Title: Super Mario Bros Movie
Year: 2023
Director: Aaron Horvati
Country: US
Language: English
Decades ago, movie adaptations of video games were infamously awful. Most fans of Nintendo wish they could have the 1993 live action Super Mario Bros wiped from their memory. When I first heard that Illumination Studios were going ahead with their own adaptation I was reluctant to view it, but I had hope Hollywood learned from its mistakes.
Brooklyn plumber named Mario travels through the Mushroom Kingdom with a princess named Peach to save the world from a ruthless fire-breathing Koopa named Bowser.
The Super Mario Bros' Movie captures the vibrant and fun feeling of the video games, while packed to the gills with nostalgic references. If you are here for all the classic Mario moments, which includes a barely justified race down Rainbow Road, then this is certainly a picture you will enjoy.
The madcap, reference-heavy, plot-light pace would make the picture quite appealing to children but doesn't have enough substance to appeal to adults. Unless you are a huge fan of the series, you'll find yourself quite underwhelmed by the lack of plot, character development and its reliance on tropey themes.
In the future, I hope films based on Nintendo products (Legend of Zelda please) carry greater emotional impact. Super Mario Bros Movie was a fine distraction, but it's destined to be completely forgotten about in a year or two.
I do hope Peaches wins Best Song at the Oscars.
