Over 40 years ago in 1981, we were first introduced to the universe that would eventually captivate millions of people across multiple generations with the release of Donkey Kong. Two years later Nintendo created the first Mario Bros. game which introduced the beloved mushroom stomping, turtle bashing, plumber brothers into pop culture. Now, the new movie Starring Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy and more brings a colorful comedic story to its fantastical adventure universe.
In the Super Mario Bros. Movie which will be released on April 5, 2023, struggling plumbers Mario and Luigi go investigating the cause of a flood in downtown brooklyn. After getting sucked through a pipe the brothers are split with Mario being sent to the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi falling into the custody of Bowser where he will remain for most of the film. One of my biggest issues with this decision of making Luigi the person needing rescuing is that he is primarily abandoned from the focus of the story. Played by Charlie Day, Luigi just sits in a cage at the bottom of Bowser’s castle for nearly the entirety of the film until Mario frees him in the final battle. As it is the Super Mario Bros. Movie and not the Super Mario movie is ultimately disappointing when Luigi is forgotten on the side. Despite being the driving plot point for Mario who wants to free his brother, it seems boring and lazy that Luigi is left behind by the “cameras”.
Second, the movie was full of references to other games like Rainbow Road from Mario Kart in the racing scene or the Jumpman from the restaurant in Brooklyn. Every five minutes there is a reference to an N64 game or a lesser known character that adds bits of “remember those” to entice the older audiences with nostalgia.
One flaw in the show can be seen in the constant transitions between scenes that seem to brush over things like characters or elements in the setting that go unexplained or unanswered. Of course a movie about a 2-D video game with the only plot point of saving a princess may be hard to create a background for, especially when the plot is altered further from a kidnapped princess to Luigi. Mario spends no more than a couple of minutes in one location before the movie transitions again in turn giving no time to show any story behind the crazy world it takes place in. Treating the movie as a film and not just a watchable game it is clear to see the lack of details in character’s backgrounds, beliefs, or motives in the overall story.
Overall though, going into the movie expecting it to have a coherent plot or character development will ultimately lead to disappointment. However, looking at it lightheartedly it is still chock full of fun action sequences and funny interactions, especially Jack Black’s performance as bowser. In the end, if you just want a fun movie that doesn’t really care about the plot, then the Super Mario Bros. may be the right one for you.
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