AllMovie

Suckerpunch is ludicrously plotted, violently pornographic, pornographically violent, misogynistic, misanthropic, and amoral. It's also crudely entertaining, provided one doesn't take it too seriously. Paris Campbell is good in the lead role as the hapless reformed thug, Mike. He underplays, which balances out the scenery chewing of his enthusiastic co-stars. But it's clear from the start that the writing and directing team of Jeff and Josh Crook is far more interested in the various debaucheries and atrocities of the supporting cast of psychopaths than in Mike's spiritual redemption. In fact, the filmmakers take such obvious glee in Mike's degradation (an admittedly memorable scene in which Mike is forced to have sex with another man for money is played strictly for laughs), that his eventual (and pro forma) revenge, can be seen for what it is -- an occasion to show more brutality -- rather than as any kind of actual moral redress. This despite the fact that the filmmakers tie Mike's attempt at redemption to a sloppily conceived religious experience. Still, the supporting actors gamely tear into their roles, the hip-hop soundtrack percolates, and the violence is, for the most part, effectively staged. Suckerpunch is either a guilty pleasure or simply guilty, depending on one's own tolerance for cinematic moral turpitude.