Sucker Punch

Impressions before seeing it
Badly wanted to see this after I first saw that crazy awesome trailer. Then when it was released, I heard people saying it was bad but without giving a reason. Read a bit of Richard Roeper's review (not the whole thing, to avoid spoilers) and he said it was basically a confusing mess, but I wanted to see for myself.

How was it?
Okay, I can see why people wouldn't like it: the fantasy action sequences are technically unnecessary because they don't advance the plot and only serve to draw out very simple actions taking place (though they are very cool and the best thing about the movie); the feminist message is slightly cheapened by a cast of hot young girls in skimpy outfits (though I'm always glad to see female leads - the ratio of movies with male leads to female leads is highly unbalanced); and while the visual designs might be original, a lot of the story and execution doesn't feel like it (it can be cliched and predictable at times). Some also said the acting was bad, but I would say it was adequate at worst. But confusing? Not unless you've never seen a movie before. It's called "frame narrative," and there are two or three inside of each other for most of the movie; it's the same thing as Inception's multiple dream layer structure.

A lot of the movie feels very much like a video game. Not in the same way as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but in the way everything seems to be set up like mission objectives (namely collecting important objects) and boss fights. I could see all of it still being done exactly the same way if it had been a game instead of a movie, and if you don't play video games then you might not even make that connection (it's not as apparent as in Scott Pilgrim) and maybe that's part of why some people don't get it. Sucker Punch does have some minor problems, but I enjoyed it and by no means is it a total stinker.

Recommendation
I'll leave it up to you, because I think this movie can rub people the wrong way. Zack Snyder knows how to direct action, and those scenes alone make it worth watching at least once if you like action. But Sucker Punch tries to be just a little bit more than pure entertainment with its underlying feminist message, failing at that which it should not have tried.