One of the most popular game series of all time has had it… let’s say tough on the big screen. For the longest time, we’ve only had Super Mario Bros. (1993, my review here), and if you had the pleasure of seeing this masterpiece, you know why Nintendo was more cautious than ever about anything movie related. That is until now, and it seemed that history would repeat itself. I can’t think of anyone who was happy with casting Chris Pratt as Mario besides him. And the fact this was from the same studio as The Minions movies also didn’t inspire confidence. But then the first reviews came out, and to my surprise, most people were praising it! Sure, nothing spectacular, but it was intriguing enough for me to catch it in the cinemas.

Before we go any further, I just let you know one thing – I have not played any Mario game ever since… maybe the original? Or its sequel and that was probably 20 years ago. Yep, you read it right; I have never played any Mario Kart games or Mario Maker games… Basically, if you can name it and it has Mario in it, I haven’t played it. The reason is simple, I am not a big gamer anymore, and when I play something, those are not games I would want to spend my time on; they are just not appealing. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like Mario or this franchise quite the opposite; I think it’s a great, colourful world that is simply not something I want to spend my limited hours on. Why am I writing this? It is simple – you should know that my opinion of this movie is about the film, as I have no attachments to any games. Sure, even I know Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Toad etc., but I can’t judge the movie based on how close it was to the games or whether I caught some Easter eggs.

The first thing that hit me about The Super Mario Bros. Movie was its animation. It was pleasant, vivid, and, most importantly, it resembled the characters even I (not a gamer) was familiar with. The second thing that I thought was odd was how we started on our Earth, and we see both brothers as plumbers. I don’t know whether it was needed, but I understand it was to shut up people who’ve always complained about Mario being a plumber and not doing any plumbing. The “Earth” part was the weakest part of the film; the moment both our brothers finally enter the Mushroom Kingdom is when this movie finally starts.

And once it started, it was… pretty good? Again, don’t expect anything Pixar-like; this movie knows what it is and goes for it; however, most jokes work, the story makes sense, and it’s only 92 minutes! One of the best decisions the directors made was making this film tight. There is always something happening, I was rarely bored, and nothing ever felt “disposable”. There were stakes to this film and its story, everything felt consequential, and Bowser felt like a threat. And that’s all I could ask for from a movie about Italian plumbers.

Let’s talk about that casting. Chris Pratt would not be my first choice, but I feel like he became one of those “we hate him because we’ve already decided who he is” people. He’s not my favourite actor, but I think the hate he is getting is a bit too much. And he was perfectly fine as Mario. Sure; could you name five to ten people who would have been better? Probably. But he did a good job. Anya Taylor-Joy is always a joy (some pun intended) to listen to, and we have many others, mostly comedians (Keegan-Michael Key, Charlie Day or Seth Rogen), who have also had their moments. But, there was someone who stole the film, the same as his character. Jack Black. Before he started to sing (as he does in most of his movies), I wouldn’t have recognised him at all. Yes, I knew he was voicing him, but had I not known, I would have been shocked to learn that it was him, as it felt like he gave his soul to this role. While others were fine and sounded pretty much the same, Jack put on a performance. And his song Peaches is a bop; I secretly hope it might get an Oscar nomination.

What I was pleasantly shocked by was this blue character called Lumalee. I didn’t recognise this character at all, so I don’t know whether they are part of some game or they made it up for this film. Nevertheless, it had a delightful sense of dark, existential humour, but all lines were voiced with this baby voice. At some point, I even wondered how did the directors get this material past “would someone think of the children” people. One example that may showcase why I enjoyed this character this much: “The only hope is the sweet release of death.” Whoever came up with this character, bravo.

The only negative is the first 20 minutes are not as fun as the rest of this film. Also, you can precisely tell what will happen at any given point. But I can’t hold it against this movie too much, given its history and everything that went against this film too, for it to be a quick, enjoyable enough ride is sometimes enough. I wonder how much I would like it or not if I played any of the newer games.

Overall, The Super Mario Bros. Movie might be one of the biggest surprises of 2023. The movie I didn’t expect anything from; I wouldn’t have dreamed of going to see it in the cinemas, and yet, I did and had a great time. Sure, it’s mindless, vividly colourful fun with a dash of dark humour, but sometimes, that’s all you need. If you have kids, you can do much worse than this movie, that’s for sure. I would be open to a sequel, is a sentence I thought I would never say in the same breath as “The Super Mario Bros. Movie“.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I will be the first one to admit that the Guardians films never hit me as much as others around me. Since the first Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) came out, I have seen and met many people who adored that film. And I never hated it, but I “just” liked it. And the same happened with the sequel from 2017, which I also like but do not love. Sure, I haven’t watched either of them since then, so I might feel different now, but I doubt it. And the reason for that is Vol.3 is the best Guardians film, and I loved… some scenes/pieces of it. But this film is one of those “the pieces are better than the overall picture”.

I will have to do something I usually avoid, especially with movies as new as this one, but I will have to go into full spoiler talk soon, as I can’t otherwise explain my issues with this film. As I alluded to, there were moments I thought this film was brilliant. Some scenes and characters worked for me, and I liked what the movie was doing. But the longer the film went on, the more I found myself frustrated with the writers wanting to make you feel some stakes and never committing to anything meaningful. Despite the fact “meaningful” no longer matters in the MCU, when your characters can simply come back from the dead, and all we get is a jokey explanation for it.

Before diving into the spoilers, I must say I have enjoyed the focus on Rocket, I liked what they did with his character, the things that were hinted at in the past paid off, and we finally saw his (very dark) past. I must command that decision, as this film might just be MCU’s darkest film to date. It’s not necessarily scary (even though I can imagine some scenes giving 10-year-olds nightmares), but most of Rocket’s past and the main storyline are darker than usual because it touches on real-life things (the most obvious example is the cruelty of animal testing). I liked that aspect and how this movie felt like one of the most “adult” MCU films to date. Hence I regret that I can’t just find the strength to reward this film with a higher rating for a few reasons.

Beware, SPOILERS are coming!

This might be an issue on my receiver; for example, I might have missed something in some other MCU film since Avengers: Endgame (2019), but how the fuck is Gamora alive? Yes, they say it quite clear she isn’t the same Gamora and something about her being from some alternate reality or something, but… The film really skips over that. It made me question whether I have missed some Marvel special explaining this or whether they loved Zoe Saldaña so much they had to bring her back. Look, you don’t have to convince me hard for Zoe’s comeback; I am a big fan of hers. But her death meant something in the Endgame and for Star Lord’s character (Chris Pratt) too; as seen in the beginning of this film. And yeah, I have read the official justification on IMDb, but… it doesn’t work for me. As much as I love Zoe and her portrayal of Gamora, I feel like not having her in this film would have had a more meaningful impact on this film, like there are actual stakes. That brings me to my biggest problem with this film.

“Stakes? What is this strange word; is it French? Don’t know it!” – says Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. As the film constantly hints at everybody being killed at some point (and I mean every major actor), and just when you think they are actually going through with it, they are back alive. The most egregious examples are Drax (Dave Bautista) and Star-Lord. Drax gets shot straight to his chest and back, collapses to the ground, and epically sad music starts playing; you think that’s it; there is no way he is recovering… Nah, get fucked! He’s fine on his feet (well being carried by Mantis, portrayed by Pom Klementieff), and it’s not addressed at all afterwards; he is just peachy for the rest of the film. The same with Star-Lord; he (yet again) freezes up in space, and it seems like there is no saving him until the almost literal deus-ex-machine (in the form of Will Poulter) saves him.

I understand that, to some degree, the same can be said about most MCU films, but here, especially with the story being centred on endings and new beginnings, it felt like the movie wanted to have it both ways. They want you to feel like this story is so different and anything can happen, but the moment they can be different than the rest of the MCU, they always chicken out, just so we could have the actors available for other movies or possibly one last Guardians film… Who knows. I don’t mind suspending my disbelief, especially if watching a comic book movie. However, if you brand yourself as the “edgy one”, like this crazy, quirky comic-book film where anything can happen, and you make it so close to having a few meaningful deaths and then always pull back at the very last second, it feels contradictory.

Which was a shame as I have enjoyed most of the film; as mentioned before, Rocket’s incredibly sad backstory was heart-breaking, and with his almost death and coming back alive, I was ok with it. Because we spent so much time with him, I didn’t feel cheated by that, and I am glad he is now the new leader of this brand new team of Guardians. I also enjoyed the villain (portrayed by Chukwudi Iwuji) despite him getting almost cartoony towards the end, but overall he definitely belongs to the conversation of most intriguing MCU villains. I also need to shout out Bautista and Pom Klementieff, as both of their characters serve mainly as comedic reliefs, but they still managed to find some scenes to shine and have an impact. I don’t think they get enough credit for their work, especially the comedy elements that could have turned annoying fast, and yet they never failed to at least make me smile, if not a full-on laugh.

It will be interesting to see whether we will ever get the “original” Guardians, as a few have left the team, but given all of them are still alive, I would not rule it out. And I am looking forward to seeing what this new team can do, but it will be weird without James Gunn. Hopefully, Marvel will take some notes and hire some other, not mainstream director(s), and give them more of a “free range” over the film. Even though they might not be 100% my cup of hot cocoa, I can’t deny the success this trilogy (well, trilogy and the Holiday Special (2022)) has had. And this one is definitely the wildest, most out-there film yet, and this is precisely what Marvel needs – something a bit more out there to break through the mould of averageness.

Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the best Guardians film by far. It still has some issues, mainly not being as “daring” as the movie seems to think it is, but it is a good time with a bunch of unique characters that gel together well. That and the soundtrack is always spot-on. I would say, if you loved the previous two Guardians movies, this is an easy choice. If you are like me and still haven’t gotten the love for these unique weirdos, I would still recommend it, as the film has enough themes and well-shot action sequences to keep you entertained.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

After delivering almost a perfect trilogy of action films (my reviews can be found here, there, and also here), John Wick is back and longer than ever. No, that’s not a euphemism (but it can be if you try hard enough ;-)) Chapter 4 is one hour longer than the first John Wick film. Therefore, despite the bad-ass trailers and my positive attitude towards these films (now I guess it’s a franchise), I was a bit worried. It is a fourth one; it’s almost three hours long; there is no way this film will deliver, right? All my worries disappeared when I finally sat in the cinema and caught this one (better late than never). And the further the film went, the more I loved it. And there are several reasons for that.

One of those reasons must be the casting. Sure, we can talk about the main stars like Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane or Lance Reddick, for whom this was his last fully filmed movie; may he rest in power. They all know their roles well, and despite some line readings that may be leaning too much toward them being bigger than life (mainly with Keanu and Laurence’s characters), it never distracted me. But this franchise knows how to cast the “side roles”, and this one might have been the best one yet. Everyone from Hiroyuki Sanada, Rina Sawayama and Shamier Anderson to our antagonists Bill Skarsgård and Donnie Yen were outstanding in their roles, each serving a different purpose; they never once felt like an unnecessary character. And especially Donnie’s character, one who can go toe-to-toe with John Wick himself; and survive… He might have been my favourite character in this film. I wonder whether they made him blind to equalise the “playing field”, as the real-life Donnie Yen is pretty much John Wick if you do some reading on him. I am not saying he is in some sort of mysterious world of assassins and kills people on the side; all I am saying is he could do that if he wanted to; that’s how good of a fighter he is.

Halfway through this film, when John survives yet another “how the fuck did he survive that?” moment, I began to wonder why am I not mad about it? It usually bothers me when our protagonist turns into a superhero, and there are no stakes. But then it hit me, or to be precise, they hit John again in another well-shot, well-edited action sequence. That is the key; I am willing to forgive a lot (and I suspect many others are too) as long as you give me something unique, like an action sequence shot from the top, with no (visible) cuts for a couple of minutes. Or your “standard” fight scene with slow and steady camera movements, where we cut only when necessary. Yes, I am describing what’s been the staple of the John Wick franchise since its first movie, but I feel like they have taken the action to the next level in Chapter 4. This movie has several long action sequences (after all, it is almost three hours long!), but they never felt the same. The one in Osaka feels different than the one in Germany or the other towards the end in Paris. They are specific to their location, to whoever is in them, but they have one thing in common, they are always well rehearsed, and you can tell they spend hours upon hours shooting them. And I appreciate it.

I think that is the main difference between this franchise and something like the Fast & Furious franchise. Both are “silly” movies on the surface, with regular people doing something special. But, and this is Megan Thee Stallion’s level of but(t), one franchise expects you to understand that all people within the universe are indestructible machines with a lot of CGI behind them. The other tries to justify most of its shenanigans (like bullet-proof suits and many different rules in the world of ruthless killers), and when it’s time to “let loose”, it gives you the unbelievable action of “hero beats 100 men” or “hero survives this and that!” scenes that feel real. They feel real, even though we all know deep down John Wick wouldn’t have survived 10% of what happens to him in this film, let alone all four movies combined, but the way everything is shot and edited, the way we can tell what is happening, where everyone is, that is where the cookie crumbles. So yeah, I am more willing to forgive some of these “there is no way he would survive that!” scenes as long as I can see everything happening clearly, without a headache or a pause button.

I also loved how this film ended. Without going into any spoilers, I don’t know whether we will get any more John Wick films. I know there are two TV shows in production right now (The Continental (2023) and Ballerina (2024) starring Ana de Armas), and I will be checking them both out; especially looking forward to Ballerina because Ana de Armas kicking ass? You don’t have to threaten me twice with a good time! But regarding any “official” John Wick films, they made it so the story is reasonably closed after this one, but I can also see how they could “reopen” it if they wanted to do John Wick 5. I wouldn’t mind if this were the end of the films, and they would just continue with shows. But, if we have to get a fifth one, they better bring back Chad Stahelski as a director, as he is currently one of the best (if not THE best) living directors who understand how to shoot compelling action sequences. He has proven himself several times now, so I am not afraid to make this statement; he gets everything, from making every sequence pop to understanding the audience is willing to accept (read: forgive) a thing here and there if you make it compelling enough.

Overall, John Wick: Chapter 4 is a blast. If you are worried about the runtime, don’t be. This movie justifies it, and I never felt it because the film feels like you are on several different rollercoasters throughout it. Each one is different from the last, but there wasn’t one that would bore you or leave you cold. To top it all off, we have gotten a plethora of outstanding supporting actors, who I hope to see more of in one of those TV shows. But most importantly, it is a satisfying conclusion (?) to this John Wick saga if the creators decide we won’t make any of these films anymore. I can’t imagine anyone who loved the previous three films being disappointed with this one.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke