SUPER MARIO BROS, 1993
Movie Review

SUPER MARIO BROS, 1993
Movie Review
Directed by Annabel Jankel & Rocky Morton
Starring: Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper
Review by Andrew Kosarko

SYNOPSIS:

Nintendo video game perennials Mario and Luigi come to life as plumbers who are thrust into a parallel dimension peopled by the descendents of dinosaurs. It seems that the meteor that hit the earth 65 million years ago (in Brooklyn, no less) didn't kill the dinosaurs, but hurled them into a world in which they have developed into a species of intelligent humanoids. And it is up to the Luigi brothers to save Princess Daisy, and life as we know it, from the megalomaniac Koopa, who wants to merge the two dimensions and rule the world that will result.

REVIEW:

Now I don’t get why this movie gets pissed on so often. This is the “Batman Begins” or “Casino Royale” of video game movies. Now granted, the quality of the overall film isn’t anywhere near the formers, but the attempt is very much the same. Gritty. Realistic. Aimed for adults. It’s surely dated, but still. I guess this is one my own personal guilty little treasures. And I’ll be honest from here on out…

The Story:

Alright. This puppy is the biggest problem of the film. Two plumbers from the real would have to travel in to a parallel dimension ruled by evolved humanoid dinosaurs to save the kidnapped archeological princess from it’s evil dictator who wants to merge both dimensions and rule the world. Now as far out as that is, and it’s pretty freaking out there, there’s not a moment on screen where I was like “ugh….come on. Are you kidding me?” short of the jump between the dimensions (falling through a milky way of colors). It’s somewhat mysterious how the hell everything is going on and that’s pretty much the idea. We’re along with Mario and Luigi for the ride into this strange new world. The tone of the story gets a little too, well, dark this time. There are established tones that just “fit” in adapted works. Batman is supposed to be serious. Superman uplifting. Bond suave and intelligent. Mario Brothers doesn’t have to be cheesy or dark. But just, fun. There’s a severe lack of “fun” throughout most of the plot. And it never actually gets a steady story beyond the save Daisy/stop Koopa plot. No complications. No higher stakes. It’s like they threw the screenwriting book out the window, came up with two ideas and stretched it out as long as they possible could. The tone and the atmosphere is really what killed this movie for most people. For me, it just wounds it beyond all repair. Furthermore, the imaginative fun that is lacked is further reinforced by the dissent from it’s source material of it the characters. Many of them turned into regular humans, or moronic dinosaurs when the original video game, surprisingly, had much more creative depth, and in retrospect, character depth than a lot of the supporting cast (of characters) in this movie.

Acting:

Ok here’s a part you really cannot take issue with. It’s been said in interviews that Leguizamo and Hoskins repeatedly got drunk to help them get through the making of the movie. Surprisingly, I can’t really notice.

Bob Hoskins – Mario: Short, moustache and kinda chunky. Works for me in appearance. Short fuse and very grumpy. I can enjoy it. I mean, it’s not the Mario I know and love, but it works. He’s a funny grump. So yeah, it works.

John Leguizamo - Luigi Mario: Somehow, some screwball racist thought casting a Latin actor as an Italian wouldn’t get recognized by mass audiences. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Now granted, Leguizamo does a good job and Luigi is easily the most enjoyable character in the film. But still….this is almost as racist as Winston being left off both Ghostbusters covers.

Dennis Hopper – Koopa: For a humanoid Koopa, not one that I am particularly fond of, he does a good job. Now granted, the interpretation of the character is the fault of the writers and directors. What he does with what he has is very enjoyable. He’s the kind of villain that’s just so over the top that it makes such a dark action film a little more fun than you’d think.

Directing:

The overall vision of a film is a directors fault. Now, I’m not one to be fond of multiple writers on a film, but at times, I can understand it. Two directors? Spare me. It’s hard to lack a solid tone as even though two people can believe they are on the same page, can be going in two different directions. While it’s impossible to figure out who did what, part of the film is fun, and another part is incredibly boring. I’m inclined to believe that Annabel Jankel is responsible for the boring parts from what an old film professor once told me about women directors. But that’s a story for another time. Overall, the film suffers from 3 writers and 2 directors. In my experience, the less “above the line” there is, the more consistency is in a piece. Thus this film tone going in tangents.

Cinematography & Production Design:

We’re going to combine the two categories as this go around, they are so similar that they can be described in the same meaning. Grimy. Gritty. Dirty. “Realistic.” Meh. It’s not fantastical or imaginative. It’s just….real. Which, for a video game movie that should be intended for kids and teens (yet still enjoyable for adults) just doesn’t work. It almost makes one think it’s just….cheap.

Editing:

The film gets going pretty strong, but the editing stays very static for the remainder of the movie. The editing isn’t based around emotion, or plot. Hell it’s not even based off any kind of artistic idealism. Instead, it’s just edited shot to shot. Nothing to really bring you into the film in one aspect or another. And from about 1/8 of the movie and onward, it’s just….there.

Score:

Alan Silvestri does a great job. It’s a great score. Very dramatic and poetic. Which are words I don’t think I want to use in describing a Mario Bros movie. I mean, come on dude. You did Back to the Future. Have some fun with it. There are some redeemable aspects when it comes to the wacky Mario and Luigi theme and if he had expanded upon that it would have been fantastic. But nope. And my other big qualm, you can’t incorporate the video game theme into the movie just once? That’s the definition of a let down.

Special Effects:

For the 90’s, it holds up pretty well if you ask me. I like it a lot more than I do nowadays. The “realistic” take works in the film’s favor in this aspect. The Visual effects are very 90’s, but I never really fall out of the movie because of it. But while the visual effects are great, the special effects are something else. Yoshi is probably the biggest “head to desk” moment of the whole movie. Many fans don’t get to see that imaginative little dino, instead a baby T-rex. And the puppet they use ain’t even all that cute. In closing:

The movie tries to be Blade Runner. It’s as simple as that. Sometimes you need to look at the source material when you adapt something to another medium and decide if the tone will work, or if it needs to be changed. As 2008’s Speed Racer proved (and I encourage you to check that movie out. I had to be dragged to see it, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit) you can adapt something kiddy, and be imaginative and creative with it. You don’t have to make it serious, you just have to take it serious. If you do, the drama will come through in it’s own right. While this film isn’t a comic to film adaptation, the same mentality is taken when creating it. Studio’s take for granted the fan base’s knowledge of the archetypes established. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Sometimes we go to movies to see far away lands removed from our own. Sometimes we want to see movies that look like they were shot right outside our house. As creative artists, film makers need to have good judgment for their films. Sadly, those behind this film did not.

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