? We’ll find out on March 25. For now, go gawk at the trailer, with its mad visions all set to Led Zeppelin and Silversun Pickups’ Panic Switch. Then tell us if you think Snyder’s on to a winner or if you just wish he’d stop tinkering with everything on screen…