The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Thanks to the princess (with Anya Taylor-Joy's sexy voice), it was quite popular at home. So a story about two plumbers is cool not only for the boys, but also for the girls. The otherwise likeable simple premise spiced up with lots of Easter eggs loses a bit of coherence as we jump from one character to another. The visuals are gorgeous and Chris Pratt pulls off the same musical hits from Guardians of the Galaxy. A very safe-bet hit made for kids. Unless they go to the subtitled scene where the villain sings the song “Peaches, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches!” (05/24/2023)

A colorful romp that never bores you for a moment, yet that starts to fade from the mind faster than you can say "mushroom" as soon as the end credits roll. The main duo surprisingly loses out to the emotionally unstable giant Bowser and the unexpected draw of Princess Peach, whose arrival onscreen finally propels the film to suitable heights. At least this world of peculiar realms, creatures, characters, and immortal melodies has finally been adapted with dignity by a group of people who feel at home in it and just want to share their love for it. (07/07/2023)

As a Mario/Nintendo fan, the heaps of references in every frame kept me entertained (from the obvious ones to those hidden in the second and third plane for the connoisseurs). And yet, I wouldn’t call this a particularly good adaptation, despite the solid pace and the spot-on stylization. The main point of schism is that the Nintendo imaginative playfulness for the whole family is replaced by outlandishly primal infantilism for the little ones. As a result, both my son and I were more or less satisfied when we left the cinema, though each for different reasons. (04/15/2023)

For kids, an infantile derivative of The Lego Movie; for adults, a few hits from their youth; and for Nintendo fans, a collection of Easter Eggs. It’s just enough to keep you from getting bored for 90 minutes, but tomorrow I won’t even remember that I went to see it. (04/16/2023)

I've never played the game, but I didn't want to miss the film adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. phenomenon. In terms of story, the film doesn't have much to surprise, which, considering it's a video game adaptation, is understandable, so I can see why many viewers (used to more sophisticated animated films like Coco or Inside Out) might have been bothered by it. But I had fun in the cinema, because the film managed to fully compensate for its flatter story with proper action, wrapped in nice visuals. Some sequences were even more or less evocative of other films, like Mad Max: Fury Road (the rainbow chase), or Pinocchio (the bowels of the "whale"). Yes, you know the direction the film will take, but thanks to the brisk pace and not least the well chosen oldies soundtrack you forgets about this "flaw". (04/12/2023)