The Super Mario Bros. Movie (English) Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating
THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE is the story of a plumber who turns into a hero. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are brothers who start a plumbing business in Brooklyn, New York. They hardly get any calls to avail of their services and when they do, they create a mess. Their family admonishes them for leaving their steady job to follow their dream. Both, however, decide to continue with their endaevour. One day, they learn that a manhole leak in Brooklyn leads to flooding on a street. Mario and Luigi reach the spot and go underground to find the source of the leak. In the process, they get sucked into a Warp Pipe and get separated. Luigi lands in the Dark Lands, ruled by the Koopa king Bowser (Jack Black). Bowser has recently won the ’Super Star’ and his aim is to capture the neighbouring Mushroom Kingdom and marry its princess, Perch (Anya Taylor-Joy). Mario, meanwhile, ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom. He meets Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) who takes him to meet Perch. Perch is overjoyed to see Mario as he’s a human just like her. She is aware that Bowser is on his way to attack her kingdom. She decides to head to the Jungle Kingdom and ask for King Cranky’s (Fred Armisen) help. She also asks Mario to join her on the journey and thereby help him save Luigi from the crutches of Bowser. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE is based on the very popular ‘Mario’ video game franchise. Matthew Fogel's story is simple and predictable. But it does justice to the iconic game and its memorable characters. Matthew Fogel's screenplay is neat and moves at a rapid pace. One of the best parts of the film is that the various obstacles, power-ups and other factors unique to the video game have been incorporated as plot points in the film. This makes the film very novel as one has probably never something like this in a film. Even the classic Mario theme is played in crucial scenes. For fans of the game, the film will evoke nostalgia and will make for an unforgettable watch.
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic's direction is splendid. There are no dull moments in the film and a lot of funny and dramatic stuff keeps happening at regular intervals. The introduction of Mario and Luigi is hilarious and brings the house down. The real fun, however, begins once the brothers get separated and end up in different places. The second half gets better with the introduction of Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen). The last 30 minutes are filled with exciting action and thrilling sequences and the film ends on a great note.
On the flipside, the plot is very predictable and one can guess from a mile away what will happen next. Secondly, the voice cast could have been better. Chris Pratt has done an ordinary job as the voice of Mario. Jack Black and Seth Rogen steal the show with their respective voiceovers. Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day and Fred Armisen are decent.
Brian Tyler and Koji Kondo's music is modern, cinematic and also neatly incorporates Mario's theme. Eric Osmond’s editing doesn’t give any reason to complain. The animation of the film is top-notch.
On the whole, THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE does total justice to the classic Mario game franchise and makes good use of its characters, music and several other unique aspects of the film. At the box office, it has the chance to surprise thanks to the popularity of the video game. While the millennials, who have grown up playing the game, will watch the film to relive the golden days of their childhood, the teens and the under 13 age group will also be impressed by the film as it has lots to offer to them too.