FA+
Shop
Finally, my thoughts on the Super Mario Bros Movie
2 years ago
Yesterday, I finally managed to convince my parents to allow me to go to the cinemas once more, so I can watch the Super Mario Bros Movie. That marked the first time in 3 years since I get to step into a cinema hall, since the start of the pandemic -- I had to assure my parents that I'm following every single quarantine and social distancing protocols ever. The following are solely my own thoughts and impressions after watching the movie, and there will be no spoilers throughout.
Now, part of the reason why I wanted to watch this movie is because so many people that I followed, including some of my friends, have watched it, and they're recommending me to watch it. (Admittedly, I was also just as hyped for this movie as they did, back when the first teaser trailers were released.) So I did, and I'm happy to say that, yes, I enjoyed this movie a great deal, far more than that infamous first Super Mario Bros movie attempt, back in 1993.
Here's the thing: I don't think that the criticisms and the very low scores by the critics are unwarranted. Yes, the storyline is corny and predictable. Yes, the movie's pacing is too fast. Though, does it even matter? Personally, I believe that this massive dissonance between fans and critics hinges from the fact that fans wanted to enjoy with what they're already familiar with: in this case, the Super Mario Bros IP and every single references to all the games that this movie attempted to cram in. While critics are more leaning towards the first-time viewer experience: someone who is a complete outsider and are completely unfamiliar with the Super Mario Bros franchise, and therefore, they will not get all the references presented in the movie, and thus getting a very different movie experience compared to the fans.
In other words, this movie was not made with non-Mario fans in mind. Every single reference, down to even the movie's soundtrack, was clearly made to pander Mario fans. People who are complete strangers to the franchise will likely see all these references as seemingly random and unnecessary -- admittedly, this is what happens if you try to put in every single reference ever, with little rhyme or reason. Also, consider the movie's seemingly too fast pacing: kids are part of the demographic, too. Children tend to have lower attention span than adults, so such movies designed to cater to kids would tend to have that kind of pacing, which is something that also needs to be taken into account when criticizing the pacing of such movies.
Bottom line, if you've watched this movie, and you personally enjoyed it a great deal, then yeah; more power to you. I'm recommending all Super Mario Bros fans to watch it, but at the same time, I do not recommend non-Mario fans to watch it, as the heavy references to the game series might only be too confusing to anyone not getting these references.
Now, part of the reason why I wanted to watch this movie is because so many people that I followed, including some of my friends, have watched it, and they're recommending me to watch it. (Admittedly, I was also just as hyped for this movie as they did, back when the first teaser trailers were released.) So I did, and I'm happy to say that, yes, I enjoyed this movie a great deal, far more than that infamous first Super Mario Bros movie attempt, back in 1993.
Here's the thing: I don't think that the criticisms and the very low scores by the critics are unwarranted. Yes, the storyline is corny and predictable. Yes, the movie's pacing is too fast. Though, does it even matter? Personally, I believe that this massive dissonance between fans and critics hinges from the fact that fans wanted to enjoy with what they're already familiar with: in this case, the Super Mario Bros IP and every single references to all the games that this movie attempted to cram in. While critics are more leaning towards the first-time viewer experience: someone who is a complete outsider and are completely unfamiliar with the Super Mario Bros franchise, and therefore, they will not get all the references presented in the movie, and thus getting a very different movie experience compared to the fans.
In other words, this movie was not made with non-Mario fans in mind. Every single reference, down to even the movie's soundtrack, was clearly made to pander Mario fans. People who are complete strangers to the franchise will likely see all these references as seemingly random and unnecessary -- admittedly, this is what happens if you try to put in every single reference ever, with little rhyme or reason. Also, consider the movie's seemingly too fast pacing: kids are part of the demographic, too. Children tend to have lower attention span than adults, so such movies designed to cater to kids would tend to have that kind of pacing, which is something that also needs to be taken into account when criticizing the pacing of such movies.
Bottom line, if you've watched this movie, and you personally enjoyed it a great deal, then yeah; more power to you. I'm recommending all Super Mario Bros fans to watch it, but at the same time, I do not recommend non-Mario fans to watch it, as the heavy references to the game series might only be too confusing to anyone not getting these references.
"It made a billion dollars, does it matter if it's good or not?" Yes. I personally feel that there is a balance that needs to be struck when adapting this kind of stuff. "Last of Us" struck that perfectly. Sonic and Det. Pikachu films, flawed as they are, struck that balance closer as well. I don't want this film to set a style-over-substance precedent with adaptations, creating just reference-fests. It was bad enough with Ready Player One