I think The Super Mario Bros. Movie broke records and made a lot of money on the fumes of goodwill. Despite the title character having 40 years of history, the movie turns out to be just another Illumination animation but wearing a video game intellectual property (IP) as a skin. This is apparent when compared to Sonic the Hedgehog which made better use of its IP to tell a unique story with memorable characters.

Apart from Jack Black (Bowser), Charlie Day (Luigi), and Khary Payton (Penguin King), the rest of the cast in The Super Mario Bros. Movie is negligible at best and miscast at worst. An example of the latter would be Chris Pratt (Mario) and Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach).

To me the movie is generic and it mishandled Bowser, the best thing the movie has going for it, as a character. Let me explain.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is so formulaic you can replace Mario with Crash Bandicoot, Luigi with Coco, Princess Peach with Aku Aku, and so on and tell the same story. There is nothing especially Super Mario about the movie, except for Bowser. Or so I thought.

Bowser became the focal point ever since he was revealed. He was so well done and well cast that he was poised to carry the movie on his back. Forget short moustachioed Star-Lord, Bowser was the darling. Unlike Sonic (Ben Schwartz) who is is as memorable as Dr Robotnik (Jim Carrey) — who stole the show — Mario had no chance against Bowser.

However in the movie Bowser turns out to be an incel (someone who is unable to get a romantic partner despite desiring one).

That is when, at least for me, the movie unravelled. The goggle-wearing yellow thing in overalls screaming Illumination was left carrying the movie and it was not good enough. It didn’t have charm, nothing was endeering, and it was not compelling.

I agree that the movie would have been better if it focused on the brother’s relationship. It would at least made the story uniquely Mario Bros. If they want to stick to their agenda and portray Princess Peach as ‘the bestest evaaar’ make the looming threat war or something instead of separating the two brothers.

I would disagree if children as its demographic was used as an excuse to make the movie so simple. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a villain that’s an incel who wants to force himself on another character by any means and a suicidal Luma that is sprouting the darkest most depressing thoughts I’ve ever heard in a movie. Even as a joke, it is still inappropriate for children in my opinion.

Average at best, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has already burnt the goodwill I had for it. Right now I would be weary of this movie’s sequel and would rather see Nintendo turn another of their IPs into a movie first, instead. The Legend of Zelda or Metroid perhaps?