Super Mario Bros.

Yes, this no classic, but it's not that bad. And yes it bears no resemblance to the video games that inspired it except for the jumpsuits that look like the heroes overalls, but it's not bad.

Mario & Luigi (Bob Hoskins & John Leguizamo) are the two down on their luck brother plumbers who get involved with a college student named Daisy (Samantha Mathis) who turns out to be a princess from an alternate dimension. Once transported there themselves, they must fight the evil King Koopa (Dennis Hopper) and save their world from being merged with Koopa's and the human race from being turned into monkeys.

It may be hard to believe that John Leguizamo is Bob Hoskins brother, but the two have good chemistry and John has a convincing Brooklyn accent (although Tom Selleck would have been a more convincing Luigi in some respects). Bob reprises his gruff detective persona from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" to great effect. Samantha Mathis is cute as the princess and manages to feel less shallow than most heroines in these situations. Dennis Hopper hams it up as the film's villain. Lots of gags and good natured humor, and a beautiful song from Roxette, "Almost Unreal". Worth a rental.

Super Mario Bros. (1993), was another case of the source material, for a film idea, being too advanced for the cinematic technology of the day. CGI was just starting with Jurassic Park (1993), so the choice to do this film with practical, physical effects and live action characters was its major downfall. This prompted the story to be adjusted to fit the capabilities of the filmmakers of the day. It all culminates into a silly plot, that actually manages to make video game characters, caricatures of themselves. This however, isn't a knock on the special effects used in this film at all. The effects fit the pre-CGI era fairly well. They did a very good job with the special effects, art direction, set design and most of the costumes and make-up. There actually is a dinosaur in the film and the computer effects used for him are pretty good. For 1993, it is visually pleasant.

Dennis Hopper, as President Koopa (Bowser), looks ridiculous though. There also is this weird use of the fungus in the film. It looks bad technically and isn't menacing at all. Many of the characters are pail, empty and mindless, especially Samantha Mathis as Princess Daisy. It doesn't translate well, especially having to depict Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo), running around Brooklyn. The attempt to make the film as real as possible backfires. I never got a chance to see this film when it was first released, but I had heard of the negative fallout that came after it was released. I remember when Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs down. Most film-buffs remember hearing, that Bob Hoskins hated the movie. This is probably why I never got around to seeing Super Mario Bros. (1993), until the 2023 film was announced. 30 years later I finally understood. This film is a failure, but I still recommend seeing it, at least once, as a curiosity, because you have to see it to believe it.

3.9 (F+ MyGrade) = 4 IMDB.

Why does this film have such a low rating? Sure it may not be along the storylines of the Super Mario Bros. game for the NES back in '85, but in my opinion, it has to be one of the best films I have ever seen. Some noticeable changes are in this film, such as that the princess' name is Daisy, and she's being held in a tower instead of a castle. There's plenty of fungus and mushrooms around, but I think that the storyline is actually improved from the game, because if it were exactly like the game, it would be just running round, bashing blocks, grabbing coins and eating mushrooms all the way, which would eventually just become boring. This film has variety, like in a real world, there are phone boxes, houses, restaurants, and much more than just pipes, flags and castles. It just also happens that my favourite actor, Bob Hoskins, has the main role as Mario, which makes this film more appealing and exciting. There are also things from the Mario games in the film such as Bob-Ombs (licensed by Reebok, mysteriously), and Goomba Shoes that are powered by Bullet Bills. So to top it off, this has to be one of the best films ever made, and one of my all-time favourites.

The plot:Two plumbers who are known as the Marios, meet a strange young girl that has a rock on her neck. Two idiots from another world kidnap the strange girl known as Daisy, after kidnaping other girls from Brooklyn. The two Marios decide to rescue her from the Two Idiots that have taken her to another world ruled by an evil king known as Koopa.

The View:Performances aren't the major thing here, but the special effects and creations are to be noticed more. The movie itself isn't bad and as a comedy, will have a few(just a few)giggles. It's all really just a fun fantasy movie that just doesn't shine through and doesn't make any effort to make an historical movie, but the film is fun and you will enjoy it as a complete no-brainer. ***

This is a cheesy movie for people who play video games. I don't understand why some people adamantly insist this movie should never have been made. It's cute and entertaining. It doesn't stay completely loyal to the game storyline, but Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo are perfect for these two roles. Worth watching if you see it on TV.