Was anyone really excited for this Chris Pratt-led film? Not really. But should they be?
Directors: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc
Starring: Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy
Running time: 92 minutes
It’s been thirty years since the last attempt at a Super Mario Bros. movie; back in 1993, we got a strange live action take starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper. That release had very little resemblance to the Super Mario franchise at the time, aside from some tentative references to the game’s iconography. However, we must understand that the series was a very different beast to the one of today; back then, we still only had four mainline Mario games and the franchise was still three years away from making the jump into 3D. Now, the title has had the benefit of three decades to truly establish the world of the Mushroom Kingdom. Attempts at video game movies have been littered with poor and sloppy adaptations. Who can forget Street Fighter, Doom, and the truly lamentable oeuvre of Uwe Boll? However, in recent years, the quality has improved somewhat - Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider and Pokémon Detective Pikachu have been highly entertaining, and it is the right time for Nintendo to take another stab at a Super Mario spectacular.
Working alongside Illumination Studios (Despicable Me, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets), Nintendo has given us the Mario Bros movie fans have deserved.
Mario (Chris Pratt) and his brother Luigi (Charlie Day) are plumbers working in Brooklyn, New York, when a catastrophic leak calls for the pair to investigate. Hoping to sort the mess, they aim to become heroes and kickstart their fledgling business. However, nothing goes to plan, and the moustachioed brothers find themselves separated and transported to the brightly-coloured world of the Mushroom Kingdom. Here, Bowser, King of the Koopas (Jack Black), is scheming to marry Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and rule the Kingdom with his scaly fist. Peach must train Mario to become the true hero he was meant to be, so that he may save both his brother and the land.
The Super Mario Brothers Movie is a fun-filled celebration of the long-running franchise, and is well worth your time
The plot is, to be honest, paper thin, but it doesn’t seem to matter as The Super Mario Bros. Movie is so charming, funny and jam-packed with the game’s iconic characters and sounds that fans will be grinning from ear-to-ear. The only real gripe is Chris Pratt’s performance as Mario - a generic animated hero, not bad enough to take the audience out of the fantasy but not anything to write home about either. However, Jack Black’s Bowser and Seth Rogen’s Donkey Kong are top notch - and steal the show from the titular plumber.
Plaudits, too, for the characterisation of the Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants; notably Lumalee (Juliet Jelenic), an ultra-kawaii character driven mad with despair after her imprisonment at the hands of Bowser.
Everything is here - from Power Stars, Piranha Plants and Power Ups to kart racing, Koopas and Toads. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a fun-filled celebration of the long-running franchise, and is well worth the watch. Let’s-a Go!
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