The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Fan Service Done RIGHT!

Lucas, Matt, Hot Mickey and Chambers talked about the Mario movie, their favorite Mario games and their personal experience with the franchise!

One of the most anticipated films of the year and the highest grossing opening weekend animated film of all time, The Super Mario Bros. Movie! As lifelong Mario fans, we talked all about our time with Mario as gamers and discussed our personal movie watching experience.

With the monstrous monetary success that Mario has already had, you can bet that we'll see more expansion into the new Nintendo Cinematic Universe in the coming decade!

Matt Hrachovy’s Review

I’m 26 years old, just a couple months shy of 27. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, was not made with me in mind as the target audience. The movie knows this, I know this, everyone knows this.

The movie, while clearly aimed at a younger audience, does well to throw in enough easter eggs to keep the serotonin of nostalgia from our younger years of playing Mario games alive. While the plot may be wildly fast paced at times and a bit whimsical, I was constantly drawn back in by the sweet sweet sound of Seth Rogen’s Donkey Kong, or the melodic voice of Jack Black as Bowser. Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, while not exceptional by any means in their roles of Mario and Luigi, they don’t do any harm to the film with their performances, and something about Anya Taylor-Joy's voice just fits perfectly for Princess Peach.

Now while I did find some joy in this movie, those with no knowledge off the universe of the Super Mario Bros IP likely won’t find that same excitement in this movie as those of us that are still desperately clinging onto the Nostalgia of our childhood.

7/10

Robert Chamber's Review

Illumination scored getting the green light to put the largest video game franchise of all time on the big screen. This film is paced at a lightning speed, much like the rest of the animation studio’s catalog. The story is about as standard as you would expect, but has strong casting, incredible visuals, and plenty of Nintendo references. This is an incredibly fun watch you you happen to be under the age of 14 or are an existing fan of the franchise.

6/10

Mickey Coates' Review

The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit it out of the park for what it was trying to accomplish. It was this beautifully animated movie that paid great homage to the series that every Mario and Nintendo fan would appreciate. It's a pretty straight forward plot as most Mario games are, but this is pretty much a pilot for the future movies that will sure to be made after the success of this film. I expect to see deeper storytelling in the following films as this was just Nintendo dipping their toes into Hollywood.

7/10

Lucas Luna's Review

What can I say? I love Mario, I love video games and I love movies. I was excited as hell to jump in with my friends to our local AMC and watch this movie with a jack and coke in hand and I gotta say it was entertaining! This movie was not trying to be anything other than a family friendly affair that brings people out to theaters, and make tons of Nintendo references throughout! Never did I expect any sort of expansion of Mario Canon, a dark past or history of the character, or any heavy subject matter. The movie is a tight 90 minute feature that any video game fan can enjoy.

Much of the happiness I feel from the movie comes from the fandom I have for Mario and Nintendo overall. I can still recognize that the movie is a basic children's movie with universal appeal. But it succeeds at being that very well!

7/10