Zack Snyder says his favorite shot he has ever filmed is in Sucker Punch. Released in 2011, Sucker Punch was Snyder's last project before his fabled run with the DC Extended Universe, which saw him write and direct three installments in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Justice League. Snyder also produced Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman in 2018 before the recent release of his director's cut of Justice Leauge, the history behind which is well-known.
Sucker Punch was also Snyder's first film based on an original concept, as his previous films like Watchmen and 300 were based on graphic novels. Snyder's highly anticipated return to the zombie genre, Army of the Dead, will be his second film based on an original idea when it releases Friday on Netflix. Sucker Punch centers around a group of young women committed to a mental institution who envision an alternative reality as a coping strategy, but also as means to plot an escape. It stars Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jamie Chung as patients, while Carla Gugino, Oscar Issac, and Jon Hamm portray members of the hospital's staff.
While Sucker Punch was critically panned and underperformed at the box office, grossing just enough to break even on its $82 million production budget, the film is still near and dear to Snyder. Ahead of Army of the Dead's release on Netflix, the director answered a series of questions from fans and collaborators for The Guardian. During the Q&A session, Snyder was asked what his favorite shot in his entire filmography is and he answered, somewhat surprisingly, the mirror shot from Sucker Punch. Read the full exchange below:
What’s your favourite shot in your filmography? What’s the best scene you’ve directed?
The mirror shot from Sucker Punch was pretty fun.
And for scene: documenting Dr Manhattan’s origins story in Watchmen. With the Philip Glass music and everything. That was cool.
While Snyder did not explicitly say the mirror shot from Sucker Punch was his favorite, him mentioning it in response to the question seems to suggest it is. It may be surprising Snyder chose this shot as his favorite, even after all his work on big-budget DCEU blockbusters, especially his director's cut of Justice League, which was lauded for its visual aesthetics. However, Sucker's Punch's mirror shot is something else entirely.
Through a combination of practical effects, the scene in question creates the illusion of the camera going through a mirror. The sequence was originally Snyder's idea, but the film's cinematographer, Larry Fong, figured out how to make the shot happen in one take and with no editing or CGI. A lot of time and effort was likely spent on choreographing the scene, as multiple body doubles, camera angles, and mirrors (real and fake) were used to create this visually dynamic sequence. It is no wonder why Snyder chose this shot from Sucker Punch as his favorite.
Source: The Guardian