April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. But it is also, if I check the clock, Mario Time.
害羞草研究所淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,害羞草研究所� with its vistas of primary colors, is here to brighten our dreary springs, T.S. Eliot be damned. That there is a swell of enthusiasm for a Mario Bros. movie is a once-unthinkable development. The last time Mario hit the big screen was in the little-remembered 1993 live-action film with Bob Hoskins as Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi and Dennis Hopper(!) as Bowser. Hoskins called the experience 害羞草研究所渁 f害羞草研究所斺赌斺赌� nightmare.害羞草研究所�
But a lot has changed in the three decades since 害羞草研究所淪uper Mario Bros,害羞草研究所� the very first video-game adaptation. A once widely derided genre is now a cash cow. 害羞草研究所淭he Last of Us害羞草研究所� is a massive success on HBO. Pokemon and 害羞草研究所淯ncharted害羞草研究所� are box-office hits. With Sonic the Hedgehog already two movies in, Mario is playing catch up.
And 害羞草研究所淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,害羞草研究所� which opens in theaters Wednesday, is a spirited and sprightly attempt to race to the front of the pack. A collaboration between legendary video-game designer and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (both producers), it害羞草研究所檚 a drastically more sincere effort to capture the fun and spirit of the Nintendo game.
And visually, it害羞草研究所檚 a dream. Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and their animators have rendered the Mario universe with cartoony splendor, matching the game害羞草研究所檚 ingenious simplicity with a more robust and equally delightful day-glo palate. If part of the appeal of playing 害羞草研究所淪uper Mario Bros.害羞草研究所� and its many offshoots has always been to be immersed in such a sunny imaginary world 害羞草研究所� plus the bouncy earworm compositions of composer Koji Kondo 害羞草研究所� the movie has successfully mirrored that mushroom-stomping pleasure. It makes you 害羞草研究所� want to play Mario.
That害羞草研究所檚 because as nice as it is to look at 害羞草研究所淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,害羞草研究所� it害羞草研究所檚 not anywhere near as fun as it would be to play it. It害羞草研究所檚 a-him, Mario, but it害羞草研究所檚 no a-masterpiece. The storyline is only a touch above the interstitial bits of plot you usually get between gameplay. With the exception of Jack Black害羞草研究所檚 grandly lovesick Bowser (he害羞草研究所檚 part Phantom of the Opera, part Meatloaf-styled balladeer), there害羞草研究所檚 nothing here that deepens these characters beyond their usual 2-D adventures. Mario may be a modern-day Mickey Mouse but his kingdom is on the console.
害羞草研究所淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie害羞草研究所� begins much like Spike Lee害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所淒o the Right Thing害羞草研究所�: in a Brooklyn pizza parlor. There Mario (Chris Pratt, passable despite the outcry) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are struggling to get their plumbing business off the ground. There are a few moments of stereotypical Italian life 害羞草研究所� pasta and a big family dinner 害羞草研究所� before the brothers害羞草研究所� attempt to fix a water main break drops them through a portal and into the fantasy realm of the game. (In future Brooklyn-set sequels, Mario will presumably combat waves of strollers and hipsters.)
On the other side, Bowser lords over a Koopa Troop army in scenes that can feel like the most surreal imitation yet of 害羞草研究所淭riumph of the Will.害羞草研究所� But while shrinking or enlarging are possible on this other side of the green pipe, there害羞草研究所檚 never any mention of the possibility of lives being lost as Mario makes his way through mushroom patches and question-mark boxes. His predicament is just as clear as in the game: He害羞草研究所檚 been separated from Luigi and he must help save Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) from being forced to wed Bowser.
Game logic often dictates Mario害羞草研究所檚 movements. The shells of the turtle-like Koopas can be slid around like ammo. And choosing a Mario Kart vehicle is just as difficult a decision. Sometimes, the overlap is less consistent. An invincibility star is the most sought-after item in this adventure, greatly exaggerating its typical usefulness. Those things last for like 10 seconds.
None of this is likely to be enough for anyone to exclaim 害羞草研究所淥h, yeah!害羞草研究所� while hopping up and down and doffing their cap. But it is an hour and a half害羞草研究所檚 worth of superlative marketing that will whet your appetite for more Mario back home on the couch. If anything, the 害羞草研究所� as Mario would say 害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所渙key dokey害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所淪uper Mario Bros. Movie害羞草研究所� only reinforces the distance between two wholly different mediums. It may be game-on for video-game adaptations but the Mario main event is still back on Nintendo.
害羞草研究所淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,害羞草研究所� a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for action and mild violence. Running time: 92 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
害羞草研究所斺赌斺赌�
By Jake Coyle
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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