Smoothie’s back to review the global phenomenon based on the most iconic video game character of all time.
Well this is why you should never go on holidays.
I missed one week! One week!
The Super Mario Bros. Movie opened in Australian cinemas on April 5th and quickly obliterated box office records, landing at $427 million worldwide as of time of writing.
Again… in one week!
So here’s my challenge: how do you review a film everybody in the world has already seen?
Well, the most obvious strategy would be some sort of analysis of the general reaction to the film so far. After all, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a near perfect new entry in the ongoing battle between fans and critics.
Even cursory glances at social media reveals much ado being made about the film’s 57 percent “rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes, verses its 96 percent audience score.
Cue an endless roll of angry Mario fans, heaping praise on the film’s wealth of references and dismissing any criticism of its thin story.
After all, it’s just a Mario movie, right? Not every movie needs a deep and interesting story… right?
And the most bizarre thing (at least in the mind of this writer) is seeing a situation where everybody is furious, yet seem to agree with each other more than they realise.
I’ll explain. But first…
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an extremely faithful adaptation of the iconic Nintendo franchise. Upstart Brooklyn Plumber, Mario, finds himself lost in the fantastic Mushroom Kingdom. Together with the determined Princess Peach, he embarks on an adventure to save both his brother, Luigi, and the entire world from the evil tyrant Bowser.
The movie boasts easily the best visuals ever produced by Illumination Entertainment. It’s a fun, colourful romp that pays incredible attention to detail when bringing the famous plumber to life.
And with a brisk run time of 92 minutes, the movie is… fine.
It’s fine isn’t it?
It’s perfectly inoffensive family fare that ticks all the boxes for Mario fans, with zero ambition to be anything more.
So with this in mind, 57 percent on Rotten Tomatoes is actually kind of spot on, isn’t it?
It would be dishonest to call Super Mario Bros. a bad movie. But it’s equally dishonest to call it a great movie.
I, like many other critics, have to be honest about the fact that I found the film’s weak plotting and character development disappointing. The movie was in such a rush that we got the very start and very end of some potentially interesting character arcs, but almost nothing in between.
Therefore, the resolution can’t help but feel hollow.
And I hear you angry movie-goer! Why did I expect any different? It’s for kids! It’s not supposed to be a deep movie!
I agree with you! Those are totally fair points.
Universal and Nintendo clearly decided that it was more important to make a short, colourful experience with easy appeal to core fans, than it was to make a great film.
This is obviously a legitimate choice. Again: $427 million!
But equally legitimate, is the criticism that this choice held the movie back from greatness.
I find it really disheartening that so many fans use a movie’s lack of ambition as a reason why it should be judged on a different scale to its peers.
Pixar seem to nail this balance all the time. Toy Story has all the same broad appeal, marketability and colourful fun as The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Yet, it manages to tell a thoughtful, moving story at the same time.
Toy Story is a great movie. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is not. And that’s okay.
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much room for this very basic level of nuance in a discourse where everything needs to be boiled down to either, “thing good” or “thing bad.” People see 57 percent “rotten” and can’t help but conclude that the critics mustn’t like it.
This obviously isn’t true.
I liked The Super Mario Bros. Movie. But there’s still plenty here to criticise.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is in cinemas now.
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