"Video game to film adaptations have historically been difficult to pull off, but when done right, they can offer a unique cinematic experience that expands and enriches the original game's universe". - Chris Plante, Polygon journalist .
I finally saw it after reading a lot of bullshit online about why this movie was (or wasn't) good, I read a lot of crap calling this movie a bad experience in theaters as well as also putting it higher than it actually is, it was an enjoyable watch but still with some flaws that I find almost impossible to fix at least with the kind of movie you expect from Mario Bros.
Let's start with saying that I always found it extremely complicated to make a Mario movie, anyone who has played his games can see that the story is a very simple one, a guy saving a princess from a giant turtle, there are no big character arcs even in the most recent games, so here the screenwriters have to work magic to make new sense of why the main characters are where they are.
The Mushroom Kingdom in the games is OUR playground, it has no back story or meaning to its existence when it was created, it only served as a base to jump and run through the platforms, luckily in the movie it serves that purpose too, they didn't make the bad move of explaining too much and making sense where there is none, it's a movie about a plumber traveling between dimensions, and they knew how to read the audience and understand that if you don't know Mario Bros at this point it's because you've been living under a rock.
I had my doubts about Illumination, I can't say I'm a fan of their recent work but I liked their first movies, Despicable Me is maybe one of my favourites since I was a kid so I had a small glimmer of hope that this time they would do something similar, it's a bit of a mixed bag, if we talk about it being a movie for someone who knows the character I think that's the point where you can enjoy it the most.
A funny thing about this movie is that there are a lot of slow mo moments, just a detail that I found interesting, there are also those moments where maybe using licensed music has taken me out of the loop a bit but that's more of a personal thing that I'm complaining about.
There are many moments of wink to the fans, of course I think Illumination wanted to put all this to give us that sense of being at home and for my part I have left me delighted both the little sounds or moments where I thought I knew that reference to the soundtrack of the film where they arrange musically some of the classic tones of Mario Bros.
Characters like Luigi or Bowser I think are the best for me, I know I'm talking about characters that are going to be two dimensional at best and with little or no personality but this movie takes a small step forward to give a recognizable attitude to characters like Peach or Mario himself, I still feel like the original voices of these characters needed a chance to shine, I think Pratt and the cast do a good job bringing these characters to life and the weight of having them in the movie brings in sales, just a thought on how I would have liked the voice acting.
"Video game-to-film adaptations are fertile ground for creative experimentation, allowing filmmakers to visually explore iconic worlds and characters in entirely new ways, while maintaining the essence that made them popular in the first place". - Kofi Outlaw, ComicBook.com journalist.
I think the best phrase to define this movie is fun without too much guilt, the animation is good for the most part, maybe the story is a bit simple and very much in line with the video games, again Illumination wants to put out a product in line with Nintendo's preferences, so I don't expect too many risks or anything like the Lego Movie, speaking of that movie I think it's the perfect example for when some production company has some IP without a defined story on their hands and they don't know what story to tell with it.
I honestly think Lego is one of the most versatile companies out there and it doesn't surprise me that they have come up with such a well thought out story but this is where I would like to demand something more from the mario movie, I can't help but think that I left the cinema with a feeling of having seen a product designed for the average video game fan, and in a year like 2023 where we have already had several proofs that it is possible to adapt stories from this medium to movies without looking lame it's possible.
Movies are a strange topic for me, time puts everything in its place including expectations and although I don't forget the good time I spent with my friends watching this movie I think the analysis that follows can be just as interesting, knowing that there are going to be more light adaptations of this style with the resounding success that this movie had.
All yours, @slashint - Gamer, Video Game Analyst.
