Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - A Fun Ride That Substitutes Story For Spectacle

It’s a movie. It has a beginning and end. Halfway through, a series of flashing lights imprint messages into your subconscious telling you to spend money on Mario products. Hearts everywhere are broken by the lack of Super Mario Bros: The Movie: The Game featuring scanned live-action graphics.

Nice. Story isn’t important here. It’s an illumination flick, and it’s done what it came here to do. Blow your mind with stunning visuals and references. Now this seems like a solid film.

“A fun ride that substitutes story for A Fun Ride That Substitutes Story for Spectacle“ gotta be honest, that pretty much describes the last three illumination movies I feel.

Maybe they made the film with the aim of trying to win over new fans to the franchise rather than pleasing the existing ones.

How does it compare to the previous Illumination movies?

I'm watching the movie regardless, but that's something I'm a little curious about.

Non-Nintendo gaming sites reviewing this higher than NL is sort of on brand. I'm just sad the frame rate keeps dropping 😢.

Doesn't sound like what I wouldn't expect from Illumination or the Mario series honestly. Neither are known for their plots.

Some people I know who are big movie nerds said years ago (when this movie was first announced) that Illumination was the wrong choice of studio for this movie, because they're light on plot and heavy on jokes and references. I guess they can say they were right.

Personally, I wasn't expecting a slam dunk, although I was hoping. Historically speaking, video games movies don't do all that well with critics and general audiences.

But if this movie makes enough money at the box office, it will warrant a sequel. Fortunately, projections make it out to be a success so far, so hopefully we'll see a sequel (and one that's even better than this one).

Unfortunately, it seems like just what I expected. Especially after they announced that the cast included Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong. They tried to stuff too many characters and references in, rather than leave anything for the inevitable sequels.

Still seems like it might be worth a watch, when I get around to seeing it. Knowing what to expect should give the movie a better chance to entertain me, watching it for what it is, rather than what I wanted.

I still say it's better than the live action movie from the dark ages of gaming, yeah the story sucks and it's just a movie of cameos but it's a fun ride for the kids.

@Diogmites

@IronMan30 Yep the projector was crying out for a Pro upgrade, it's getting a bit long in the tooth, films are starting to chug...

Is that headline correct?
I feel like Story and Spectacle should have been the other way round from reading the review.

@WiltonRoots
Gotta wait for the Nintendo Cinema Pro to upgrade the frame rate of the Super Mario. Bros movie from 24 to 60 FPS.

Mario is better without a story. There I said it.

Let's-a-go, is what I always say. Or, is that Mario's saying 🤔. Looking forward to seeing it Thursday.

@Eagly I really need to watch Puss in Boots 2, I just still can’t quite believe that it’s supposed to be that good. But then I was a Paddington skeptic before I saw the light.

Pity about the lacking story. Mario-related media is usually really strong in that area. The next installment of "obese plumber brutalizes turtles to save perpetual kidnapping victim from king turtle" will surely be a tale for the ages.

So ...It's an Illumination movie, then. Cool.

These days Disney is obsessed with remaking all their animated films in live action, and here we have Nintendo doing the opposite.

Where is that "I'll buy it in a sale" comment?
Oh wait...
"I'll watch it when it's on Netflix" 😁

I wish fun to those who watch it early. I don't know when I will watch it. Is it just Germany or are wanna be TikTok kids in other countries as well visiting cinemas to ruin the movie for others?

I’ll watch the the cameo compilation

Since I have pretty low hype with 1st party Nintendo games (except ACNH, ARMS that I have the highest hype) so I think I will enjoy the Mario movie without being sour for not exactly from video games.
I trust Illumination will deliver Mario movie in a good way.

Y'know, it's okay for a movie to be "fine, but not great."
Someone else providing an honest critique of the movie does not mean you can't enjoy it.

It's Mario, story's never mattered; beat the dragon, save the princess (or in this case, the brother). I'm here for a bunch of scenes like that Fire Donkey Kong sequence in the trailer.

@Diogmites The first one’s also a really good movie. Nicole Kidman is the right level of camp in it and the emotional beats hit way harder than they have any right to.

6 is still higher than I expected. Illumination is pretty mid, I can't stand their "humor"

Can't say I'm not surprised.

Anyways, the best the video game adaptation still goes to The Angry Birds Movie--[gets hit by a bus]

It's Easter and Nintendo have helped create an epic Easter Egg hunt. Seems on brand to me

@Nintendo4Sonic
Noooo is that happening with this movie too. Rise of Gru was one thing but I actually plan on seeing this one.

@Eagly You know, you make a good point, that might be one of the reasons, he did say he oversaw the movie, sooo.

(Also I’m gonna reply to your post today, the big one! I can’t wait too!)

"Flush this one down the warp pipe"
"A 3up movie crammed into a 1up space."
"This a-plot goes-a-nowhere"
"Super Mario? More like super duped audience."
"Donkey Kong't fix this mess."
"There are no guardrails on this rainbow road and the Super Mario Movie drifts into oblivion."

I mean its illumination don't expect to be masterpiece say spiderverse or Puss in boots last wish levels of writing its simple family friendly movie. Thats really aim illumination there movies are very mid.

I still will watch it I just hate DK voice choice because Seth Rogen doesn't care about quality he even admit that when he's doing voice. If squeal will happen he should be recast.

Yeah, all of the "cameos" and "fanservice" led me into believing that this movie was going to be different than the ones I've seen...

Regardless, I'm gonna go see the movie for two reasons:

1) I'm a massive Mario fan.
2) For a loved one.

@nessisonett puss is that goooooood

Anybody expecting a deep, compelling story has obviously not played a mario game lmao. Don't @ me about mario and luigi games or paper mario pls lol

@Deemo37 I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. It happened here also with Creed 3. I watched it in OV version, where smarter people go watching.

People were expecting a deep story with Mario?

Plot: Princess Peach's pipes need cleaning, so Mario bangs his head into Peach's box.

@JimNorman I hate to be "that guy", but shouldn't the title say "substitutes spectacle for story"? I was under the impression that the first object replaces the second...but then again, of all the tricky grammar rules, this one never ceases to trip me up.

The way I understand it, the title makes it sound like the movie has a good story but is visually unappealing (the exact opposite of what I expected).

I am still not sold on the voice acting.

@Dev9417 pretty much this. First movie and it's with Mario and the gang. I'm not expecting a massive story with them.

Now when and if they get around to making a Zelda or Samus movie. That's when I'll expect some in depth story telling.

With Mario they were most likely gonna play it safe and many of us expected that.

It's a shame the plot is so thin, but I hope the character chemistry and references are enough to make up for it in the story department. The animation looks good to me.

@FatWormBlowsASparky Thank you! This headline is really bothering me, it's completely backwards! The spectacle is substituting for story, not the other way around, according to the author.

@Eagly i really wonder what his problem is with storys.

You have every right to not respond to this thing for five weeks, a month even, I haven’t responded to that post for a wile, I don’t mind at all.

Why oh lord? Why? I wanted story like the last of us series. Nintendo lost my money. Not watching this movie because I need a deep deep deep story.
It's meant for KIDS and they know their older audience will be curious to go see. MONEY!

Well, it is Mario, after all. I mean, it is probably the least story driven game Nintendo has right after Nintendogs and Wii Fit. DKC, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Star Fox, F-Zero work much better for a film.

Well well, this is certainly interesting. I wonder what is going to be more important for Nintendo in the long run given how protective they are of their IP’s. A well received movie or a financially successful one

@N8tiveT3ch That's why I'm waiting for the Christopher Nolan remake. 3hrs long with Cillian Murphy as Luigi. Failing that hopefully Wes Anderson will step in and save it.

Was anyone actually expecting a masterpiece? It’s gonna be alright. Big surprise.

https://www.blu-ray.com/The-Super-Mario-Bros-Movie/1262173/#Review

The Blu-ray.com review seems to sum things up, on the whole not a bad movie, but as usual with things like this, you will get more out of it if you are a Mario fan.

And as I have always said, the only opinion of any movie that matters, should be your own personal one. Audiences seem to be loving it.

So in short, par for the course for a Mario plot and an Illumination film. Nothing award-winning, but I wasn't expecting that. I'll go in and enjoy the movie for what it is.

So it'll make billions by following the Avatar movie formula?

@NeonPizza I heard that it will be on Peacock because of Universal.

@Tasuki Or just a failed review based on expectations from a fanatic.

6 seems to be just about right; the critics are skinning the movie alive (especially for the low-effort voice “acting” despite the “big” names behind) while the users (IMDb, etc) will average a poor rating as well. Overall SMB seems to have made little effort to become anything more than just another paid commercial for Nintendo games. Sigh.

@YoshiFlutterJump You're right.

https://www.writing-skills.com/60-second-fix-substitute-for-or-with

I thought from the title that Story was great and was wondering why a lot of people were whining about it in the comments.

@Ara It would still be a big ad even with good story.

You can't separate Mario from Nintendo, even if they prevented any not needed cameo, and had a deeper plot.

@Olmectron
Yeah, i mean look at the Lego movie, that was critically very well received but could also be considered a big ad. i imagine it definitely helped sales of lego.

Some brands are just that big.

@Gamergirl94 If story is not good, it also falls on Shigeru Miyamoto shoulders, given he worked closely with the animation studio for +5 years.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/11/illumination_founder_says_mario_animated_movie_is_embracing_miyamotos_creative_voice

@Olmectron It would, but at least would be more than that, more enjoyable even, and not just another sub-mediocre flick targeting at kids only (who will gonna love anything-Mario regardless of voice acting or plot). It’s disappointing for how predictable it is, after so much built-up expectations — but probably expected from a trillion-dollar company, I guess.

@liljmoore This is what everyone in the comments wanted, it seems:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UiIRlg4Xr5w

@Ara Save the princess. Save the brother. Save the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario is THAT simple.

What did everyone want? Mushrooms from the kingdom infecting everyone like zombies and having to win a Kart race for saving the princess from the infection?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=UiIRlg4Xr5w

@Eagly I mean, I understand the thought process, for things like botw I totally get. But after playing something like xenoblade 2, the gameplay in that game is so good, and the story is just, the thing that brings it all together.

But does he have to mess with stuff that no one asked him too? Like paper Mario? Like why? It was called Mario’s story in Japan right?

@Olmectron Anything but the same old story everyone knows and played already several times — a bit of originality didn’t kill anyone. Better (professional) voice actors not names to promotes the poster movie while being grossly miscasted for their parts. Better animation. Better production value. Someone mentioned Lego Movie above — that is good example of what it can be done. We deserve better than this.

Right. Because Mario usually has a great story. What was Odyssey’s story again? Oh, yeah. Bowser hires four bunnies to help him do what he always does. So creative. I’m going to love this movie regardless of story quality just as I do the games.

@Ara The voice acting thing doesn't affect me since I'll watch it in another language, where voice actors are actually good in most media.

Lego Movies were/are VERY BIG ADVERTISEMENTS. I thought that was bad, even if the movie themselves are great.

@Mrkittyhead Games and movie are different. Just because the games don't have plot, shouldn't be a free pass for a movie not to try.

Lego are toys with zero plot yet have a film that showed what love and care about a brand can do. What's Mario's excuse?

@AstroTheGamosian I would say ironically that works pretty well for Mario considering how Mario games have never really been about story

@Ara Actually a lot of the audience scores I am seeing on Rotten Tomatoes are 5 stars

So It's as good and shallow as Sing 2, got it.

"safe" is the vibe im getting from it, capturing a casual, wide blanket audience like most of the mario games do.

stellar gameplay usually makes up for marios shortcomings, shame it couldnt balance being both flashy AND functional as a movie

Oh well. No kids so an easy skip for me. There are much better animated films out there.

There is hope for NintendoLife yet! Thanks for being realistic and honest this time!
This is exactly the score I hoped it would get. Perfectly enjoyable in many ways, but incredibly shallow compared to great animated films.

It’s funny how people get defensive, saying that Mario never had great stories. But it’s a film. Fun gameplay needs to be substituted for something.
But gameplay happens to be Mario’s main strength, so it was never a great idea to make a film about him in the first place. Zelda would be much more suitable for an adaptation.

@Bratwurst35 Lego went Meta. Otherwise story would have been very meh.

I don't think a Mario movie would be great with Meta involved and 4th wall breaks.

I already bought two tickets though. One with a longtime friend who’s also a gamer and one with my little nephew. And I’m probably going to enjoy the heck out of watching the movie both times.

honestly, i feel like any studio and/or director in the world would want to work with Nintendo. 😔

@Olmectron Lego went Meta? What was Lego before? Just simple bricks.

Look, just because Mario in games don't have a plot shouldn't be a free pass for a movie of which is an entirely different medium not to try.

But hey, that's how I feel, and I want more from films than just shallow excuses.

@-wc- Too bad Nintendo skipped over the best ones and chose the mediocre studio.

Perhaps the most expected movie review in existence.

@Impossibilium I think the issue is that it feels like they are trying to use the Super Mario Bros Movie to launch a Mario Cinematic Universe that leads into a larger Nintendo Cinematic Universe.

The reason why I say that is because of how the Kongs appear in the film.

Donkey Kong seems to have a sizable role where he's helping Mario, Cranky Kong has a notable role, we have cameos from Diddy, Dixie, Kiddy and Funky(who are all prominent Kongs will all three besides Kiddy showing up alongside Mario in spin-off games), but then we have Swanky Kong who was never a prominent Kong and has not even appeared since DKC 3 on SNES.

Now, you might argue that these are fun cameos to cater to Nintendo fans, but given how every studio is looking to build the next MCU, I can't help but shake the feeling that this is all setup for a Donkey Kong film and that they are trying to use the Mario Bros film to launch a Nintendo Cinematic Universe.

Just my take.

Yep, that seems about right for Illumination films. Expecting anything more from a studio that doesn't even try, is wishful thinking.

“A fun ride that substitutes story for A Fun Ride That Substitutes Story for Spectacle“

I kinda like how this sound, the first sonic movie has a more proper structure, but the story it was telling was pretty generic. I prefer spectacle over story in these kinda of less ambicious movies.

@fenlix Personally I prefer the opposite. Preferably a balance of the two as shown it can be done.

@Mauzuri I see nothing wrong with hat. Most every other site gave BOTW a 10/10 and 9/10. Masterpiece doesn't mean it's flawless or perfect. Just it does everything great enough that anything minor is overshadowed by excellence.

In contrast, just about every review lines up with Nintendo's life on the Mario Bros. film. Maybe everyone just gives the scores they know you won't agree with for kicks.

From the headline I was expecting a film with a great storyline and dialed-down visuals?

But anyway, great review that was really interesting. I guess they had to play it safe after last time, and also as a franchise starter? The balancing act of making it a complete movie in its own right doesn't seem to have hit the sweet spot.

Many reviews are criticizing shallow story and amount of easter eggs, and mentioning spectacle over anything meaningful.
Yet, when Avatar 2 came out, I've heard the exact same thing, story is so-so but the visuals are fantastic, and that one is getting more positive reviews.
John Wick 4 is nothing but action with some bits of story thrown in, and it is described as "turn your brain out and enjoy", again, with positive response from critics.
My opinion is, the reason behind mixed reviews for Mario is expectations that were through the roof, and it didn't meet those. Doesn't make it a bad movie.
As everything, we will have to judge for ourselves.
Gonna see it tomorrow and I can't wait.

@MatoFilipovic I don't think many critics had high expectations for a Mario movie, most likely none at all. Fans moreso given it was them vs Chris Pratt for like an entire year.

Critics see so many movies within a given year, that honestly, I'm willing to bet a good chunk of them didn't sit up all night posting blogs about the upcoming film and what they hope to see.

No two critics are alike.

A lot of "it's an animated kids movie so you shouldn't have high expectations" energy in this comment section unfortunately. Movies like "Puss in boots 2", "the lego movie" or even "kung fu panda" have shown that you can make excellent movies for kids and adults alike. And to the people saying "mario doesn't have a good story so why were you expecting a good story?". I mean it's a whole different medium and lego movie seemed to manage too with no story to base it on.
If you enjoy it, more power to you. But if someone doesn't, don't blame it on them having slightly more expectations than absolute zero.

You shouldn’t criticize a Mario movie based on not having enough story. it would deserve more criticism if it had much of a story.

But Mario is about innovation of “fun” and the movie should have been too. But seems it failed in that and settled for the standard gags you see in Illumination movies, fan service and references…. Illumination is not the go to place for innovation.

@Bratwurst35 hmmm, good point. I suppose it doesn’t have an excuse. I should be disappointed, but I’m not; I’m super excited. I can understand disappointment and even frustration/anger, but here I’ll be making up bad excuses for why I love it. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get a sequel with some more TLC for the plot. Are you planning on seeing it, or have the reviews changed your mind, or maybe you weren’t very interested from the beginning? If you do decide to watch it, I hope you enjoy.

@Ensemen I agree with you 100% I expect more because I have seen what magic can be done when the right people who care are in charge.

Illumination has over the years shown they don't really care about any project they take on. It's quite Ironic given it's Nintendo.

One of the movies ever made.

It's illumination makes a Mario film and sounds extactly the result 99% of us expected. Never going be Citizen Koopa.

@Roibeard64 You choose a cheap studio, you get cheap results. So yes, it was quite expected indeed.

When was the story ever important in Mario? You guys are being way too critical of this yet you acted like the Sonic movies were such cinematic genius. They're not.

An illumination movie with middling quality? I'm shocked!

I mean, it’s Mario. It’s not exactly a story rich franchise. What story were you guys expecting here?

Fair play to NL for being honest, this looked like trash from the trailers and unfortunately for anyone over the age of 10. Hope the kids enjoy it anyway.

Seems a bit harsh to me to hit this one so much about "plot", like, seriously...where's the plot in any Mario game? They're all basically the same: Bowser wants to rule Mushroom Kingdom and kidnap Peach.

Somehow people was expecting a super complex, deep and intricate story (?) and to be fair, I'm pretty sure all of us 20+ years old people aren't the target audience for this one, even when we're the veteran fans and we might enjoy the cameos and get the jokes...the movie is targeted for kids, and my 5 year old daughter LOVED the movie, even when she doesn't really play Mario at all (she's more into TMNT and Animal Crossing).

@MrSeitaro Noone was expecting a "super complex, deep and intricate story". Stop with the strawmanning already. People were hoping for an engaging and interesting story. And you can do that with a plot as simple as "guy saves girl" as movies (and kids movies!) have shown time and time again. Glad your daughter enjoyed it though.

@quinnyboy58 6/10 is trash?

@Wolfgabe Probably. But at the same time, movies are a completely different beast than video games. You can't just take a game that's light on plot and expect it to translate well to the big screen.

That is part of the reason why the last Mario movie failed, and probably part of the reason why we haven't had a movie based on a Nintendo franchise until today.

There's really only one major Nintendo series where story is integral to the game, and that's The Legend of Zelda. And even then, their last couple new releases (Tri Force Heroes and Breath of the Wild) have been light on plot.

Still, despite mixed reviews, I hope this movie is a success at the box office, enough that it not only warrants a sequel, but warrants movies based on The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, and Super Smash Bros. Those are the movie adaptations I REALLY want.

It does feel weird that people are expecting a lot of plot from a Mario movie. Don't get me wrong, pretty much any other Nintendo IP I get it but this is Mario, X needs rescuing is pretty much the only plot they have.

To me "spectacle over story" seems like the cinema version of "gameplay over story"

@abe_hikura I think we're all forgetting the riveting courtroom drama of Mario Sunshine. Trust me, Twelve Angry Marioes would have swept the board at Cannes.

Zelda movie: Plot based on "A Link to the Past" or "Ocarina of Time" + the art direction of "Breath of the Wild" and created by Studio Ghibli = Profit.

To be honest, the only time Mario had anything resembling an interesting story was the backstory in Mario Galaxy that was told in the storybook. That's really more of a story about Rosalina, though.

From will you be watching comments:

We’ve hired a screen at the local cinema for my sons birthday party to watch it next week.

Last year it was Sonic 2. He loves Mario and is very excited. I doubt the 9 year olds will mind that it’s all spectacle and light on character development.

If only people didn't take reviews so personally. Go and watch it yourself. Have your opinion. Give your opinion a nice cuddle. Relax.

@Dev9417

IGN also gave The Batman a 10 and it was a cringey snoozefest.

As with all movies (and games, music etc) the only way to know for sure is to experience it for myself. Which I will do in due course.

"A Fun Ride That Substitutes Story For Spectacle"

"The Mario Movie is a sufficiently fun time so long as you're not all that fussed about story."

So.... exactly like the games then. Because when was there ever a concise story in any mainline Mario game?

Anyways, my kids are super excited and I can't wait to take them to the movies for this. Will be a blast, regardless.

@YoshiFlutterJump When you substitute red for blue, you are left with red. It’s awkward wording, but correct nonetheless. It’s essentially saying they used a substitute for story, and that substitute was spectacle. Probably the writer’s attempt at trying to avoid using the word shallow.

I’m worried about the complaint of story because none of them really elaborate much on it. Is the story boring? Is it bad? Is it the typical illumination issue where there is like 10 minutes of story just scattered in randomly? The third answer sounds correct, but the trailers all seemed decently connected and no reviewer seems to have brought it up. Story is a much more important element for films than it is for video games, so while you can say that Mario doesn’t usually have much story then imo that simply means the franchise isn’t cut out for a movie if it can’t adapt for a little bit of added story. Gameplay is what masks the lack of a story in Mario’s games as it is typically incredible, but there is 0 of that in the movie.

I just got back from watching it with my children and I thought it was fantastic. Really entertaining, the visuals are incredible, the sound track is epic (a mix of great tracks and instrumentals packed full of snippets from the games) - I'm really surprised Nintendolife gave it a 6/10, IMO it's way better than that.

I'm somewhat bemused by the gauche attempts at sarcasm and triumphant declarations of not being surprised that have appeared on this page.

I'll most likely enjoy this movie on my birthday (well no Sir/Madam, you may not know when the special day is, goodness gracious).

@Uncle_Franklin But, it's not surprising. All you have to do is use history.

Look at every illumination film so far. Sure if you enjoy their films then more power to you, but at best, the studio is known for average just barely passable films.

It's not snobbish or superiority. Just it's hard to be surprised from a studio that's never surprised anyone.

@Frailbay30

Don't recall stating that it was surprising.

I guess Peach being depicted as a strong, independent woman, who don’t need no Mario Bro, just wasn’t enough for NLife and the other “critics”.

@Uncle_Franklin @Frailbay30 I was smiling all the way through and my children loved it. Would I have enjoyed it as much if I wasn't a Mario fan? probably not. But there are a LOT of Mario fans out there. The story is straightforward, but I don't think it diminishes the experience at all. If anything, you could argue it's a benefit, if this is suppose to the first in a series of movies, keeping things simple may help non Mario fans to understand some of the elements taken from the game.

Look at the Mummy movie with Tom Cruise, it was supposed to launch a franchise but it forgot to be entertaining and killed it off - this is wall to wall entertainment.

So DK Country next year, Zelda following, Mario 2, Kirby, Metroid, Pokemon (maybe Detective Pikachu 2?) and Star Fox all culminating in a Smash Bros film

Have each end with a post credit that has the main character abducted, Smash Bros be a story about “Master Hand” a Cosmic being playing with these characters like there his toys and the group forced to fight each other and find away to work together to escape back to there worlds

@Eagly Yes, but Puss in Boots was made for a more adult audience, its just something that can be seen by a kid, as well.

The Mario Movie is made for kids and hardcore Mario/Nintendo fans (who like to see stuff like Foremen Spike). Making the Mario Movie and not giving it a big plot is ok. If it is a Mario RPG, Zelda, Metroid or some other movie from a franchise where stories matter, then there is an issue.

@Williamfuchs420 I think they need to learn from where Marvel is right now and not overdo things. I think one movie every 18 months is fine. IMO, the next ones will be:-
Mario Movie 2
Mario Movie 3
Luigi's Mansion
Donkey Kong

Not in that order.

I think they need to consider Metroid and Zelda being with someone other than Illumination, personally I would like to see both of those being live action.

@locky-mavo Avoiding any hard spoilers, Peach's characterization in this film was actually more fun and nuanced than I expected it would be. Not deep, but more than you'd expect from Peach.

If there was any archetype she appealed to, she straddled the line between "team mom" and "big sister", which is a far cry from what certain folks keep trying to project onto her just because she's a competent female character.

@MarioBrickLayer everyone thinks Marvel is overdoing things when they fail to realize that this phase wasn’t meant to be as big or bigger then the previous ones it was basically a bigger expansion phase similar to phase one setting up the bigger world none of these films where meant to be as big as Endgame.

Think they smell a Avengers crossover potential with these and by releasing these out year by year they can even time them with game releases. I almost Bet we see a Mario game by the time this comes to Streaming. Plus with Animation its less overall work no need to schedule sets or shooting times they probably already got animators Finishing the next one and starting the third. My guess DK and i didn’t even think about Luigis Mansion that could totally work with this art style. Will definitely see Mario 2 before a smash similar to how we got Iron Man 2. Star Fox could fit this art and Kirby for sure.

@InTree I disagree on that. Puss in the boots was made for all ages. You don't have to dumb down everything.

Kids believe or not, do have some basic understanding beyond pretty colors and flashing lights. Disney has been doing this for ages with their animated films. Japan does this everyday with their animated features.

A movie not need to be deep or complex. However, a lack effort shouldn't be an excuse either.

@Vexx234 is that a sequel where he becomes a day trader?

Puss in the puts? 😂

@Williamfuchs420 Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed. Appreciate it.

@MarioBrickLayer Thank you for your review, it's making me excited for me going tonight!

The movie was cromulent. Not great, not bad. Just cromulent.

"Substitutes story for spectacle" doesn't sound too far off from the 1993 movie.

@SonOfDracula I think that's pretty much what I'm saying? If you substitute story for spectacle, you should be left with story...and yet the review seems to say the exact opposite.

I’ve just seen it and loved it - ok it is not a complicated story but it is beautiful, fun and entertaining. The music was amazing as well.

@YoshiFlutterJump second-ing this. I love y'all at N'life and respect the review, but I came in getting ready to type "I don't want to be pedantic, but..."

@Eagly If there is little substance to be found in the film. then most of that can be directed at Miyamoto for expecting anything when he himself has insisted Mario never have a plot.

You can only work with so much when there is little there. Maybe goofy references is all the studio could get out such a flimsy premise.

Another movie should have been tackled here like Zelda. Where you can atleast get story out of it.

Watched this morning and it’s a leap in the right direction for Nintendo (based on previous efforts) but it really felt like it missed a trick or too. And a little over engineered.
A solid 3* out of 5*

@Caryslan I 100% agree that this is setting up a Donkey Kong movie. It’s already been announced. My potential problem is that it takes a portion of this movie’s runtime to advertise the Donkey Kong movie, rather than sticking with the main Mario characters in their movie.

It reminds me of the differences between the start of the MCU versus the DCEU. Marvel released movies focusing on individual superheroes and their supporting characters, then putting them all together for a team-up film, only advertising other movies in the post-credits scenes. DC, on the other hand, rushed to combine Justice League characters, by shoving them into what should have been either a Superman sequel or the first Batman movie in that universe — not a movie that advertised the rest of the heroes, the mess that was Batman v. Superman.

Movies that introduce a lot of characters at once can be done well (Guardians of the Galaxy proved that). But when your priorities are advertising the next movies instead of focusing on the current project, that movie is going to suffer story-wise.

@YoshiFlutterJump It’ll be ok lmfao

Just came from watching it. Its not a great movie…. But I LOVED it, I dont remember enjoying a movie this much for a long while. I couldn’t stop smiling.
If you ever wanted to see a Mario movie, you’ll really enjoy it! If you don't care for Mario… just dont go, its a movie mostly for Mario fans (and their kids).
One of my favorites movies ever. Thats said, again, its not a “great movie” by any means if you are just a casual Mario Kart player.

Just went to see it with my boy today and we both really enjoyed it.

I'll see it when I see it (knowing me probably on a plane) it was pretty obvious from the first trailer what sort of film it was - bubble gum for the brain.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, maybe something's wrong with me, but I like to make my own mind up about films. I've had films recommended to me that people have raved about only for me to switch them off half an hour in. Mad Max: Fury Road was a classic example...then I've watched films that people have panned that I've loved. Horses for courses folks...

im curious , what could have made this movie score a 10/10 ?

@nomither6 That's a very good question!

I don't understand why so many commenters are getting bent out of shape about this movie getting a 6 out of 10 when the gist of their argument is, "I'm fine with this film being 6 out of 10."

No one said you and your little one weren't going to enjoy a 6 out of 10 movie. But from the sounds of it, this isn't exactly up there with the best from Pixar or something like The Iron Giant. That's what gets 10s or 9s.

I haven't watched this movie and it could well be that I'd rate it higher, but I understand where the reviewer's coming from. I love commenters replying, "Well, I wasn't expecting some profound plot from Mario!" As if there were no in-between options, no way for this sort of film to hit deeper without also being fun for all ages. It's either "mindless fan service" or "deep ruminations on the loss of cultural and ethnic history following the devastating wars of the 20th century" with these folk.

Also, the people humblebragging about "making their own opinions" don't understand the point of film criticism, which is to share and discuss ideas and viewpoints, not submit to brain washing.

@Beaucine I was someone who posted in surprise at the 6/10. According to NintendoLife's scoring policy a six is something to approach with caution and may be flawed in crucial ways.
https://www.nintendolife.com/scoring

This is all subjective, but I don't think the movie is a 9 or 10, but I found it very entertaining, of course there are areas it could be improved. But a game getting a 6/10 on this site is enough for me to question buying it and most times I won't.

@MarioBrickLayer

True, this is an issue with game review scales in general. A 7 — which, in film criticism, is a pretty good score, and what I'd give most films I watch and enjoy — can cost game developers a bonus if it affects the Metacritic score. It's very weird and a flawed system.

It was fun but so many bits were bad, I couldn't love it. Sonic 2 was better (the film and the game).

@Beaucine I didn't know about developers being bonused in that way. I do think NintendoLife are really good. They have a clear scoring policy and it's not often I disagree with them. It would be great if they had the staff numbers to go back and review more games after they are patched etc, but they are a business at the end of the day and the cost may be hard to justify.

Did nintendolife suddenly start reviewing films just so that they could review this?

I suppose the plot is thicker than Mario 64 - the original the cake is a lie; still looking forward to watching this (funnily enough with two of the folks I met from when this site was GameCube-UK)

@MarioBrickLayer when I see a 6/10 I know to only buy the game if it is a genre I have an interest in. It’s the score that for me says ‘a decent time if you are invested in the series; otherwise it’s not going to interest you’

I’d expect that I’ll find this fun, much in the same way I enjoyed Bright when it got tepid reviews.

I always used to find it tricky to balance the perspective for how you review something. In the end, I think you end up realising that people apply their own modifiers. For me it probably is a +3 for being a fanboy; for my wife it will be a -4 for video-game related.

I think it’s better than a 6?👍🏼

I really liked it. I think it could've benefited from being a bit longer to flesh out the characters, and they really shouldn't have used all that licensed music ... but it was still really special. A movie for the fans.

@sanderev Yeah, and with joysticks

It could've used a little more run time to flesh out character relations but that's about the only complaint. A 6/10 is REALLY underselling here and I kinda think this isn't necessarily a good review

Was expecting the obvious 10 but guess that's limited to Nintendo game reviews only? Guess it must be really bad to still get a 6 even with the big N bonus points since they seem to like Sonic movies and those were utter trash.

Movie was pretty great I'd say an 8 atleast and thats from a mario fan of 30 plus years... You guys had waaay too high of expectations here... Especially when you generally score Nintendo 1st party games higher than they deserve for the majority of them 6 is a pretty pathetic score

Oh no, the Mario movie has a Mario plot.

@IronMan30 Ugh so true. With an audience score in the 90s it’s sad to see NL jump on board with the bashing when the movie is an (albeit safe) celebration of all that is Nintendo. Surely they could have found a staff member that was actually into it? Bit of a shame really.

I went last night and was very happy with what I watched, it was entertaining from start to finish. In fact I went with 6 other people aged between 10 and 50 and we all said it was good.

I saw it last night and loved it. My kid told me it was great to see it. I understand the reviewer’s criticisms, but for me it was great to see a game so well adapted to movie. I would give it a 9/10.

Happy movie watching!

I saw it last night with a bunch of friends and kids (age ranging form 50 to 4) and had a real blast, everyone was laughing in an heartfelt way.
movie itself is well designed, funny, light, charming and family oriented in the true nintendo spirit.
music is awesome, apart from the songs most of the original score is found throughout the movie with a different and more epic tone.
I caught 95% of the easter eggs and my elder kid (7 1/2 yo) caught 80% of them, the youngest caught just the mario kart ones.
it was so fun as the cinema was full and each time some reference popped up on screen many 40yo like myself started to point their fingers and to whisper to the person next to them "Look that is ...." or "that charachter is...."
finally, everyone applauded at the end.
great movie overall, although preceeded by even greater expectations.

@AstroTheGamosian not like this reviewer has taste though.

He/him self thinks she hulk is a good show.

Ok I'm going to say it, in terms of consistency, #SheHulk has been the best MCU series so far

Bring it. If I wanted in depth plotting I'd watch The Expanse at home. I go to the cinema the same reason I go to a theme park and the bigger the spectacle the better!

The simple fact that this movie was made by a team who did not bend themselves to the recent ideologic crap that has been plaguing Hollywood and streaming Tv services, and were focused on fan service and simple, fun visual spectacle, makes this flick a great watch.

@Eagly There are hundreds of movies without a story. Even popular movies.

Or stories even thinner than the cover text of a children's book. And no, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Some movies are just for fun. So watch them and have some fun. And sometimes movies are way too deep into their stories that they become extremely boring.

All I'm saying is; people aren't going to watch "The Super Mario Bros"-movie for it's compelling story. I know that, you know that, the producers of the movie know that, (I hope) the writer of the review knows that. And that is perfectly okay.

I don't know where the hate is coming from. I got exactly what I expected from a Mario film and I loved it and so did the kids. I can't wait to see it again for all the Easter eggs.

It was a nostalgic hit from beginning to end, with the right amount of fan service. 8/10.

I do agree with this review... although I would give the movie at least a 7 because it was spectacular to see and I wasn't expecting a great story. I do still think that the existing story could have been written better.

And I do wonder what this could have been in the hands of the Wreck It Ralph writers.

A 6/10 is a perfect score for this movie. They played it too safe.

It could have gone a little deeper on story but it is what it is.

There was too many references to their games. It got old quick.

First half hour was great. The middle was nauseating, and last half hour was great. They made peach a total feminist. For most of the movie she had no need for mario. She is perfect. Why make a Mario movie when peach is perfect and doesn't need his help? That was the middle half hour.

Because of the middle half hour I have no desire to watch this film again.

@Fuzzgablinky Yes! I didn't want to read this until after I saw the movie, but when I saw the headline I thought it meant that it had more story than spectacle. It should be "substitue story WITH spectacle" or "spectacle for story."

Aaaaaanyway, I didn't think it was too light on either. What's the problem with the story? I thought it was great, especially the fathers/sons angle.

I can’t think of anything else but how grammatical incorrect the headline is. Please fix it. 🥺

This movie is GREAT film. For any fan of Mario/Nintendo it is absolutely crammed with relatable references, it’s an extremely well done ode to the franchise. Go see it for yourselves, don’t let these early reviews sway you. Why this movie is being knocked for not having a story is absurd!…what Mario game was story ever the highlight??…it’s always been about the gameplay and the spectacle that is the Mushroom Kingdom. There’s enough story there to keep viewers engaged in its characters, even enough to say it’s an origin story of sorts. The cinematic landscape it’s officially limitless for Nintendo. This is a quality film through and through!

Totally agree with this review. The film set itself up nicely then went absolutely nowhere.

Good review. Expected something fanboyish since every Nintendo first party game typically reviews a 9/10 +(I'm looking at your Mario Strikers).. Unless your taking your kid to see it, this movie is really just a waste of time/money.

I think it was fun!

it's no masterpiece or anything, but it just had all these fun references and great animation. It all just made me smile

If you're a Mario fan, it's not gonna blow you away or change your life, but it's just: fun

its fun, it will make you smile

i highly recommend for fans

@UltimateOtaku91 i promise you

its the exact opposite, this movie was made 100% FOR the fans

@Eagly I'm not saying it shouldn't try to make an interesting plot, but when the non-RPG games don't give much to build off of, what do they base a Mario plot on that isn't simple and basic?

@Deemo37 I fell asleep on Rise of Gru. I thoroughly enjoyed this and may take my kid back again on Monday. I think people are exaggerating with the whole "Ugh it's just a Minions movie" take I keep seeing everywhere. My theater was packed in a way I rarely see these days, and almost everyone on my timeline who also saw it over the last couple of days has been pleased with it. I'm not sure what epic narrative some people were expecting, but this was a fairly straightforward Mario plot. The last Mario movie tried to go "epic" with a "Blade Runner by way of Roger Rabbit" kind of narrative, and it's universally reviled as absolute trash lol. And most people enjoy the Sonic movies, which pad out the narrative with a generic "Sonic got isekai'd to our world and adopted by friendly cop" two-film story arc that I don't think ANYBODY actually cares about lol.

@Kisame83
I’m with you on this. I also was not a huge fan of the Sonic movies but Sonic has always taken its plots super seriously so that wasn’t a huge surprise. The Mario Movie was straightforward charming with good performances and comedy that lands a decent amount of the time. Illumination killed it with the animation as well but really that’s usually the only thing that I can regularly expect to be good in one of their films. Overall after having seen it twice I was not disappointed. The difference in critical vs audience opinion is really interesting because the scores are much lower than the reviews read.

I've seen the movie and it feel spectacular, but also like the "pilot" for Nintendo's Cinematic Future.
Not much have talked about this, but besides an implied Super Mario Galaxy storyline, I would love to see characters Daisy and Tatanga appear in the sequels.

And of course, what about the biggest point of story in the Mario series: the RPGs? If characters like, for instance, the Shadow Queen or Cackletta made appearances, the films would truly became something special.

@Eagly have you SEEN it yet, or are you basing this on the "it doesn't have a story" complaints being thrown around online? I'm sorry if this sounds aggressive, but that just comes off a little echo chamber-ish. Because the movie has a straightforward plot, not NO plot. Is it Shakespeare, no. But are you honestly suggesting that the better option would be to take something like Legend of the Seven Stars and butcher it down to 90 minutes of runtime? Even that game gets by on a ton of charm - tahe plot is still basically "bad guy attacks Mushroom Kingdom." Just, plot twist, Bowser got booted too and they have to team up. Even if they were to use this, that would be a plot hook for a sequel, because the whole reason we even cared is because we spent years clashing with Bowser before that. Aside from that, it'd just be a swap to less well known support characters - I'd love to see Mallow, but of COURSE they're going to use Toad for a general audience introduction sidekick.

@Deemo37 Agreed. I also think it's worth noting that this was the origin movie. Looking at the Sonic films, the second felt a lot closer to what fans of the games were looking for, while the original was trying to bridge game fans and general audiences with the character. I'm actually worried if they do decide on a Zelda adaptation. The old cartoon used to be partnered with the Super Mario Bros Super Show. I'm not saying that should be the template, but you just know if they go for a lighthearted adventure feel that people will be upset if it doesn't push a deeper dark fantasy story.

@Kisame83
Yeah while I didn’t love either Sonic movie the second was better. I think Zelda is dangerous territory for adaptation. While some people may want it to lean into darker fantasy I feel like it would make it generic kinda like what happened to The Rings of Power. Zelda needs that cartoonish feel to be good.

I quite enjoyed it, so did my daughter. Would've given it a 7 or 8 out of 10. It's quite fast paced!

Eh, it was fine. I’ve seen a damn sight worse for a video game movie.

Given noted Roxette fan Seth Roger was in on it, though, you’d think they might at least have made a reference to Almost Unreal…

Pretty terrible movie. I'd rather watch Despicable Me 1.

@Coffeemonstah It's pretty terrible actually like all video game films.

@Deemo37 Zelda COULD work but it would be very difficult.

Mario and Sonic sucked though. Terrible movies.

@kalosn This is Illumination, lmao. Bowser will be the main boss in all movies because he is portrayed by a famous actor and is the most popular villain in Mario. Illumination doesn't take risks.

@NintendomPower I wish you were right...

@Rainz It was a pretty terrible movie. This is a film, not a game. A different medium where having a cohesive plot is the bare minimum to qualify to be a great film. Learn to have standards.

@maverick1200 I dunno. Maybe because there is no cohesive plot nor character development while most of the cast sounded terrible?

@HolyGeez03 "'Not expecting a good story'' doesn't mean it should be excused from having one. It didn't have one therefore it was bad.

@Workcomesfirst
I see you just created an account to tell us about your cynical thought on a very decent movie like this... pretty good to me in fact.
What do you know about Illumination? Likely the surface, clickbait-worthy opinions.

@kalosn I been on this site for awhile, I just made this account though so I can comment. This came on the feed so I decided to share my thoughts. What's wrong with that? I thought the film was horrible, I wish it wasn't but it is.

@Workcomesfirst
Nothing wrong with creating an account to finally speak up. I know how it feels that, after exploring it for so long, you decide to create an account on the site you like to finally say how you feel about many things. That's a perfectly normal thing to do and naturally, after the first nominations came by, it also felt like the perfect moment.
However, think about this: After creating an account, the first thing that person does is harshly speaking an unpopular opinion in front of everyone, it feels like energy was finally unleashed, but maybe a bit unfairly.

But you sound like someone that has an honest, disappointed view in the film. Ugh.. please ignore those strong words I used before and please, please give me your biggest, most detailed criticism about this film so I can at least understand your view about a film I found more than enjoyable, albeit not perfect and maybe not worthy enough to be nominated.
And I wouldn't underestimate Illumination now. Maybe they known to infamously not be as artistically inclined as other studios and only pandering to the "lowest common denominator", but I think things are finally changing after the SMB movie. There are some new facts about the studio you may not know.

@kalosn You're acting like I just came out of the closet. I wasn't hiding anything. I just decided to make this account to comment.

Anyways I think the Mario Movie is pretty terrible. I also think Illumination is a bad studio who's only good movie is Despicable Me 1. They aren't underrated and rather pathetic if you ask me.

I think the Mario Movie is bad because there is no cohesive plot nor character development. I also think the voice performances were really bad and they shouldn't pick popular actors to voice iconic characters simply because they are popular actors.

Illumination is pathetic and so is this movie. Have a good day.

@Workcomesfirst
I simply described your desire to join the site, the natural behavior of the internet explorer, mainly to take back what I said about you joining out of nowhere. It's just that

If you look at it in a deepeer way the film is much more than simple mediocrity. Even as "brutally honest" fans, there is a better way of giving feedback than using harsh words that don't help all the artists and directors who worked on it. Trust me, when you reach a more mature and contextual level of experience in judging audiovisual works, you will learn to differentiate those works that do deserve criticism, those who deserve acclaim and those who simply need commendable feedback, always in the great scheme of things, or in this case, industry. That's how we can help them evolve and progress, even if we don't work for them.

Anyway, that's all I want to talk about. Besides my hopes about these creative industries, there's not much more need for me to write more here.
As a final note, there are many ways to appreciate (or at least tolerate) Illumination. But instead of talking about the studio itself, I could talk about Moonlight:
https://deadline.com/2022/09/illumination-mike-moon-netflix-moonlight-1235125865/