After too many years in the making, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is finally out and we positively love it. Mike has already gone ahead and done us the honour of penning our spoiler free review for it, but I still feel the need to discuss many factors of this amazing creation. Unlike Mike, however, everything I will go on to say will not be spoiler free so please take this as your first and only warning.
With that unpleasantry out of the way, it’s time for our first topic, the plot.
Super Thin Plot Bros.:
After many years of waiting, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is finally here in cinemas and already the internet is rife with complaints regarding the film’s flimsy plot. Of course, there’s very good reason for that, the plot is as flat as a punched in POW block.
That’s not me trying to bash the film, it’s the simple truth. The film begins with Bowser going to war against the Penguins, making quick work of melting their kingdom and claiming the Power Star for himself. His goal? To use said star as an engagement present of sorts so he can marry Princess Peach and rule the world together, whilst being invincible. Oh, and he loves her heart-shaped bangs.
Peach meanwhile, is seemingly unaware of Bowser’s feelings and knows that he is invading kingdoms in an attempt to rule everything and she’ll do anything she can to stop him, which includes going to Cranky Kong and asking for his army to join her in battle.
Sure, Mario and Luigi become involved in the plot, but for a film about the Super Mario Bros., they are often sidelined and overshadowed, especially Luigi, who is forever treated as “Mario’s little brother”, despite the fact he is the taller one of the two and you know, they’re twins.
But, in all seriousness, although they’re in the movie and they certainly contribute to a big finish near the end of the film, Bowser was always going to invade the Mushroom Kingdom, Peach was always going to stand up against him. These things were going to happen regardless of Mario and Luigi getting sucked through a Warp Pipe.
Speaking of the famous brothers, their story begins with them being not so famous, but they’re trying to change that. Having quit working for Spike, Mario is starting a new plumbing business with Luigi and desperate to get started, they invested all of their life’s savings into a TV commercial. They’re met by ridicule, even by their own family, which includes a Mario bro father voiced by Charles Martinet, but they do at least get one job that goes completely wrong. Then when Brooklyn suffers from a colossal flood, the brothers are desperate to save the day, we’ll, Mario is anyway.
Except the brothers bite off more than they can chew, get sucked in by a Warp Pipe and just as soon as Mario tells Luigi they can do anything as long as they’re together, they get separated. Mario lands safely in the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi lands in the dark lands. There’s a very short-lived segment of horror-based chase scenes that result in a brief Luigi’s Mansion moment, but Luigi ends up being captured and Mario is desperate to save him, happily acting as a secondary protagonist to Anya Talylor-Joy’s, main protagonist Peach.
Admittedly, there’s never much of a plot when it comes to most Mario games, especially the 2D and 3D adventures as story is very minimal, unless it’s a Super Mario Odyssey or a Mario + Rabbids game. Still, for a film dedicated to all things Mario, packed with cameos and Easter eggs that are utterly sublime, I must admit the whole Mario Kart moments, i.e. the karts, racing and rainbow road scenes, feel a little out of place at times. They are absolutely stunning and out of this world in terms of animated brilliance, but it does still feel like Mario Kart was slapped into this film because it could be, rather than it should be.
Naturally, all views above are entirely my own and I would love to hear what you guys thought of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Thank you for reading.
