March 28, 2024

(from left) Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) in Nintendo and Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic.

This will make a kahjillion dollars regardless of what critics think and no one will learn anything from their mistakes.

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE

Rated PG, 1 hour and 32 minutes

Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic

Starring: Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Anya Taylor-Joy, Fred Armisen, Seth Rogen, Juliet Jelenic

Shortly after the SUPER MARIO BROS. movie debuted in 1993, it became the benchmark for poor quality video game adaptations. “It can’t get any worse than this,” was a phrase uttered by many who witnessed the ridiculously dumb live-action debacle. Even the star himself, Bob Hoskins, admitted in an interview he didn’t know it was a video game when he took the part while simultaneously lamenting, “I used to play King Lear.”

So with that low bar in mind, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE does indeed fare better, yet still leaves room for improvement. This animated adaptation centered on the brothers’ journey through a fantasy realm is full of jovial whimsy and dazzling, colorful animation. However, many of its strengths are overpowered by noisy, inert action sequences that occur every 8 minutes, overly simplistic characterizations and overplayed, unimaginative soundtrack selections.

Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) have just started their plumbing business, but success isn’t proving easy. Their cheesy, chintzy TV ads aren’t helping. Their first job ends in total disaster. And their own family doesn’t exactly believe in their new career paths either. Things are looking pretty dismal until they hear of a main waterline break in Brooklyn. Knowing they could potentially be heroes to everyone in their borough, they leap into action. But once they arrive on scene, a whole new world opens up to the pair – a fantasy land with death-defying obstacle courses, magic mushrooms and talking creatures (though neither brother reacts like a normal human to talking animals and mushrooms).

A pipe portal sucks our dynamic duo into its powerful pull, separating them, transporting Luigi into the Darklands ruled by the evil, heavy-metal loving warlord Bowser (Jack Black) and Mario into the Mushroom Kingdom ruled by the benevolent beauty Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). Bowser is determined to marry Princess Peach and will stop at nothing to do so, including usurping countries, stealing their resources and imprisoning their people. Fearing the same fate for her people, Princess Peach enlists Mario and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) to aid in her calculated countermeasure, which includes convincing Kong Kingdom leader Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen) to ally with her and fend off their fast-approaching adversary.

(from left) Luigi (Charlie Day) and Bowser (Jack Black) in Nintendo and Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

Though directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and screenwriter Matthew Fogel have crafted a coherent picture, it’s not clever when it could’ve easily been. It aches for greater innovation in both its character construction and narrative design. The locations and characters are utilized solely to stoke nostalgia and waste their potential to be used for a refreshing play on the games. Much of the problem lies in the fact that there’s not much change spurred within the protagonists by their outside circumstances. Plus, for all the good it does pointing out Bowser’s not-so-subtle toxic masculinity, it’s undone by the misguided scene where Toad and Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) argue if Peach wants to date Mario. Minutes later, after Peach demonstrates her badass driving skills, Toad’s “now that’s how you princess” comment reads as patronizing rather than complimentary.

The filmmakers provide a decent enough set-up for Mario and Luigi’s internal conflicts, with Mario having to prove his worth to others and Luigi needing to find courage. Yet their payoffs are severely lacking since there’s no earned, palpably felt hero moment allotted to either brother. Instead, they hand wave any character-defining moments in favor of hollow action hijinks. Sidekicks also fare poorly as Donkey Kong and Toad are underdeveloped with little purpose in the story. With exception of Lumalee’s (Juliet Jelenic) dark sense of humor, self-aware jokes and unfunny gags pervade.

While the narrative provides plenty of frustration, the landscapes and score feel cinematically sweeping. The worlds the animators have created are certainly gorgeous, littered with vibrant colors and tactile aesthetics. Characters’ skins look tangibly textured while retaining their cartoonish inspiration from the games. The powered-up incandescent glow and fire effects on the flowers are noteworthy. From the lighting to the characters’ movements, every frame looks like a painting. Composer Brian Tyler’s symphonic score incorporates Koji Kondo’s gaming themes meaningfully and with a subtle stroke. It’s a stark counterpoint to the incredibly dull, on-the-nose needle drops on the soundtrack (“Holding Out For a Hero” plays when the hero trains and “Thunderstruck” plays when they assemble their go-karts).

Feeling more like a first draft than a final one, this film serves to underwhelm its audience. Kids will most likely be entertained, but it’ll disappoint some of the adults hoping for an upgraded version for a new generation.

Grade: 2 out of 5

THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE opens on April 5.

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