Rent The Super Mario Bros. Movie on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Matthew Fogel
Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc (co-director), Fabien Polack (co-director)
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Sebastian Maniscalco, John DiMaggio, Keegan-Michael Key, Fred Armisen, Seth Rogen
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother, Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.
Verdict
This does a great job of including a lot of characters and references, but the story exists just for an excuse to link them. This isn't far from a Nintendo commercial, but how do you create a movie out of a platform video game? The movie wants to entertain first, creating a story as best it can. Other than Mario and crew appearing on screen in a new story, this just doesn't offer much.
Skip It.
Review
This stuffs the movie with Mario and Nintendo references. Some are fun, many are forced.
Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are two Brooklyn plumbers trying to get their business off the ground. We get a comical sequence where they attempt a repair before the main plot kicks in and they find themselves in the Toad Kingdom. Luigi is quickly stuffed into the fridge so that Mario must save him. Mario and Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) team up to defeat Bowser (Jack Black). The movie capitalizes on Jack Black, having Bowser play piano and sing a few times. It doesn't fit with the traditional Bowser character but it is comical.
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| Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Keegan-Michael Key voice Mario, Peach, Toad |
Peach isn't from the Toad Kingdom, and this teases us she's from somewhere else but never pays off. Bowser's motivation is that he loves Peach, but I don't know how they ever meet or know each other. It's a ridiculous premise. We only see him take over the Penguin Kingdom, but that's just in a bid to win over Peach. It's a circular plot chain.
Peach trains Mario for the upcoming battle, and I really like the inclusion of a typical Mario level as part of the training. After that Mario, Peach, and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) set off to gain the aid of the Donkey Kong Kingdom for the Kong army. It's just a ploy to include more Nintendo characters and games. Somehow this even provides a Mario Kart sequence. These references can be shameless.
Mario, Peach, and Luigi manage to defeat Bowser and win over Brooklyn to truly become the Super Mario Bros. It's fun, but the plot is thin. Some of the best moments are the references both visual and audio. I think this managed to include the music for all the Mario games.If it wasn't for the storied legacy of the video games, this movie wouldn't have anywhere near the traction that it does.
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