The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Video games have long been plagued by subpar adaptions of their materials, but on their second attempt, the Mario Bros save the day. Being on par with the likes of Sonic and Detective Pikachu, this film hits all the fun beats you would want from a Mario film. Including plenty of fun moments for fans of the expansive franchise, this also stays completely understandable and entertaining for anyone who checks it out. With some interesting voice acting choices, no one took you out of the film and everyone felt like great choices for this vibrant world. Wishing that it stood out more or took on more intriguing choices, I was still walking away happy and hopeful for the future of this franchise and the possibilities to come.

Can't help but feel like a massively missed opportunity for such a massive IP. While a lot of elements are added in from various games over the years, the script is simply flat and uninspiring, while fails to really showcase the wondrous world of the Super Mario Universe. However, I do understand that the film is a serious undertaking, attempting to introduce a somewhat dated character to a new generation of viewers who may or may not know much about them, but I think a better balance could have been done to appease both type of fans. The music score is definitely a highlight of the overall film, and I think that says a lot about the overall quality.

Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are struggling Brooklyn brother plumbers. When the city's sewer goes haywire, Mario sees an opportunity for heroic fame. Instead, they get sucked into an alternate world. The brothers get separated. Mario joins Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) to recruit the Kong army in their fight against the evil turtle Bowser (Jack Black). Luigi gets captured.

It's brightly colored. It's energetic. It's got the characters. There's the game play. The story is fairly simple. It's pretty much what I expected. I wish there is more heart to it. The brothers could have been that, but they get separated pretty quickly. I played some of the games over the years and this will probably appeal to the fans. It's got all the brightly colored chaos for the kids. It's less so for everybody else.

I think for what this movie sets out to do, Super Mario Bros. Movie pretty much ticks the boxes of an entertaining, reference fan-service heavy movie. A lot of the jokes are basic sure, but it's just impressive that there is some competency to a Video Game Movie. Sometimes simple and straightforward is the best way to go. Not high art or anything, but it ticks off almost everything for what Mario should be at least. Voice acting wasn't as bad as I thought, and Jack Black was the highlight as expected. Yeah, not gonna win any big awards but judge it for what it is, and yeah by Video Game Movie standards it's one of the best ones easily if you ask me.

6.5/10.

This is a movie that feels like a love letter to all the Nintendo fans out there, even if they don't necessarily play Mario anymore. The film delivers a fun and enjoyable experience for viewers by faithfully adapting every aspect of the game into the movie, including the Mario Kart and Donkey Kong franchises. The movie is packed with non-stop action and fast-paced storytelling, leaving little room for some of the more significant elements that fans might have wanted to see. It may not be able to fulfill every fan's wishes, but it's understandable and sets up for a sequel, as there is a post-credits scene.

But for general audiences who are not familiar with Mario enough, this might be a movie that is difficult to understand. There may be questions like why does it have to be like this? Why do it this way? Why is the world so strange? This is because the story hardly explains in detail for us to know how the world is. Even though the story is simple and has nothing much. But if you don't think too much, it's an easy and enjoyable movie to watch, with the lovable characters in the style of the works from the studio that made Despicable Me.