#which I'm just going to mark down as a studio appropriately taking audience feedback

[croaken-the-oaken]

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023” Review: It Wasn’t Mid

***1 or 2 spoilers but not really***

Another video game movie. And this time, it’s starring Mario Mario, Mr. Video Game, himself. The Internet is shook. Nintendo, teaming with Illumination. It could very well set the standard for video game movies to follow. One thing is clear, all eyes are on this movie. 

My sister was especially excited for it. Me, I told myself I was watching out of obligation, since I didn’t want to miss out on the newest of the turbulent fancies of the Internet.

A number of doubts mixed with potential had settled in. Adapting movies from video games isn’t a terrible concept. It depends on the series. But this is Mario, what does he bring to the table? A colorful world and character list and, for two things. Then there’s the studio that infected the world with Minions. While Illumination falls back to safe tactics when it comes to storytelling and humor, they do have the talent in animation, and I knew the looming eyes of Shigeru Miyamoto-san would not allow the Mario movie to be less than amazing.

With all the factors to consider, my expectations were firmly set to “mid, at least.”

After watching, my conclusion is “Better than mid. Dare I say, good. Great, even.”.

It’s a movie. Actually, no, it’s a MOVIE! You got character arcs and motivations. You got worldbuilding. You got colorful graphics and settings. You got references sprinkled on like it’s a cupcake, even down to the background music. You get to see Mama Mia and Papa Pia!

It takes the loose bits and pieces of Mario canon, strings them together and retools them to make another thing, old but new, as is to be expected. Brooklynese Mario, brotherly bonds, Bowser’s love life, action Peach, power-ups as a power system, Kong society, etc. The narrative never strays far from its roots, and no one was asking it to.

On the off-chance someone has never heard of “the Super Mario Bros.” what are they left with? A quick romp through peculiar kingdoms and bright setpieces and nonsensical architecture, the adventure of a determined everyman searching for his bro, a corny yet actively threatening villain, a kart-racing monkey tribe, and a classic moral theme of not giving up so you can say your kid learned something from this experience.

Also, the more typical Illumination-esque quirks are few and far between, and it’s tolerable. The pop-music? Fine. Passable. They fit their moments well enough. The jokes land more often than not and don’t rely on cheap tactics. When the water started bubbling around Mario and Donkey Kong, I completely expected one of them to say “it wasn’t me”. But they didn’t, and I appreciate that. Nihilistic Luma was a bit forced, though.

The movie is fast-paced and doesn’t linger too long on characters’ low moments. It keeps the momentum going, but it doesn’t allow the more dramatic parts much time to sink in. I didn’t find it to be overwhelming, though I imagine this could be off-putting for some. I propose this kinetic pace is a byproduct of its source.

Miyamoto’s general philosophy of “gameplay-first, story-second” is a big contributor to Nintendo’s success—it makes good games. The problem is a lot of people mistake “second” for “last”. The neat part of the video game medium is that gameplay and story needn’t always grow at the other’s expense. One can reinforce the other. The man knows this, and this philosophy carries over into the Mario movie.

Rather than adapt a minimalistic-story game franchise into a movie, they adapted the movie into a game of how many secrets you can find in a given shot as the story progresses. We’re tugged along a guided tour of Mario legacy, and the world invites us over to be active participants and challenges us to eyeball every reference poking out from behind each corner.

It helps that it’s one of those good movies where the references and cameos have a reason to exist beyond being there. Is it a backdrop? That’s certified worldbuilding, baby. Is it at the forefront? It probably serves a primary purpose in the scene. It means the difference between respecting and insulting the viewer’s intelligence, and the film respects its viewers, whether a reference manifests as a generalized fun moment or as a reward for long-time fans.

They set out to create a lighthearted run through Mario’s world with emotional beats as checkpoints, and that’s what they made. It has its quirks, but I enjoyed myself, and it made my sister happy.

If one thing is true, it's that it is indeed the Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Rating: A Mario Time / 5