Is ‘Sucker Punch’ director Zack Snyder the next big director? Is he the next Stanley Kubrick, where he redefines the medium of film with striking visuals and thought provoking stories or is he the next Michael Bay whose films are filled with explosions and mindless cliches? (Note: I hate to pick on Bay twice in one week, but comparing Snyder to Uwe Boll seemed beyond cruel…and can Boll even be properly called a movie director if his films are completely unwatchable like an elementary school play?)
There seems to be two different camps when it comes to Snyder. When ‘300’ was released fans of Frank Miller’s graphic novel finally felt vindicated when it came to comic book movies. The film was unique and beautiful as if ripped from the pages of the graphic novel. It was emotional and visceral. And at the same time many feel it was vacant of what makes a great film besides the eye candy. It did well at the box office and it helped finally get ‘Watchmen’ made into a film after spending decades in development hell.
But then ‘Watchmen’ came out. Now, I’ve always felt that it’s a great graphic novel that is completely beyond being made into a film. But I have to give Snyder credit for at least trying. But at the same time, he seemed to miss out on writer Alan Moore’s subtext about the superheroes and world in general. Instead focusing on the messy relationships of the Watchmen and again some eye candy.
Now, two trailers have been released for his latest film, ‘Sucker Punch’ (hate that name by the way). And while I’m willing to give Snyder the benefit of the doubt, he really needs to go beyond the incredible eye candy that we’ve seen from the film so far. What I’ve seen so far looks like a violent 21st century version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Now what I really need is to connect with his characters beyond the surface, but I’m willing to go down that rabbit hole. Let’s hope it works for his ‘Superman: Man of Steel’ reboot as well.
Let me know what you think!
