The Super Mario Bros Movie
Regal Cinema - Hazleton, PA
After the Sonic The Hedgehog movies hit big at the box office, it became only a matter of time before his Nintendo counterparts hit the big screen. The difference is that Mario and Luigi had been there before, and it didn't go too well.
The first Super Mario Bros premiered 30 years ago on May 28, 1993 and it was an absolute train wreck of a film. With the release of the new movie, I've seen a lot of articles pop up to defend the original 1993 film by saying that it was meant for children, or that it's not really as bad as people say it is. Well, I'm here to tell you that this movie was released when I was 12 years old, and I thought it was terrible back then, and I still think it's terrible today. Watching it in 2023 is a fun experience because it's one of those movies that's so cheezy and weird that it falls into the category of "so bad, it's good". Hell, it could be the poster child for that category. If the claim were to be made that this was written by a middle-aged man in a single evening while he was blitzed on cocaine and watching his nephew play Nintendo, I would believe it without question.
The new Super Mario Bros Movie is a much more thoughtful attempt to bring the video game to the big screen. It's being torn apart by the critics in the same way that its 1993 predecessor was upon its release, but their criticism is undeserved this time around. It's not the kind of family film that's likely to win awards. It doesn't have a deep plot or any impactful social commentary, and while the animation is stunning, I wouldn't say that its going to be appreciated for its artistic value, but none of those things mean that this is a bad movie. It's just a fun adventure that stays true to the source material and is stuffed to the gills with enough Easter Eggs to bring a smile to any gamers face. Anybody under the age of 50 or with even the faintest of knowledge about the Mario Bros will find a lot to enjoy about this movie, but the more familiar you are with the games, the more fun you're going to have.
