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