We were so worried when this was announced. Memories fresh about that time in the 90s a studio tried to do a live action Mario movie and… that was not an adaptation in any way, just a rip off of better works like Blade Runner that then used names and elements on a surface level.  The cast worried a few people too, but there was one name that gave me some hope. Jack Black as Bowser. I saw what he could do in the Kung Fu Panda trilogy, so with the first trailers showing him doing a good job and enjoying his role as the King of the Koopas, I grabbed my Piranha plant and entered the cinema.

Our hope was well founded.

The Super Mario Bros Movie is very enjoyable. It’s not a grand plot. Bowser is going to attack the Mushroom Kingdom while plumbers Mario and his brother Luigi are sucked into a pipe and pulled into it.

First big change is Mario isn’t out to save Princess Peach as she’s very much a girl boss in this series, no instead it’s Luigi who got split up from his brother in the pipe, and then captured by some Shy Guys and sent to Bowser. Peach, Mario and Toad are thus off to try and get the help of the Kongs to amass an army to stop Bowser whose grand goal is to ask Peach to marry him!

The plot isn’t grand. It’s moving from one action sequence or set piece to another, not some great narrative with an emotional journey, just a fun ride. It’s a roller coaster then. Those set pieces and action sequences are a visual delight on the eye. The film was done by Illumination, who are known for Despicable Me and the Minions, so they have experience animating lots of little weird things, which with all the Toads, Goombas, Koopa Troopas and the like. For those worried that the film was going to end up with Toads as Minions, then fear not, they are there for group shots but aren’t the selling point of the movie.

No, as we hoped the star (pun not intended) of the film is Jack Black’s Bowser. He absolutely devours every scene he’s in – in the best possible way. He goes over the top for little to no reason, gets a fun musical number and the best interactions with the rest of the cast even if it’s their only scene together.

While some snobs tried to claim the older Mario movie was better, they are just trying to act superior. Their arguments don’t hold up. They try to claim the other one was more original? it didn’t even try to adapt Mario, it was just derivative of cyberpunk films trying to be original. This film however managed to make a film out of the Mario games.

Is the film flawless? No. Whether it’s times that the studio was hesitant to use music from the games in favour of bland juke box movie, or that as said some characters don’t have too much of a story arc. But you will enjoy the ride of this roller coaster as it keeps the pace going with no real moments that will make you check your watch.

Rating: 🎅🎅🎅🎅