At 41 years old, I grew up with Mario as a major part of my life and I am just as much of a fan today as I am when I got my NES for Christmas in 1989. I had read many of the “mixed” reviews The Super Mario Bros. Movie was getting so I was a bit nervous. I thought the trailers looked like a ton of fun, I loved Jack Black as Bowser, but still, I had heard very mixed things.
How to Download The Super Mario Bros. Movie
You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. Check out also our reviews of Mario video games – Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2, Mario Kart 8, Mario Kart Tour, Mario Tennis Aces, Super Mario 3: Mario Forever, or New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.
The Movie Review
Also, I was someone who saw the 1993 Super Mario Bros movie in a theatre as a kid and was so disappointed so I am sure part of that was on my mind too. However, within the first five minutes (no exaggeration) I knew this movie was for me and I have no idea why anyone has complaints about this, especially if you are a fan of Super Mario!
This is a movie that someone like me who has been into Mario for over 30 years can love and a 7-year-old who has just discovered Mario on his Nintendo Switch. I know this is going to sound like I am overselling it, but The Super Mario Bros. Movie is perfect… ok it is not a perfect movie, and the greatest movie ever made. However, I do not see how they could have made a better movie based on the Super Mario Bros video games.
I do not want to go too heavy into the plot. However, it is what you would expect. Mario and Luigi end up getting sucked down a drainpipe and into a strange world and Luigi ends up lost and captured by Bowser and his minions. I liked the brotherly bond and the way they had Mario as the braver, protective brother and Luigi as the scaredey cat.
Mario eventually finds his way to Toad who takes him to Princess Peach. Peach and Toad are going to help Mario get his brother back as Bowser is making his way to the Mushroom Kingdom! In order to beat Bowser, they need the Kong army on their side before the big showdown.
Look, this is just such a fun movie and a movie that pays a ton of respect to the source material. The amount of little references to Mario and other Nintendo games is amazing and I cannot wait to see this on Blu-Ray so I can pause and see them all in more detail.
The movie looks amazing and this may just be my opinion. However, I feel like the overall look of the game has a very Super Mario 3D World/Land look to it and I feel that way about the Super Nintendo Land theme park too. I am not saying this is a negative, but it is certainly the vibe I got from the way the movie looked. Perhaps it is because that was the most recent Mario game and the time the movie and park were being planned.
The voice cast here is great! I will admit, despite being a huge Seth Rogan fan, I was not sure him being Donkey Kong would work, but he was so much fun. All that negativity that was building up about Chris Pratt was not needed as he brought Mario to life perfectly, the whole voice cast here is just great!
However, we do have to give special attention to Jack Black as Bowser. We all knew Jack Black was going to be great, but my goodness he was amazing here. His delivery was spot on and the musical number that he did legit had me laughing like a maniac in the theatre. It could very well be my favorite Jack Black vocal performance of all time!
I cannot say enough positive things about The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Honestly, I would probably never read or watch another review from any of the people that were dumping on this! It is as perfect as a movie about Super Mario can be. It is fun, it has heart, it has action and it is a fantastic representation of a gaming and pop culture icon! As of right now, this is the best and most fun movie I have seen this year!
