The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Super OK

 I was recently able to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and it was solid. Not amazing, nor was it terrible. The film has some amazing action set pieces that made me elated in the theatre and some instances where I was just baffled. 

As a movie, there aren't many interesting things that transpire or happen to the characters across the film in terms of development that aren't named Mario. While some people might say that, "Well, it's for children." This problem isn't persistent across all films for kids. The first Sonic movie did not deal with character and story issues like this even while being a template movie. Regardless, the movie works fairly well as a piece of Mario media because writing has not been a strong suit in the series' main 3-D titles quite like the Blue Blur has. While I am not an expert on Mario games, this is what I have gotten out of the franchise's attempts to inject me with their storytelling. 

So, if you would rather not be spoiled on the movie, I would bow out now. As I dig into the meat of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Mario is clearly the star of this film and shines brightly in his journey to take Bowser and his army down as they threaten the kingdoms as well as his brother, Luigi. The start of his journey begins as a plumber who gets no respect from his former boss and family. Mario and Luigi are treated horribly and to see Mario over the course become more dependable and epic is definitely one of the bigger highlights. 

The same cannot be said for Luigi though as he is relegated to being captured for most of the film. While Luigi does have a spooky run-in with a group of Dry Bones and some Shy Guys, his story mostly consists of being panned to every now and then for cryptic Lumalee quotes. They really made Luigi feel like the Player 2 with a disconnected controller until the climax of the movie. For ninety minutes of run-time, it really sucked if you wanted to see tons of Luigi because he just simply existed off-screen. A character who is set up as his brother's right-hand, yet is ultimately subjected to joke status.

Peach on the other hand is given the role that Luigi might have had as Mario's main companion and driving force. Which worked really well for the character as she got to flex during the introduction to the platforming that Mario is known for when she trains him. 

And then again when they use karts and bikes later in the film on their way to Bowser's Castle when they are ambushed by the Koopa King and his army. The sequence plays out like a Mad Max chase scene with a giant vehicle wreaking havoc on the much smaller vehicles while Mario, Peach, DK, Toad, and Cranky Kong all have to navigate it. The masterful driving skills are on display as Peach ultimately makes the save on Toad. Only for the Kong army to be captured with Mario and DK falling into the sea. 

When Peach does ultimately get captured, she still has an ace up her sleeve as she and Toad had stuck together. A timely Ice Flower utilized to get the jump on Bowser and his army who were in attendance for the Wedding. This act allows for Mario and DK to arrive in the nick of time. Sadly, this is where Peach's time as a dependable leader ends, but it was on a high-note. It was nice to see Peach get all of this love in the film because the games certainly have not been giving her the same opportunities. On initial viewing, I would've said that DK was my favorite despite my issues with the characterization. But now I might be leaning Peach. She was that cool.

The leader of the Bunch, DK, showed up in the same ways that Peach and Mario were able to, but he still felt one note. His bullyish behavior was odd because that's not something I got at all when playing DKC or DK 64. Not to mention the opportunity that was missed with the implementation of sign language that could have been in the film. The only voice DK has had was the cartoon and that was a musical, so I was hoping that he could've just had grunts and done sign language to communicate. That is a more personal want then need, so I can live without it. 

Still, DK just shits on Mario and talks about how Cranky sucks as a father. That detail of Cranky being DK's dad is just Donkey Kong Jr. erasure and it bothers me that they did it. It certainly didn't help that Cranky was super chill and not "cranky" in the slightest. More snarky then anything as well. To me, Cranky was the worst part of the movie and Luigi is gone for the majority of it. 

Speaking of great things in the movie. Toad reaches the apex and leaves us wanting more. the way Keegan-Michael Key comes into the character is admirable. Just kidding, it's Bowser. Jack Black's performance gives layers to the character that were sort of there in some of the games, but now they are amplified. The shift from menacing villain to goofy guy are something that he definitely excels at and it shows. For me, the song was whatever, but the moments bewteeen Kamek and Bowser were tremendous. They play off each other so well and if they ever wanted to make a Bowser movie, you got those two plus Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings. The possibilities are endless. I do hope that they can make Bowser more ruthless though. Just a smidge of edge and I think he's even more perfect. 

The Mario movie has many pluses, but it has just as many faults and I think that is fine. The biggest sins were all those insert songs that just didn't feel good. What child wants to hear the Beastie Boys or why is Thunderstruck used as montage song for building cars. Some real old-head shit going on when deciding what popular song to insert into this film. Ultimately, if you like Mario, watch it. If not, skip it. It is simply a fun, turn your brain off movie with only a few murders.