The Super Mario Bros. Movie

After the initial failure of the original Super Mario Bros. film from 1993 made Nintendo very hesitant to let Hollywood take another crack at their most beloved video game character, Illumination surprisingly proved it could do a more accurate take on the franchise with The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Chris Pratt and Charlie Day portray the iconic Brooklyn-based plumbers as they struggle to start their own business. After an attempt to fix a water main leak, the two go through a warp pipe that separates them throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario meets up with a Toad who takes him to Princess Peach so as to help him find his brother and get them home. Peach agrees to help so long as Mario aids her in defeating Bowser, who has captured Luigi and wants to use a Power Star to destroy the kingdom unless Peach marry him. With the use of power ups and getting help from the Kongs, Mario and Peach set out to defeat the King of the Koopas. So yeah, this is definitely way better than the original live action adaptation with Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. Illumination still had a tough task due not only their reputation with their filmography but the usual reception towards video game adaptations. Fortunately, while a bit far from perfect, this movie proves that there is staying power in both the studio and the medium, as well as Chris Pratt's casting. Pratt, while not seeming like the right choice to voice Mario, still gave it his all injecting both his own take and having some slight nuances towards previous portrayals. The rest of the cast also give strong vocal performances, with Day perfectly portraying a scared but kind Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as a kickass Peach, and Jack Black being hilarious as Bowser. While Illumination may have a reputation with its weak writing, one aspect that everyone agrees with their work is the incredible animation. This movie is no exception thanks to how colorful, fluid, and detailed it is but how it perfectly captures the look of the franchise. Something else that captures the spirit of the source material is the score Brian Tyler gives that is a mix of original and bits of the franchise's. The use of popular songs throughout does often feel highly out of place, but some of the song choices and where they're placed is rather fun. Now, the most divisive aspect to this film above anything else thus far is the writing from Matthew Fogel. It's not terrible, after all it does have the iconic characters we love and gives them huge personalities that helps them connect with the audience. The story itself is rather mundane and the writing doesn't give anything unique from either the franchise or similar stories, but it's told really well and manages to be entertaining. As expected with something as long lasting as the Mario franchise, there are numerous references and gags relating to them in this movie. A lot of them are fun and noteworthy, but often it feels like it's dependent on these references just to show fans they can be trusted, and it can be really distracting. There's a chance that if there are followups to The Super Mario Bros. Movie that they'll be improvements over this one, but let's give credit where it's due as while not perfect it still well made and a blast. Over all: 86%

2023 top list so far:

1. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

2. Creed III

3. John Wick: Chapter 4

4. Scream VI

5. M3GAN

6. Cocaine Bear

7. Knock at the Cabin

8. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

9. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

10. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania