Customer Reviews

Super Mario Bros [VHS]

5 star:		(107)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

Most people tend to hate this film. I think, though, that they hate it because they're looking at it the wrong way. It's one of those movies that has a point, and if you miss that, you don't get any of it.

Their mistake is to watch this expecting a Mario movie. I know, it sounds like the right thing to expect, but hear me out. Fans of the game know what Mario is all about - powerups, angry mushrooms, winged turtles and flying blocks. If you watch this movie expecting that, you'll be disappointed, as you'll find NONE of it. But that's not to say it isn't worth watching.

Picture the scene: a couple of directors are asked to make a Mario movie by Nintendo, and they want it to be live action. That was the flavour at the time - take cartoon characters and make them real. Now, these directors know about Mario. They say "No way can that be done. Mario is all about being a cartoon. Jumping on little angry animals, everyone's a mushroom... It's a great game, and it'd make a good cartoon, but a live action version would just be moronic." "Oh, don't worry about that," says Nintendo, "just so long as you get the main elements in, do it how you want."

The directors go away, rubbing their chins, trying to think of a way to do that but still do justice to the games. And then they have a fascinating idea.

What if they don't do a Mario film, exactly. What if they do a sci-fi film, but fill it to the brim with Mario references, for the keen-eyed game fans?

That's what this movie is. If you watch it with that in mind, you will enjoy it. I've tested this theory out already on a friend who thought the film was a bit stupid when he saw it as a kid, but watched it yesterday with my little thesis in mind and he loved it.

What you get here is a quite serious (despite the light-hearted script) sci-fi flick about the nightmarish world ours may soon become: crowded, filthy, choked with pollution and overrun with a hate-filled populace who will fight you, yell at you, even try to shoot you if you pass too close. Run by a demonic well-dressed dictator politician (played to amazing effect by Dennis Hopper) who has let this world become the dark horror it is through neglect: there is no water any more, only sludge, and a slimy infestation of fungus has grown over everything, draped in great loops like one gigantic, chaotic spider web. Into this world come Mario and Luigi, similar to their game counterparts but more human, a pair of plumber brothers from Brooklyn who grew up together as orphans. They are trying to save a girl, who has been kidnapped and dragged here, and along the way they get wrapped up in something really horrifying: the president and his people are human, but human descended from dinosaurs instead of apes. He's found a way to revert his citizens back to their prehistoric roots, and with his army of lizard lackeys he's going to bridge the split between worlds (that formed when the meteorite that "killed" the dinosaurs hit) and take over our own.

And through all this we find references of the sort that Mario's biggest fans will drool over, so long as they are watching this in the way I suggest. These prove that the film has been put together not by someone ignorant of the games, but by someone very well versed in their lore. A large woman called Big Bertha, dressed all in red, is named in reference to a large red fish enemy from Mario 3. She wears mechanical boots named "Thwomp-Stompers", after the classic ice block enemies, and they are powered by capsules that look exactly like Bullet Bills, from Super Mario Bros 1. Shops are apparently owned by people with the same names as characters from the games (Hammer Bros and Bullet Bill), a protest singer is named after Toad, the happy little mushroom from the games, but his hair is shaved into the pattern on the shell of Lakitu, a fan favourite since day one. These references go on throughout the film and shape its world - the fungus, which turns out to be a conscious entity, helps the brothers in every way it can; they are saved on more than one occasion by mushrooms, in what has become a literal mushroom kingdom.

It's all in here if you keep your eyes peeled. Go in ready to watch not a Mario film, but a film that references Mario, and you will love it. It doesn't "change" anything from the games, because it is not any kind of filmed version of them, but it nods to them constantly.

Viewed in this light, it is a treat to watch, and a rare treat, because no other film has ever crammed in so many references to videogaming before. Simply put, a live action Mario film could never be made, and the directors asked to make one did a brilliant job at trying something new and original. Well worth the ten dollars for the DVD.

Like a lot of kids of my generation, I grew up anticipating every new Super Mario Bros. game. And like a few other people in the country, I went to see the movie when it came out in theaters. I was almost 15 at the time, but I actually liked the movie.

Nowadays, it doesn't stand up. It bombed at the box office, is the source of constant scorn, and is often blamed for starting the "movies based off of video games always suck" phenomenon.

But to be quite honest, this isn't a terrible film. If you were to watch it objectively, you'll probably find something in it to appreciate. Sure, to begin with, the casting is off. Though I think John Leguizamo is capable of just about anything (he's played a fat, demonic clown, a character in Romeo and Juliet, a midget, a charismatic boxer, and a sneaky gangster (Benny Blanco from the Bronx!!). His roles have been met with mixed reviews, but say what you will, the guy has range. But here he is playing the taller, mustached Italian brother of the most famous plumber around, yet he's shorter, no mustache, and not at all Italian. Bob Hoskins being british doesn't do great for Mario either.

Someone else mentioned that the dinosaur adversary of the game, King Koopa, is played here as a sleazy, suited businessman. Yes, this is strange as well. Come to think of it, a lot of this stuff is just plain bizarre. But therein lies the problem.

Super Mario Bros, when taken at its most serious, is a game about a plumber who travels through pipes, beats up turtles with fireballs that he gets from a flower, and hits invisible blocks in the sky all while romping around in the mushroom kingdom while attempting to save a woman named Princess Toadstool. So, how would you film a plot such as this?

The filmmakers tried. They really did. And in my opinion, they came up with quite an intruiging world. Somewhere in between Blade Runner and Twin Peaks, the world in this film is flashy, colorful, populated with lots of strange creatures, and almost always with something unique or interesting to look at. That it's packaged inside this strange film is disappointing.

But that, again, is almost impossible to avoid. Some may argue that this film should've just played it straight, such as Mortal Kombat- meaning that the things in this film just are. You accept them, their rules and parameters, or you don't. Partly where SMB fails is in trying to make the completely absurd world of the videogame into something acceptable. See, this mushroom kingdom is just an alternate reality, where time flows differently and where prehistoric creatures roam about. Wouldn't you know it, two hapless plumbers stumble in, and boom- now we have a reason to accept the premise of the game.

Sure there's lots to complain about. This movie is very silly. But at the same time, I can respect what they tried to do. Dennis Hopper as Koopa is an inspired choice, since he's such a (expletive) all the time anyway. To see him run around, firing guns at everything while screaming "PLUMBERS!!!!!" is a hoot, akin to his freakout at the end of the (more) bizarre Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

That's the thing. You have to just accept this movie for what it is- tongue in cheek, self-aware goofiness. The movie doesn't try to be accepted as a serious entry into the medium of high art, it's just a silly trip into this land populated by characters who are in a video game that was, at the time, 8 years old. And in my opinion, there's lots for fans of the game to look for. Many references are there, from obvious things such as the dinosaur character Yoshi (who is played straight, strangely enough) to much more obscure references such as the character "Big Bertha", who was a fish in SMB3 but here a large african american woman who holds a key central to the plot. Yes, it's strange. But I mean come on, the game's far out to begin with. This movie may very well have been better served as a direct play on the game, such as the successful cartoon series. But instead, we're left with a sort of "alternate take", a slightly more adult and realistic one, on the Super mario landscape. Many view it as a complete failure, and I can easily see why. But for myself, I think it's no worse than any number of video game movies (and better in some cases, such as the film rape of the Resident Evil games).

In Super Mario Brothers, there's a lot to make you groan or wish better upon the participants. But if you just accept that the premise of the game is so thin to begin with, and then just accept the movie as a genuine attempt to breathe life and character into this game world, I think at the very least you can gain a new respect for what the movie is.

Some people say they loved this movie when they were a kid but they hate it the older they get and why is that? it's because this movie is for kids. When this film came out I was 5 and I saw it over 30 times when I was that age, now I'm 17 and in the past few years I've seen it 0 times. It's like some sort of peter pan thing because it's something about adults that blocks their imagination and makes them say classic KIDS movies like Super Mario Brothers is a horrible movie. There are things that you laugh at and love in this movie but you see them funnier as a child. Bottom line is this is a classic and I agree with the last reviewer your kids don't deserve to miss out on this amazing action adventure.

The story is absurd, despite it being inventive enough... It isn't a real movie version of the adventure, but more like a movie starring the characters, with constant bits of homage to the original series, such as a "Thwump" store, sniffits, the character's occasional and believable super-jump trademark, a dino named Yoshi, and last but by no means least, a GREAT scene with a Ba-Bomb (who was wearing Reebok shoes, which was funny!!).

Being the first movie ever based on a game (unless you count Clue), and also being inspired by a series that didn't call for the slightest bit of realism, this movie didn't have much call for reality. It's not sci-fi, but pure fantasy (meaning the plot's fiction isn't just the existance of the story's elements, but every plot sequence is based on how the world the movie takes place in is much unlike our own). Luckily, the screenplay, while sometimes quirky and silly, does call for some great moments, usually revolving around Koopa's idiot cousins Iggy and Spike (my favorite example - Spike:"Wrong again...how many times have we gotten it wrong?" Iggy:"YOU've gotten it wrong five times!" Spike:"Over five...OVER five...what percent is that?" Iggy:"I don't know, let me think......I don't know, but it's not good!" -- they couldn't figure out 100%!!).

Also going with the movie on a few other nice points are the performances of the main characters: Mario, Luigi, Koopa, Daisy, Iggy & Spike, which are nice and solid, despite that they don't really resemble the image of the characters themselves (especially Koopa). Hoskins does great in a more laid back role than say in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?', while John Legizamo starts off his more energetic personna that was used very well in his standup routine in the late 1990's, and he was enjoyable to the point in which whenever I see 'Moulin Rouge', I'm always like "YEAH!! LUIGI!!" (not to knock Moulin Rouge, a masterpeice in it's own, albeit weird). Samantha Mathis is another strong performance, as well as a beauty on screen as Daisy, the princess in distress, albeit she doesn't have many good moments to herself. And Dennis Hopper, whether you like him or not, is undeniably good in villainous roles like this...here he plays a meglomaniacal dictator of an entire civilization, but again, sadly he has fewer memorable moments than Mario and Luigi, which is a shame, as Koopa is one of the most popular villains of all time.

However, if you don't think the screenplay or casting were anygood, there are four things that this movie excells in, that are undeniable: superb special effects (from puppets to some amazing CGI for 1993), art design that's out of this world (from fungus to flashy lights to spikes on the clothes and walls of the buildings), intense action sequences, which are very high in pyrotechnics, flashing lights, and explosions, and a brilliant musical score, courtesy of Alan Silvestri (responsible for almost 80 movies so far, from the Father of the Bride movies to Roger Rabbit, to the Predetor's, to the Mummy Returns)! In my opinion, these three aspects warrent this movie a watching, as it's very high in production values!

I really can't understand why people hate this movie. It's not sophisticated, but it is intelligently enjoyable....Con Air is undeniably smart, although I certainly wouldn't call that movie sophisticated, would you? I think not! Yet still it's a great movie! Perfectly combining parody, B-movie aspects, and advanced sci-fi, this movie spells out perfect cult-classic, and I'm one of those who does like it! I won't even try to talk you into it if you hate it, but I just feel that this movie is good for its own reasons. If you're into zany, partially senseless, partial sci-fi type movies, this one just might be for you.

Super Mario Bros the Movie manages several well-known things - firstly it's the first ever mainstream Video Game Movie adaption, and secondly star Bob Hoskins has stated it as the worst film he's ever made.

So how can I review this film so highly, despite the main star's objections to the quality of it?
The truth of the matter is that this film isn't actually as terrible as the hype states it is. Being the first Hollywood adaption of a video game series, and being extremely different from it's source material, there wasn't really anything to compare it to. If you were hoping for a genuine conversion of the game's storyline into a movie, then you are going to be highly disappointed - but then you've made a rather rash assumption that the basic story of the game series would work as a film to begin with. Movies need to be like epic events, a major moment of the character's lives catalogued within an hour and a half (minimum). The game's theme of 'Bowser has the Princess, run into castle and have toad say "Your Princess is in another castle" 7 or 8 times before the end' doesn't make for a good film.

Excuses aside, the film does succeed in the way it intends to. It is extremely fun. Unlike other films with it's reputation, the Super Mario Bros Movie is genuinely enjoyable and even more so thanks to the few downfalls in it's script. Bob Hoskins cracks me up as Mario "Get Your Belt on Kid! We're goin' in!", and Dennis Hopper is clearly the inspiration for Doctor Evil from Austin Powers "See you later, Alligator". The movie manages to do something few films manage - it improves with age. I'm not going to state that it's as superb as Blade Runner (As stated on the box), because they're from two very different worlds. Blade Runner is a classic in terms of being a thought-provoking high-calibre sci-fi drama, Super Mario is a classic in terms of being a cheesy fun-fueled thrill-ride. The only reason these two were compared in the first place was the similarity of a run-down ugly futuristic city, both of which were furnished with surprisingly high quality set design and standards. I would love to see a full Blu-Ray restoration of this movie because there is so much intricate work done on the backgrounds and in the details that the additional quality Blu-Ray affords would allow us even more joy. There are some good jokes in here, the pace is good and never slacks, and while there are some bad script-writing problems the enjoyment should allow most people to gloss over those issues without much problem (Look at Star Trek 2009, horrific script, plotholes and some truly terrible Hollywood writing but because it was so fun and full of action, it is hailed as a great film). This makes it more closely related to being the Star Trek 09 movie of its day, with special effects that were (at the time) really impressive and a mixture of family humour and more adult action (Bob Hoskins sticking his face in a black woman's chest - golden).

I would love to see a restored Blu-Ray of this movie, as it is a great fun movie. It is more fun than a lot of more recent video game based movies (The Resident Evil series is stale, the Degeneration movie was missable, the Final Fantasy films were badly directed, the Japanese even got it wrong with Yakuza: Like A Dragon...), which are mostly bland (Something nobody could say about Super Mario Bros, whether they like it or not) or outright horrific, especially if made by Uwe Boll.
Super Mario Bros is not the best movie ever made by a long margin, but it never intended to be. It was not supposed to be a movie epic like Blade Runner or 2001: A Space Odyssey, nor was it supposed to be a direct translation of the game, which in itself would have been far worse and less enjoyable. It was intended to stand on its own two feet as a fun, family-oriented action movie with darker sci-fi undertones and while it never accomplishes them to perfection, it certainly succeeded well enough to continuously provide a fun and entertaining movie experience.

Some ideas are quite cool, others are a little childish, but that tends to come with the territory with family-friendly Hollywood movies. Again, now more than ever, Nintendo are family-oriented and their Wii console is centred around allowed the kids in as much as the teens and adults - another sign of this film being more accurate now than it was even at the time of its release.

As for possible Blu-Ray extras, I would adore an audio commentary by Bob Hoskins with him just hating on the film and getting irate. You can imagine that would be a funny commentary. Such things have been done before, the Raw Deal Blu-Ray has an HD extra of a movie critic slagging off the movie. He-man DVDs have fan-commentaries ragging on the quality of the episodes while still speaking fondly of the series they adore. If the extras on these don't harm the sales, then the same thing for Super Mario Bros would only raise the sales of this film as people would be keen to hear what he has to say since his outbursts on the movie in the media. Other extras can include original script outlines and differences, several deleted scenes (Which have been spotted in promotional media and found in shooting scripts and screen tests) and the possibility of a re-cut to lose elements which lost this film it's deserved acclaim - such as the bad animated sequence at the start which can be replaced with the original footage of Koopa chasing Daisy into Brooklyn.

Hope to see a decent Blu-Ray release of this movie soon. They've got Blu-Ray releases of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and other video game movies of the era, Super Mario deserves at least the same.

I loved this movie. The crew did an excellent job of adapting elements from the three Super Mario Bros. games and Super Mario World to the inherent limitations of the medium of film. The characters were well-thought-out; their personalities were just as I had imagined them. Mario likes to be the boss of things, Luigi is shy, Koopa is a Hitler type, etc. (Well, all right, I didn't imagine Toad as a revolutionary. But that's about it!) The acting was great (OK, except for Princess Daisy). Bob Hoskins does the Brooklyn thing so well I never would have guessed he was British. In fact, my only real complaints about the movie are: 1) there should have been more mushrooms, 2) Mario is supposed to have dark curly hair, and 3) the Mario Bros. should have put on their Mario and Luigi costumes sooner. But those are minor compared to how great the movie is!

I realize I am in the minority when I say I loved this movie. Many were disappointed to find that the movie is not as much like the game as they had hoped. Yet, of the three Super Mario Bros. games, no two are similar. Mario doesn't even look the same from one game to the next. There is absolutely no logical consistency between the games. How does the world of the first game fit in with the third? It doesn't. So why should the movie fit in with any of the games? (There are actually a few subtle similarities between the movie and the games; for a complete list, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros._%28film%29)

The dinosaur theme was based on Super Mario World, which took place in "Dinosaur Land." I agree, having dinosaurs evolve into humans who pass unnoticed in New York and think like present-day Americans (and even speak English!) is a bit far-fetched, but it's fantasy. We don't nit-pick the magic in Harry Potter, why should we nit-pick this? Even many who can look past this scientific flaw find the movie too "serious." Given the popularity of movies about the Holocaust and other atrocities of human history, how can anyone make the claim that the Super Mario Bros. movie is too "serious?"

If you don't expect it to be exactly like the games, you'll love it as much as I do.

For years after its release, "Super Mario Bros." has been slammed as one of the worst video-game-to-big-screen adaptations, if not the worst. Yes, it does have its problems, the biggest of which is its identity crisis. It has plot, characters, motivation, and all the other good stuff a movie should have, but it doesn't know what it wants to be half the time. Is it a light-hearted action/adventure comedy? A dark cyberpunk thriller? A biting social satire? It's all of these and more in places, but never has that one, single, unifying catalyst to complete the reaction.

And yet...that's part of its charm. It's all over the place, but it has something for everyone. As other reviewers have said, eagle-eyed viewers will spot countless references to the games, like a nightclub called "Bullet Bill's", and of course the infamous Bob-ombs. There are many, many more, but...let's not ruin the surprise, shall we? (Side note: Some people have complained about the current release's picture quality. A restored and remastered print may yet bring all of the details out into the open.)

There is also more to be discovered about SMB. Over the past few years, a small but steadily-growing group of fans has been doing research into the behind-the-scenes aspects, conducting interviews with cast and crew, collecting rare unproduced scripts and deleted scenes, and piecing the puzzle together. There should be a future 2-disc release with all of those treasures on it, because the bare-bones version that's currently out on the shelves just doesn't do it justice.

Soon, "Super Mario Bros.: The Movie" will be twenty years old. That's twenty years of an unfair reputation, and it's an excellent opportunity for Disney to bring out a new edition with extra features so that film fans and gamers alike can see the truth about this hidden gem of a cult classic. As the review on the front of the box says, "it's a blast!"

I first saw this movie when I was like what, 8? Please, do not listen to the people who say this movie is a waste of time!!!
Watch it! It's weird, of course, but so is the game. I thought it was a great movie, and it's soooo funny. We recorded it off the tv, so our version's not so great, but even so. Don't pass this movie by just because some overly opinionated people don't think it deserves to be seen. It has a great cast, and whenever I play Mario, I always think of this movie! Give it a chance! I rate it 5 because its mario, and mario deserves a 5!!!

This is my all time favorite movie. I Know most people don't like it. But I don't understand why it has to be like the game. What kind of movie would this be, if it was? Come on it would be two guys running around jumping on Gumba's heads. Not saying I have anything aganist the games. They're fun and challenging. And who couldn't love Spike and Iggy and don't forget Yoshi. All you people who hated , it's your fault we don't have sequel! It will always be the best movie.

My buudy and I laughed our heads off when Mario said "Get your belt on kid, were goin' in" with a scratchy voice. Also when Koopa turned aroung quickly and seriously said Plumber Alert...