Illumination animation studio, the big brain behind the Despicable Me trilogy and the lesser brain behind the recent Minions: The Rise of Gru and ho-hum sequels to Sing and The Secret Life of Pets, turns in this serviceable adaptation of the beloved Nintendo franchise. It’s the best outcome we could have hoped for: fun for kids; very okay for adults.
It is unfortunate that two directors and a screenwriter (Matthew Fogel) felt the need to shoehorn in an extended family and – groan – Oedipal crisis for both Mario and Donkey Kong. Despite this misstep, the film belts along with an assault of candy colours and a commendable command of canonical detail.
Remember when, at the very nadir of video-game adaptations, Alicia Vikander’s Tomb Raider hastily did something or other with shapes and colours during the final sequence of the 2018 film? Have no fear. Super Mario Bros, silly while leaning heavily into Mario Kart 8, buzzily incorporates the platform game that inspires it. Chase scenes and chapters lovingly re-create the sensation and pace of gameplay, a throwback to the golden age of New Games Journalism.
The plot, in other respects, is unlikely to be confused with Christopher Nolan’s Memento. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are brothers running a new plumbing business in Brooklyn. A mysterious portal leads them to the Mushroom Kingdom, where Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) is about to be assailed (and wooed) by the tyrannical Bowser (Jack Black). Can Mario find his brother, save the kingdom and power up again and again? Well, sure.
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Some of the voice cast is, arguably, overfamiliar, but it’s always a pleasure to encounter Black and Keegan-Michael Key. The ever-popular 1980s aesthetic – cue A-ha, Bonnie Tyler and an amusing faux-contemporaneous TV commercial – adds bounce and nostalgia for accompanying parents. Sensitive children beware: the PG rating stems from many barrel-related injuries.
Shout out to game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. There’s something magical about being in a cinema full of nine-year-olds who are just as excited as this writer was for the same franchise at the same age. But we’ll go to our graves disputing that blue-mushroom wear-off.
