REVIEW: The Super Mario Bros. Movie

“Super Mario.” by Tom Newby Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

On April 5 2023, the Super Mario Bros. Movie was released to theaters. The movie became a smash hit, grossing $678 million since its premiere. 

Starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, and Charlie Day, the movie follows Mario and Princess Peach working together to stop Bowser’s plans of conquering the world. The movie is filled with action and comedy that any age can enjoy. 

The movie is faithful and shares many aspects of the original Super Mario Bros. video game. It contains many of the original characters such as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Bowser. The action sequences resemble that of the original game, involving power ups and different abilities from the game.

Audiences have seen many characters that are present in the game franchise, such as the Koopa, Toad, and Donkey Kong. The fight between Mario and Donkey Kong closely resembles that of the original Donkey Kong video game. 

Throughout the film, there are moments where Mario and Luigi act like true brothers to each other, which was not common to see in the original video games. The movie ends with the brothers teaming up to defeat Bowser, as the Super Mario Brothers.

Since it’s a movie and not a video game, the lack of stages of play allow for the plot to further expand the characters. Mario is given the quality of perseverance, and Princess Peach is portrayed as a strong fighter rather than a mere damsel in distress, which we don’t see often in the games. 

Many old fans of the video games will be able to feel a great deal of nostalgia when watching the films. From hearing the classic tunes and the game’s sound effects to actually seeing the characters they knew and loved as children as walking talking characters, it feels just like the original video game with a revolutionary modern twist. Children who love to play the game will be thrilled to see their favorite characters animated on the big screen, and will be excited to see the movie.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is in theaters now, available for anybody to see and enjoy the film based on the popular video game.