- this is right turn; wrong universe -

Hrm. More being conflicted about kick-ass girls in pop culture?

I'm distracted (and wibbly) from sending off a short essay to the Globe & Mail for review and submission to the "Facts and Arguments" section (wish me luck!) so let's keep this to pros and cons.

PRO: Sucker Punch looks gorgeous, stylistically. The world itself (particularly the fantasy ones, but the Gothic insane asylum as well) is epic-looking, and let's face it: dragons and zeppelins and huge mechas = wow. Colour me there.

CON: However, the content is thematically triggering. Domestic (and other) violence, particularly towards women, is a difficult thing to bring effectively to the screen without sensationalizing it. Zach Snyder (300) is not known for his sensitivity, and some of the things in that trailer (all two minutes of it) had me twitching. Using a painful past as a motive for kicking ass and taking names is one thing, but...

PRO: In an odd way, this is a buddy/escape movie with female leads. Which is a very odd concept. But it's also one of the first movies WB's put out in a while with female leads.

CON: Just because a movie has female leads doesn't mean they will be good female leads. Plus, the gender politics in this movie are likely going to have me tear out my hair. The lead character's nickname is Babydoll. Though, what with the ponytails, it's fitting. Besides, if The Outsiders could get away with really bad nicknames, maybe I should cut these girls some slack? Maybe. I'm sure that "Soda Pop" and "Ponyboy" sounded just as ridiculous back in the day.

PRO: I'm digging the older characters who seem mentor-like (the general; the sage; the dance instructor/madam). It'll be interesting to see where they're taken.

CON: The voiceovers (and possibly the dialogue) don't sound very well-written/acted; moreover, it's cliched, and in some cases, borrowed (quoting Alexander Hamilton? Really?)

PRO: In the wake of all the prison-break shenanigans/ burlesque/ explosions/ alternate-reality-worldbending/ general badassery, that may not matter.

CON: Sometime after my retinas have recovered from all the flash and bang, bad dialogue still rankles.

PRO: How often do girls get to fight dragons and bend worlds and break out of prisons in movies, never mind in the same one?

PRO: I've been coveting that title font since the first time I saw it.

PRO: The concept art on the website is nifty and very Alice-in-Wonderland (which this movie seems to want to be a very, very dark version of); the English major in me is trying to decode symbolism/spoilers from the little details.

CON: I suspect I will dislike the protagonist, but am hoping and thinking that the secondary cast will make up for it. (Hey, this theory worked for Lord of the Rings...)

PRO: The costumes, while definitely playing to some major tropes (aviatrix, schoolgirl, medieval babe) look solidly designed and might even pass the Sydney Bristow test. (Read: even though the outfits look like they might have been designed by Tetsuya Nomura, the characters look like they would be able to move/run/slice-and-dice giant mecha in them.) And one of the team is actually wearing pants, which almost deserves its own "pro" point. If there's an actual reason behind why each character gets the world/costume that they do beyond "this is your imagination, oooo", I suspect I will forgive this movie a lot.


That's about where I am for now; looks like the "pros" have it, although not without reservation. We'll see where I am next March. ^^


♥music of the moment: must be dreaming