Super Mario Bros.: La película

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.

As a Super Mario fan myself, I was hyping this movie up for quite a while. So was it worth that hype? Yes and no. The references, animation, voice acting, and world building are incredible. But, there's a lot of filler and the plot isn't that good either. Despite that, I still really enjoyed it. Though admittedly kinda unnecessary, I really enjoyed watching the Mario Kart section. Same with the Luigi stuff, especially the "you just got Luigi'd" line. Though there are some other problems like Toad not really being funny, and this movie is kinda boring sometimes, but it's mostly pretty entertaining. So overall, solid 7/10 movie, must watch for Mario fans but it may not be for everyone else. If you want a Mario film that's an actual masterpiece, go watch Cute Mario Bros The Third Movie. It's not really based on the series, but besides that it's incredible.

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.

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.

If you only watch the movie with the intention of having fun, you will certainly have a good experience with Mario. However the plot is quite bland and the movie runs at a very fast pace between one scene and another, hampering the progress of the story.

Also, if you haven't played the Mario games, you'll fail immeasurably to pick up the game references that are scattered throughout the movie, and there are many of them. For anyone who's a Mario fan, this movie is literally fan service and it's no wonder why they're giving it a 10.

For me, this movie doesn't lived up to the hype, but for a Mario fan, it certainly did.