Zack Snyder’s “Alice in Wonderland With Machine Guns” Is About to Get Harder to Watch

If you ask people what filmmaker Zack Snyder’s most divisive movie is, there’s a good chance you’re going to get an answer that is connected to the DC Extended Universe. While there is absolutely no doubt that the Snyderverse has its devoted fans, there are also plenty of moviegoers who are less enthusiastic about his work in the DC Universe, particularly Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But here’s the thing: there is another of Snyder’s film that elicits a range of reactions from his fans, fans of the movie, and people who feel the movie didn’t live up to what it was advertised to be. For many, what looked like “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns” fell far short. 15 years later, a director’s cut is reportedly on the way — but if you want to catch the original version first, you’ll want to do so before it leaves HBO Max at the end of October.

If the “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns” description didn’t give it away, the movie in question is Sucker Punch. Released in 2011, the film has the unique distinction of being Snyder’s first feature film based entirely on his own original story. The film looked extremely interesting when the marketing started. Starring Emily Browning, Jena Malone, Vaness Hudgens, Jamie Chung, and Oscar Isaac, the film followed a young woman named Babydoll who is framed by her father for the death of her sister, gets locked in a mental asylum and is set to be lobotomized. It prompts Babydoll to go into various fantasy worlds where she and the other women in the asylum are actually warriors looking for a way out. The movie was slick, gloriously stylistic, and had some very cool visuals and sequences. But the story left a lot to be desired and while the film has since gained a cult following, it was a critical and box office failure that still divides fans today.

Sucker Punch Was a Great Idea That Was Just Poorly Executed

When it comes to the things about Sucker Punch that worked, there are things that really, really worked well. The film is technically brilliant and might be the best example of Snyder’s eye for interesting angles and visuals of any film he’s ever made. Even if the film had no story at all, simply watching it for the visuals and the action sequences would be deeply enjoyable. It has a satisfying almost video game like feel and when it really gets going, it’s gripping. Even the general idea of the movie is solid. There is something about a fantasy adventure where fantasy worlds and puzzles as a way to deal with trauma and ultimately free one’s self makes for an interesting story frame. Add in that it’s young women doing this with the high concept action as a taking back of their power and Sucker Punch should have been perfect.

It’s how the story actually worked out where things came apart. One of the biggest critiques of the film is its portrayal and depiction of women and the use of sexual violence as a plot element. Many critics and audiences upon seeing the film felt like that what had been billed as a story of empowered young women was anything but and was more an objectification of young women packaged in superficial rebellion. The fairy tale, it seemed, was less for the women working to free themselves and more for the male gaze. In the years since its release, viewers have gone back and been a little kinder to the film — and Snyder has himself previously expressed shock that the film is seriously misunderstood, calling it a commentary on sexism and geek culture.

A New Director’s Cut Is In the Works That Might Resolve Some of the Division

And it may end up that Snyder is right about Sucker Punch being misunderstood. Snyder recently appeared on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz and confirmed that a director’s cut for Sucker Punch is in the works. We don’t know exactly when to expect that version of the film, but Snyder said that there will be new footage that has already been shot. If the movie is getting a fresh take, it’s possible that this new version may offer up different scenes and elements that will further flesh out Babydoll’s story — and possibly even give the film the original ending that Snyder was required by Warner Bros. to change. Snyder’s original ending would have closed with Babydoll singing “Ooh, Child” on stage alongside all of the people in the film who had been killed along the way. The studio thought that ending was too weird, but it might just bring a little something different to the tone of Babydoll’s story, which is meant to be as triumphant as it is tragedy.

Sucker Punch will leave HBO Max on October 31st.

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