The highly anticipated and eagerly awaited Nintendo film “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” came out on April 5th, of this year. What seemed to be a telling of the classic Mario Brothers, Luigi and Mario, turned out to be a story of love between Bowser and Peach. This seemingly dark film had a heartwarming twist that created sympathy for the villain along with the included anecdotes sporadically placed throughout the film. The action-packed trailers and stacked cast list made the film appear as though it would be a good movie, but other than the attachment to characters, the overall plot of the movie was dry and predictable. 

Other than a trip to the theater to entertain young kids or reflect on nostalgia, the movie isn’t worth seeing. This is especially true if you aren’t familiar with video games. With no background information provided, it could be confusing to nongamers. The overall plotline of the separated brothers is oversimplified, making the movie dull. If all you are looking for is a quick laugh or a mindless outlet of entertainment, then this movie is a worthwhile watch.

The movie did a good job of developing the characters that we saw throughout the film. One character that was very memorable was Bowser. Bowser wanted to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, but he also loved Peach at the same time. This caused the audience to grow fond of Bowser even though he was technically the villain. Bowser also had some funny moments that made the movie more enjoyable. One moment that stood out was when he sang a song about Peach called “Peaches''. This song has Bowser repeating Peach’s name in an addictive way while playing the piano. This song was stuck in all of our heads for days. 

The movie also had a cute love story between Mario and Peach. Their love started at first sight and continued to blossom throughout the movie as they tried to stop Bowser from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom. 

The movie also did a good job of including iconic moments from the video game in the movie. One of these moments included when they went on “karts” on Rainbow Road. Additionally, we enjoyed the inclusion of characters like Donkey Kong. The animation was very visually appealing and included bright colors specifically in the Mushroom Kingdom. We also loved the contrast between the bright and cheerful Mushroom Kingdom and the dark and scary Darklands.

Though the movie was lovable and wholesome, it had some downfalls. There were several factors that led to the movie not being perfect. In our opinion, the movie was boring and predictable at times. Towards the middle of the movie, the film seemed repetitive and it lacked something. There was a lot of predictability that could have been due to foreshadowing or, due to a weak plot. Also, the movie felt like it only focused on Mario. There was not a lot of focus on Luigi, portraying him simply as a sidekick. Lastly, there was a lack of explanation on Princess Peach's backstory. All we learned was that she stumbled into the Mushroom Kingdom when she was a young infant. The movie had an overall lack of character development.

Even though the movie had its flaws, we still believe that the movie was good and reminded us of our childhood love for the videogame. Apparently audiences around the world agree with out assessment, as it recently topped the $1 billion mark in international box office. It’s definitely “Mario time!”