The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review: An Arbitrary Amalgam of Nintendo Nostalgia

In the years since the original Super Mario Bros. game was released back in the '80s, the overall-wearing plumber has arguably become the most iconic figure in the history of console gaming. Mario himself has the same global recognition of Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny, while supporting characters like Luigi, Peach, and Bowser are all icons in their own right. Despite that notoriety, the concept has failed to make a significant attempt at exploring other mediums, as the dozens of games featuring the characters that have been released over the years have perfected the appeal of the entire Nintendo roster. The Super Mario Bros. Movie attempts to embrace the appeal of Mario and his mushroom-fueled antics, and while younger audiences and Nintendo devotees are sure to appreciate the slapstick humor and references to all corners of Mario's legacy, the film is nothing more than a delivery system for those nods.

Brothers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are struggling to get their plumbing business off the ground, when a surprise discovery below the streets of Brooklyn sucks them to another realm. The pair get separated, with Luigi becoming the captive of the evil Bowser (Jack Black) and Mario asking Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) for help, enlisting allies like Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) to save the day. 

The impact that Super Mario Bros. has had on all corners of pop culture is undeniably powerful, a fact that has been true for 40 years, as proven by the 1993 film Super Mario Bros. being the first attempt at translating a video game into a live-action experience. With that film being, for lack of a better word, "insane," that first foray into a Nintendo movie confirmed a major fear for the industry, which is that no matter how successful a game is, the mechanics of gaming don't translate well into a long-form narrative. Films like Double Dragon, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat would all solidify those points, with it not being until adaptations like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Resident Evil that highlighted the storytelling potential of RPGs and that they could translate slightly more effectively into another medium. Just this year, HBO's The Last of Us became one of the most talked-about series of 2023, highlighting how far such adaptations have come since that first Super Mario Bros.

On the plus side, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is far more delightful than the 1993 live-action adaptation, but on the negative side, regardless of how far the industry has come over the years, this adventure can't escape the built-in appeal and ingrained mechanics of the franchise. The movie does do an effective job at capturing the colorful and playful worlds of the series, as studio Illumination manages to honor the source material while also translating it organically to the big screen. These characters look like their pixelated counterparts as they jump, slide, and punch their way through fantastical lands, to the point that one could easily assume they're watching another player embark on the adventure. One sequence involving Rainbow Road, in particular, will make your hands reflexively reach for a controller and hope to find yourself with a red shell. Sprinkled throughout the entire film are direct nods to the cinematic sensibilities of virtually every title in the Mario library, from platforming side-scrollers to overhead investigations illuminated by flashlights. 

From the moment that the studio announced the cast for the film, they might have been impressed by the talent that was amassed, though one major point of contention was Pratt's casting as Mario, especially when actor Charles Martinet, who has been voicing Mario and Luigi for three decades, is still actively performing. Sadly, those fears from audiences came to fruition, as Pratt's Mario is indistinguishable from any other performance the actor has given. With so many versions of Mario leaning into the cartoonish exaggerations of an Italian accent, we can see why the project would want a more grounded character, but this Mario sounds just like The LEGO Movie's Emmett and just like Onward's Barley and just like all of Pratt's live-action roles.

Pratt isn't alone in failing to deliver an engaging performance, as virtually every character feels like the performer behind it recorded their lines in an afternoon, merely reading words off of a piece of paper. The only inspired performance is Black's Bowser, who has the benefit of leaning into all of the absurdities of such a villain, making us wish we could have seen Black play the monster in a live-action experience. 

Not only do all of the vocal performances feel like they were captured in a vacuum, as if the only time the actors ever even met each other or heard one another's voices was at a press event, but the characters themselves also have no chemistry together. Early on, we get to somewhat enjoy the family dynamics between Mario, Luigi, and the rest of their household, but the rest of the film sees characters meeting with each other, sometimes having conflicts, and then just moving along with the narrative. We almost get a sense of a dynamic between Mario and Donkey Kong, but even those elements take a backseat to the overall storyline, abandoning the relationship that comes closest to feeling authentic. 

Some audiences might see this working in the film's favor, but rather than feeling like any one plot point leads to another, the entire experience feels more like we're traveling through levels. Mario trains with Princess Peach in one realm, just to get to Kong's world where another battle can unfold, and so on. Visually, this channels the diversity of worlds seen throughout Mario's history, but viewers hoping for even a glimmer of an engaging story will be left disappointed. There's plenty of slapstick to delight younger viewers, but it's hard to even say that any of the characters deliver any actual jokes. The humor is largely derived from the overall absurdity of the concept, yet there's only so many times Mario can be shocked by the situation he's found himself in, though he still also somehow manages to overcome the fantastical to accept that his brother is being held captive by a monstrous turtle. A Luma does offer disturbing quips to contradict the playful tone of the film, yet the rest of the script, as well as many of the vocal performances, feels like an experiment in AI storytelling.

No matter what era of Super Mario most resonates with you, there are references and Easter eggs that are sure to delight. There are dozens of nods to even the most obscure corners of the character's lore, so even were we to spoil them here, there would be countless others to surprise you. Regardless, it's clear that the filmmakers have a deep love and knowledge of the character's history, sprinkling in subtle nods and music cues throughout the experience that will trigger fond memories of playing the games themselves. Sadly, this seems like a double-edged sword, as it's those nods that give the film the most fun, yet the prevalence of these Easter eggs evokes the idea that their inclusion distracted the filmmakers from ever attempting to explore an engaging narrative in its own right.

Passionate Mario fans will find a lot to love in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as nearly every scene is full of tributes to the beloved brothers and their gaming legacy, to the point that these will distract you from the fact that you came to see a movie. Younger audiences will likely be enraptured by the bright and playful sequences, as well as the physical antics of the adventure. For all other viewers, the experience feels similar to watching someone repeatedly die in a Mario game and promising, "Just one more try!" as you hope to move on to something more exciting in your life, harmlessly irritating you until you see the sweet relief of a "Game Over."

Rating: 2 out of 5

The Super Mario Bros. Movie lands in theaters on April 5th.