Super Mario Bros

Starting off this blog is, appropriately enough, the first movie ever based on a video game: Super Mario Bros. This movie was apparently a pretty big deal when it came out in 1993, both for the previous distinction, and for the fact it was based on the Mario franchise, one of the biggest video game franchises of all time. Now, did it deliver? Not at all. Was it still fun regardless? I would argue that, yes, it is. 

The film is supposed to be based off of the Super Mario franchise, given the name, but it really tries to do its own thing with the world of Mario. Instead of two happy go lucky plumbers running through a bright and colorful fantasy world, saving a princess from a lizard-turtle hybrid, they decided to go with a more convoluted plot about dinosaurs not dying but being sent to a different dimension, where Mario and Luigi end up later on, and it has turned into a Blade Runner sort of world with dark alleyways and neon signs everywhere, and run by an evil tyrant who...just looks like a normal guy. It's really weird, to be perfectly honest, but I honestly still like the dark, gritty aesthetic, even if it isn't Mario.

The acting is something else as well, with the late Bob Hoskins playing as Mario and John Leguizamo playing as Luigi. Both of them don't seem to care about the plot, Luigi seems like constantly high and accepts the weirdness without a problem, while Mario seems to be constantly wondering what he is doing in this movie in the first place. Daisy, the princess, played by Samantha Mathis, is...there, and she doesn't really do much. The standout performance is Dennis Hopper as Koopa, the villain. (Don't know why they didn't call him Bowser, but okay.) Hopper also doesn't seem to care about the movie, but that doesn't stop him from having the time of his life, hamming it up and generally being a surprisingly enjoyable villain.

So, looking at the movie overall, I'd say it's definitely NOT a good Mario movie, but as a corny sci-fi film, it's weirdly good and funny. The lack of caring from the actors strangely makes the scenes unintentionally funny due to none of them wanting to deal with the weirdness placed before them. There are some cool CG effects used in the film, as well as some practical effects, like an animatronic Yoshi, and that is probably the one thing I can say is actually pretty good. Honestly, I've always liked this film and I'd recommend it if you are looking for a stupid movie to laugh it. The movie isn't good from a production perspective, but I can guarantee there is some good comedy value in it.

The next movie that I'm planning on reviewing is the 1994 film Double Dragon, so keep an eye out for when that drops!

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