I want to start this off by saying that I have been a huge Mario fan for as long as I can remember so my review is EXTREMELY biased.
I will admit that the story is somewhat lacking BUT I don't think that's too bad. Going into the film I knew that the story was going to take a backseat over fun visuals and references and in that area it excelled. I want to go back and watch the film again to try and find even more references. It isn't just limited to the Mario series either but rather the whole of Nintendo with a key emphasis on the NES era.
The voice cast has been heavily criticized and for decent reason. Honestly though? I had no problem with any of the voices. Quite the opposite in fact. Chris Pratt did an amazing job as this more grounded take on Mario. As much as I love Martinet I don't think it would have been the best for the movie if he voiced him. The voice is great in the small "Yahoo!"s but not in full sentences. Keegan-Michael Key as Toad sounds great as well! I would have been driven nuts if the voice of Toad was exactly like how he is in the games. It wasn't a highlight but rather a decent adaptation that made Toad an amazing character! Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach was alright. I'm not too familiar with her but I am excited to see where her career takes her! Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong was fine... Donkey Kong was more so written to become Seth Rogan which felt sort of wasted. However I think the main highlights of the cast were Jack Black and Charley Day. Jack Black being fantastic was obvious. I really like how Bowser was written. I'd say it was close to how Bowser was in the Paper Mario series where Bowser is still a main threat but he has those humorous moments. Jack Black all around is easily my favorite part of the movie. What I really wasn't expecting was how much I enjoyed Charlie Day as Luigi. Very sporadic and nervous yet extremely charismatic. I'm sort of upset we didn't get to see more of Luigi for how well he was written and played.
Now I am not a huge fan of Illumination and I will be up front and honest with that. Luckily it felt like they really had time to shine in this movie. It's like they were inspired to make something special here. The animation is breathtaking! Movie looks amazing throughout. There is no doubt about that. The score is amazing as well! Whenever the is a Mario song it is extremely well placed and invoked so many emotions from nostalgia. Which is what broke my heart when I started to hear a library of overused songs. When the Mario franchise has so many great songs to pull from it just hurt to hear songs such as "Take on Me" or "Holding Out for a Hero" for no reason! It felt like it had to tick off some Illumination boxes.
Overall I feel like the movie was passable. It wasn't awful by any means but I only liked it as much as I did because of the child in me being awoken for all the nostalgia. The Nintendo stuff carries it to an 8 for sure. If you are a Mario fun go check it out! However if you aren't the largest fan don't expect some groundbreaking masterpiece because it really isn't. I hope Nintendo will continue to make these movies however!
I will admit that the story is somewhat lacking BUT I don't think that's too bad. Going into the film I knew that the story was going to take a backseat over fun visuals and references and in that area it excelled. I want to go back and watch the film again to try and find even more references. It isn't just limited to the Mario series either but rather the whole of Nintendo with a key emphasis on the NES era.
The voice cast has been heavily criticized and for decent reason. Honestly though? I had no problem with any of the voices. Quite the opposite in fact. Chris Pratt did an amazing job as this more grounded take on Mario. As much as I love Martinet I don't think it would have been the best for the movie if he voiced him. The voice is great in the small "Yahoo!"s but not in full sentences. Keegan-Michael Key as Toad sounds great as well! I would have been driven nuts if the voice of Toad was exactly like how he is in the games. It wasn't a highlight but rather a decent adaptation that made Toad an amazing character! Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach was alright. I'm not too familiar with her but I am excited to see where her career takes her! Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong was fine... Donkey Kong was more so written to become Seth Rogan which felt sort of wasted. However I think the main highlights of the cast were Jack Black and Charley Day. Jack Black being fantastic was obvious. I really like how Bowser was written. I'd say it was close to how Bowser was in the Paper Mario series where Bowser is still a main threat but he has those humorous moments. Jack Black all around is easily my favorite part of the movie. What I really wasn't expecting was how much I enjoyed Charlie Day as Luigi. Very sporadic and nervous yet extremely charismatic. I'm sort of upset we didn't get to see more of Luigi for how well he was written and played.
Now I am not a huge fan of Illumination and I will be up front and honest with that. Luckily it felt like they really had time to shine in this movie. It's like they were inspired to make something special here. The animation is breathtaking! Movie looks amazing throughout. There is no doubt about that. The score is amazing as well! Whenever the is a Mario song it is extremely well placed and invoked so many emotions from nostalgia. Which is what broke my heart when I started to hear a library of overused songs. When the Mario franchise has so many great songs to pull from it just hurt to hear songs such as "Take on Me" or "Holding Out for a Hero" for no reason! It felt like it had to tick off some Illumination boxes.
Overall I feel like the movie was passable. It wasn't awful by any means but I only liked it as much as I did because of the child in me being awoken for all the nostalgia. The Nintendo stuff carries it to an 8 for sure. If you are a Mario fun go check it out! However if you aren't the largest fan don't expect some groundbreaking masterpiece because it really isn't. I hope Nintendo will continue to make these movies however!
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