Close your eyes. Open your mind. You will be unprepared. A young girl's dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality.
Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what's real and what is imaginary. She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls - the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) - to band together to escape their captors - Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller.
Led by Babydoll, the girls use their virtual arsenal to engage in fantastical
warfare against everything from samurais to serpents.They must decide what they
are willing to sacrifice to stay alive, but with the help of a wise man, their
unbelievable journey, if they succeed, will set them free.
Set in what appears to be the 1940s, Director Zack Snyder uses music and
dramatic imagery to set the stage without narration. I was initially impressed
with the delivery, as I understood the background behind Babydoll. Her wealthy
mother passes, but leaves the fortune to Babydoll and her baby sister. When the
stepfather (Gerard Plunkett) discovers he gets nothing, his anger takes over and
he tries to assault the girls. Babydoll finds his gun, but accidentally shoots
her sister. The stepfather has Babydoll committed to a mental institution.
It is at the institution where Babydoll learns to stick up for herself and
plot her scheme for freedom.
Babydoll uses her subconscious to destroy whatever opposes her. The spectacular
battles we get to see are the sizzle to the whole story. It's how she overcomes
her fears and inhibitions, and shows the true warrior within her. We later
discover that the other girls plotting to escape are also in this subconscious
world.
Are they actually there? Or is this just an alternate rendition of actual
events according to Babydoll? That would be the confusing part.
As much fun as the fight sequences, war scenes and samurai battles are, it isn't
enough to carry a movie. This is no "Inception" or even "Shutter Island," which
it feels like many times over.
Zack Snyder is also no Tarantino, although again, the concept and the action
sequences are fantastic.
2 out of 4 Buckets
