The 2011 psychological thriller Sucker Punch — though it received unfavorable reviews at the time of its release — is only an addition to Zack Snyder’s long list of features with a massive following.
A filmmaker known for his particular directing techniques, Snyder has also been treating fans with a director’s cut versions of his projects. However, the Emily Browning-led film has yet to receive the same treatment.
Snyder has quite built a reputation of releasing expanded cuts of his previous projects, including Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In an interview with Collider during the CCXP event, the director details why a director’s cut version of Sucker Punch hasn’t come to fruition. Although Snyder had previous plans about releasing a director’s cut for the said movie, he believes the scenes excluded from the original film are merely just “extended scenes.”
“The problem with Sucker Punch is the director’s cut still was just, like, extended scenes. It was more of a deleted scene version than a real, tonally different film. I think with a bunch of the director’s cuts, Batman v Superman, I think, is a really good example of really giving a different feeling as a movie,” Snyder told Collider.
He continued, “I think Sucker Punch has never really gotten that treatment. And so, in editorial, when we were cutting the theatrical version of that movie, it’s much different than I had intended with the footage I had and what I thought it was going to be.”
Sucker Punch is an acquired taste
Sucker Punch was not quite well received by critics when it first graced theaters back in 2011. But after further reevaluation, the film has somehow turned out to be a cult classic. While considerably underrated — and totally misunderstood, by all means — the fantasy drama feature was actually just way ahead of its time.
What is Sucker Punch about?
The film follows a young woman named Babydoll (Browning), who is locked in a seemingly inescapable situation. To experience a little slice of freedom, Babydoll resorts to using her imagination, where she is free to do whatever she wants in her own fantasy world. However, determined to gain real freedom, she enlists the help of four women — Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Amber (Jamie Chung), and Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) — in order to escape their horrifying fate.
Sucker Punch also stars Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn, Gerard Plunkett, Patrick Sabongui, and Malcolm Scott.
