Zack Snyder Has One Major Regret About Sucker Punch
It's safe to say that Zack Snyder's style isn't for everyone. But even the "Man of Steel" and "Army of the Dead" filmmaker contends with his own work from time to time. Recently, he's opened up about his personal issues with his 2011 action fantasy "Sucker Punch."
The film centers on the escapades of a young woman (Emily Browning) who slips into fantastical worlds and collects items alongside her newfound band of allies in an effort to escape a mental institution. "Sucker Punch" would be Snyder's first original movie following remakes such as "Dawn of the Dead" and comic adaptations such as "300" and "Watchmen." Despite this distinction, the director still thinks he could have done more with the concept.
"'Sucker Punch' is probably the most obvious example of straightforward, pure satire that I've made," Snyder stated in a recent interview with Total Film Magazine. "And I still think I didn't go far enough, because a lot of people thought that it was just a movie about scantily clad girls dancing around in a brothel." That notion ultimately resulted in "Sucker Punch" failing to find an audience, as the film flopped both critically and financially amongst its release. However, Snyder may not be the only one to blame for the lackluster reception.
Sucker Punch was Snyder's first time contending with stubborn studios
At the time of its release, "Sucker Punch" failed to live up to the satirical ambitions that director Zack Snyder envisioned for the project. While he pins some of the blame on himself, Snyder has been equally open about the difficulties he had making the film under Warner Brothers.
The combination of studio notes, alterations following test screenings, and MPAA requirements left Snyder with a different kind of movie than he was anticipating, with the omission of a more tragic ending involving Babydoll sacrificing herself being an especially bitter blow. In a 2021 career retrospective interview with Vanity Fair, Snyder described the experience as, " ... the first time where I really faced like a true, radical restructuring of the film for it to be more commercial." In the interview, he also stated that a director's cut of "Sucker Punch" is in the works, which he has teased since the film's initial release in 2011.
More recently, "Sucker Punch" has found greater appreciation from some viewers, who see it as an underrated gem worthy of being reanalyzed. Hopefully, a faithful cut approved by Snyder will deliver the pure vision he had for the film and generate new fans in the process.