Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Super Mario Bros Movie

This film had me feeling very mixed as it is fun but definitely has its glaring flaws! Now I went in with my expectations at a middle point because I hav a lot hate relationship with video game movies. That being said I wanted just a fun time with this as it’s a video game adaptation of one of the most iconic characters in history so It was hard not to be critical at times of the movie. Now it is a fun time to a extent yes and I heard from so many people that it was a blast and that I would love it after seeing it I feel very much in the middle as it was exactly what I thought it would be which is a rescue mission movie with beloved video game characters which worked for the movie but also against it due to the simplistic nature of it. Now I can see why people liked this film its Mario having fun in this colourfully bright world we have come to know through the various video games over the many many years and it is a film you can just sit back and enjoy. That being said It could have been much better in a few aspects but overall the film was okay just not great. 

Firstly, I will talk about what I liked first because there is quite a bit I have to say about the film. The best part of this movie is Jack Black now there are some insanely popular actors in this movie. The stand out though in my opinion is Jack Black because from the moment I saw the trailer I had a feeling he knew exactly what the material was and he just cranked it up to an eleven and he chews up the scenery with a fantastic performance that is both menacing and hilarious. unfortunately that is where my compliments for the film end as for the rest of the cast such as Chris Pratt, Charlie Day and Seth Rogen they were okay not to be harsh but it sounded like a lot of them were not performing at their best especially Chris Pratt. Now I think he is a fine actor he gave us a terrific performance this year already with Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 but sadly he did not go two for two for good performances this year. As sure you can say using the original Mario voice for an hour and a half film could be annoying and I understand that but the issue I had with his performance was their was no life to the character he brought. Now I feel a more charismatic and energetic actor could of done a far superior job then Chris Pratt because in the last couple of years Hollywood feels inclined to just stick the hottest actor at the moment in every role. That’s exactly I think why Pratt got the role as back in 2015 when he exploded after the success of the first Guardians Of The Galaxy and the newfound success of Jurassic World he was in almost each project that was a leading role for years and once again instead of finding a actual good fit for the role they just found a name that was popular and would draw people to the theatre. Now I get it they do it for money to benefit box office numbers but I’m sorry Chris Pratt was not a good fit for this role if you swapped him out with any other actor it would of been a way better portrayal of the character instead of what Pratt did which was show up and just talk in his regular tone of voice. As for example Jack Black he changed his voice and really had fun with the role to the point you couldn’t tell that was him and I love that dedication he took to the role. Because Chris Pratt didn’t make any changes to how he spoke which to me took me out of the film because it’s a role where your supposed to sound like someone else not just like your usual self. And I don’t wanna come across like I dislike Chris Pratt I do though believe he was miscast big time here. For the remaining cast like Charlie Day and Seth Rogen they all were fine but their was no soul to the voice performances at all in my opinion Jack Black Carried this film in terms of the acting for the entire cast. 

Secondly, The Narrative was so freaking paper thin. Now I hate when screenwriters take a big franchise and instead of coming up with a unique story to tell just reuse old plots that either movies before them have done or just do a paint by numbers plot line of a mission from a video game their adapting. Which is exactly what this movie does as in the games Princess Peach would always be captured so instead of her it’s Luigi. Which I thought was very much not needed as why they feel the need for any character to be captured and make this a typical rescue mission that we’ve seen a thousand times before done in a way that is not creative and very bland. As we are presented with Luigi and Mario early on in the film and unfortunately since Luigi plays the Character that is held captive we barley seen any of him for the whole story which is unfortunate as I would of loved to see princess peach Mario and Luigi interact. That was definitely a missed opportunity due and waste of Charlie Day’s time because we barley got to see him as he’s very much sidelined for the whole film. And sure their is fun visuals that at times really draw you into the action but due to the premises I’ve seen done better in other movies I felt like their were constant missed opportunities at what could of been a truly special film and instead of doing something different with these loveable characters they chose to just do a very safe story that for me didn’t engage me quite a lot. And now if the film had a better story to save it from the mediocre performances I would of enjoyed it more but sadly the narrative was completely unoriginal and bland and don’t get me wrong the animation is very well done but the quality of the story didn’t match the quality of the animation. 

Lastly, Super Mario Bros is a missed opportunity at something that could have been truly amazing! As from the fantastic state of the art animation and amazing visuals at its fingertips it had the chance to make a truly incredible adaptation of one of the most beloved video game characters ever put to a console. Instead it chose to just do a damsel in distress plot line with great visuals and flat performances which only saving grace is the fantastic work given by Jack Black. This is a film that had me checking for when it was going to be over it isn’t one of the worst films ever made just was disappointing. 

When Mario and Luigi get sucked into this other world Mario must find a way to save Luigi from Bowser with the help of princess peach and Toad

Rated PG :  Action and Mild Violence

Jack Black : Jack understood what this film was and delivered such a solid performance! Now Jack Black is one of those actors that regardless of the script he’s handed he gives his absolute all to the role he’s given and wow he delivers amazing work this film does not deserve. As the moment I saw the first trailer for this movie I knew that Black was going to chew up the scenery with his onscreen presence. As he knows the pressure on his shoulders because this is a famous name like super Mario and he dedicated himself fully to the part he was given. He transformed his voice to sound just like Bowser so much so I forgot at times it was Jack. It’s an incredible performance that is both menacing and comedic wrapped into one. As when he shows up my god does he have a hell of an entrance that makes the hair on your arms stand up. When he appears onscreen he is crackling  in charismatic energy that can be felt in each shot he is in. The way he can talk so gently when talking about the princess and then switch up his tone in such a dark and sinister way when threatening a person is brilliant and captivating to watch. As then his way of bringing comedy to that character was so smartly done. As like I have mentioned he is menacing and has great moments of striking fears in people he gets in contact with that being said he also approaches some serious beats with a underlining touch of comedy which makes for fantastic and well earned laughs that never felt cheap. Jack Black is smart enough to know when to go for a joke and when to keep things the tone they should be for a specific scene and he did just that while also respecting the character he’s playing all at once. Because it never felt like he just showed up to collect a pay check no he really invested his time and energy into this role and it shows as for the more scary elements to his performance that to me was my favourite. Why I say that is because we always see him playing the loveable goofball in films and to see him just totally go against his regular type and play this villain that yes has comedic aspects to him but also has a intimidating nature to him was perfect as their was this amazing way he could delve into both aspects of that character and deliver outstandingly well on both fronts. I am not saying this is some Oscar caliber role but I would go as far as saying it is his best performance he has given in at least 5 to ten years easily. As he plays yes a lot of goofball roles we haven’t seen something different like this in quite sometime which I enjoyed. The fun emotional approach to the character he got to explore made for a scene stealing performance as he is the best thing the film has going for it. Jack Black is incredible and is terrifying and hilarious never letting one override the other in as performance that will have you smiling the entire time. 

Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic : These two did a disastrous job at brining this film to life! Now there was potential for this to be solid as these two both worked in the Teen Titans Go universe which was done amazingly well. I watched that show growing up and I don’t say it is just good for nostalgia reasons the quality of it still holds up very well after resisting it as I have got older now that being said how they handled this insanely popular property like Super Mario Bro’s was not good. The biggest glaring issue I could not get over was how unoriginal the premise was and the sheer lack of energy put into it as sometimes I can forgive a film for being bad if they filmmakers at least tried their best to make a decent film. Their is very good in this video game adaptation as the world itself is beautiful and the animation is top notch no doubt about that it is just the story is once again another damsel in distress story with one key difference that it is Luigi instead of Princess Peach being held captive. It is not smart writing its lazy because we could have had all three of them onscreen giving witty fun banter for the entire film instead its a search and rescue movie sorry I didn’t land for me. On top of using recycled plot lines the casting of some of these very big beloved characters was not good too some actors did okay but quite a few were definitely miscast for instance Seth Rogan sounded just like himself same goes for Chris Pratt. The only actor that actually showed up to care about their character in any capacity was Jack Black aside from that the cast were all okay when I shouldn’t feel that way considering the amount of big names that are attached to this film. The comedy was okay the action was at times very thrilling but I guess I was just disappointed at the lack of imagination these guys Brought to the film now I am not saying it had to be some dark brooding dark knight level emotional superhero film. I would though of liked if they brought a storyline that involved all the characters more instead of leaving some out just so they can bring them in for there sequel later on it just felt very hollow and the love and passion just was not here for these characters and if this film was in better hands like Brad Bird or even Phil Lord and Chris Miller those filmmakers who have made amazing animated films would of respected this brand so much more instead of just putting A listers in a movie and then a mediocre script and do the bare minimum it just was very poorly directed.