Running time: 110 minutes (1hour50minutes)
From the name alone I probably should have deduced that this wasn't going to be a memorable film that would raise the game for the future of 2011; but with a friend, curiosity and four and a half pounds of the queen's coins (actual price after student discount would you believe) burning a hole in my pocket I entered hoping for my suspicions to be far from accurate and to be bewildered by how wrong I had been. Sadly this was not the case.
After being condemned to a mental asylum by her abusive stepfather, Baby Doll (Emily Browning) has five days to escape her captors before an imminent lobotomy. With unrelenting will to break free she convinces and unites the three other institutionalized girls as they plan a way out, dictated by Baby Doll's escapist fantasy-world visions and a mystery wise man (who I rightly renamed Charlie Townsend - Charlie's Angels).
The girls gather the five objects needed for their breakout from the mental institute where they are forced to provocatively dance in order to please their corrupt owner's, Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac), rich clients.
Be prepared for robot samurais, orcs and goblins, and as of course the customary ZOMBIE NAZI or two in manga-styled, fantasy adventure packaging.
Enter: trailer
Before winging a little, I would like to welcome back a couple of the stars appearing in this movie, who for me, have been like the fleeting members of the family that I haven't seen in a little while. First of all Carla Gugino,who for the nineties kids amongst you would remember her as the mother in Spy Kids, this time around plays a mentally-broken Russian choreographer. Secondly Vanessa Hudgens,who is gradually shaking off her glittery High School the Musical prep jacket in-favour of the slightly torn tweed blazer of serious acting, plays the ever eager to escape Blondie. So hey welcome home!
As my friend rightly pointed out this would be incredible confined to the realms of video-gaming; yet for an audience member it's a bit like sitting on the quaint, peaceful tea-cups ride to suddenly being hoisted up kilometers into the air above your friends, family and dalmatian Sassy (why not), to then fall and land in a fish bowl, having discovered that you've been transformed into an Axolotl. Confused? Wondering what's going on? Think the Axolotl looks just a little like a Pokemon? Mind blown yet? Well then now you understand what it's like inside the near packed, 100 seating cinema screening that you've just paid to enter and gasp in a mixture of horror and bemusement. All I feel is left to say is thank you director Zack Snyder for the beautiful films you lay so kindly before us in the past: 300, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead... but curse you for this intriguing train-wreck of a film.
Lesson learned today: DO indeed judge a film by its cover.
For what it's worth, despite this sounding rather conflicting compared with what I've written previously, I would say watch it, if gore and surreal worlds or fantasy are your thing then this may just be the film for you. Think open-minded.
Rating: Not a-so bad
