The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review

Theatrical movie review

In 1993, we got the first ever video game movie with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo starring as Mario and Luigi in “Super Mario Bros.” After numerous revisions and directorial changes, the movie released to brutal reviews, as something barely related to the popular video game it was based on. For forty years, the Mario video game franchise has turned out hit after hit, but there has never been another attempt until this year when co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic brought us “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are brothers starting a plumbing company. When a huge plumbing emergency hits Brooklyn, the pair descend into the bowels of the New York sewer system, where they discover a strange green pipe. The brothers enter, but are separated with Luigi heading to the Dark Lands and Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario teams up with Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) to rescue Luigi from the evil Bowser (Jack Black), but first they need help from their frenemy Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen) and the Kong army to hope to defeat the King of the Koopas.

I admit, I went into this movie with fairly low expectations, and I was happily charmed by it. This was clearly a movie created by and for people who love everything in the Mario franchise. Not a frame goes by where there isn’t some absolutely delightful easter egg waiting to be discovered. Whether it’s a more obscure enemy type, watching how cooperative game play works, or seeing Mario do his famous triple jump, the movie packs every second with something to revel in, all highlighted by a phenomenal score by Brian Tyler that uses Koji Kondo’s original music beautifully.

The performances are mostly fine. There were tons of questions about Chris Pratt’s casting as Mario, but honestly, I didn’t find it distracting. But while Taylor-Joy, Day, and Pratt were all fine, the standout was very clearly Jack Black as Bowser. He brought the exact right energy to the role and I wish he had been in every scene. I also really enjoyed Rogen as DK. 

There is not much story to go on with this movie. It hints at some father-son conflict (the original Mario, Charles Martinet, voiced Mario’s dad), but for the most part, it’s just a fun movie filled with moments from the game. There are plenty of jokes, and I felt like most of them landed. If you had told me a nihilistic Luma would be one of my favorite things in the movie, I would have given you the side-eye, but here we are. 

This isn’t a movie that will likely live on in the minds of people long after they see it. That honor will probably always belong to the first “Super Mario Bros.” movie. But “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will likely entertain you and your family and maybe have you break out a version of Mario Kart to play together. And those are memories that are worth creating.

This review originally appeared in The Dominion Post on April 9, 2023.