Ask anyone who lived in the 90s about their fondest memories and chances
are that time spent playing games on the Nintendo console would be amongst
them. I can remember numerous games of classics such as Contra,
Castlevania, Tetris, and of course any games with the iconic Mario.
The adventures of the scrappy Plumber turned hero have become synonymous
with Nintendo and game ranging from racing to puzzles as well as spin-offs
have become a staple of the brand.
The creative forces behind the “Despicable Me” series and Nintendo have
combined to create an animated adventure and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
gives fans a loving dose of nostalgia, Easter eggs, and an adventure the
entire family can enjoy.
When brothers Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), decide to leave
their job and sink all they own into a commercial for their plumbing
business they become a joke to their Brooklyn based family.
Undaunted the duo set out to fix a massive leak that is flooding the city
and thanks to a mysterious pipe soon find themselves whisked to a magical
land of mushrooms, odd creatures, and a dangerous being known as Bowser
(Jack Black), who is obsessed with conquering all he encounters and
marrying the lovely Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy.
The fact that Luigi has been captured by Bowser is all the motivation
Mario needs and he and the Princess set off to recruit help from the Kong
people which in turn places Donkey Kong (Seth Rogan) into their path.
The film then jumps into action in a race against time to save the day and
along the way fans will be treated to so much nostalgia from the game you
have to pay attention to not miss the details both big and small.
The movie has several classic songs of the 80s and 90s in the soundtrack
and they help to capture the tone of what it was like playing the original
games back in the day and while their has been some question about the
choice of the voice casting, it did not distract me in any way as I was
able to immerse myself in the story and nostalgia and enjoyed the movie
from start to finish.
Adults may want a bit more depth and less of slow start to the film but
the final product is an enjoyable watch and with a mid and post credit
scene it is clear that their is a plan for a far-reaching series as there
are numerous stories to tell.
The visuals of the film are a delight and bring the games and characters
to life as does the strong voice cast who seem to really be enjoying
themselves. I look forward to seeing future outings for the characters as
well as the introduction of some new ones as this is a video game film
done right.
4 stars out of 5.
