Film Review: The Super Mario Bros Movie (8/10)

Ricky Giamatti
Dec 5, 2025
6 min read

Updated: Dec 6, 2025

A Glorious, Hyper-Caffeinated Sugar Rush That Doesn't Need Your Thesis Paper

Let's just get the numbers out of the way, shall we? The Super Mario Bros. Movie didn't just succeed; it detonated the box office like a Bob-omb with a billion-dollar timer. This isn't just a win for Illumination and Nintendo; this is a genre-defining, Guinness World Record-breaking moment that officially ended the cursed reign of terrible video game movies. For decades, Hollywood kept trying to retrofit a narrative onto two plumbers and a turtle tyrant, and it always failed spectacularly. The difference here? They finally stopped trying to be deep and started trying to be fun.

The film introduces us to Brooklyn siblings Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day), two struggling Italian-American plumbers who are trying to make their family proud. When a city-wide flood hits, they venture into the sewers, find a mysterious green pipe, and are sucked into the Warp Zone. Mario lands in the Mushroom Kingdom under the tutelage of the fiercely capable Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), while poor, perpetually terrified Luigi is spat out into the lava-swept Dark Lands and immediately imprisoned by the movie’s undisputed MVP: King Bowser (Jack Black). The plot is a race against time: Mario, Peach, and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) must trek to the Jungle Kingdom to recruit the Kong Army, led by Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen), before Bowser can conquer the world, marry Peach, and—most importantly—destroy the human world of Brooklyn.

It’s a simple premise that allows for pure, unadulterated spectacle, and frankly, it works.

STORY (1/2)

If you're walking into this movie expecting the dramatic complexity of a Christopher Nolan film, you’re missing the point. The plot of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is, admittedly, paper thin. It’s a pure, linear "Hero's Journey" outline that exists solely to link one beautifully animated set piece to the next. Mario is the untested hero; he has self-doubt (primarily about his father's approval) and he’s separated from his true anchor, Luigi. His path is a montage of mini-levels, each designed to introduce a different power-up, character, or game reference.

The film's most glaring weakness is its pace. It rockets along so fast—at a lean 92 minutes—that characters barely have time to breathe, let alone develop. Mario and Luigi spend almost the entire film separated, making the final "together we can do anything" theme feel slightly unearned, a checkbox marked at the end rather than a core emotional arc developed throughout. However, this blistering pace is also the key to the film's success with its target audience. It never stops to bore the kids, and it never pauses long enough for the die-hard fans to get pedantic.

The story’s main job is to put the pieces on the board, and it executes that simple mission flawlessly. It's a high-energy, narrative delivery system for nostalgia, and for a property whose entire history is built on "run right, jump, save princess," that is a surprisingly brave, honest creative decision.

VISUALS (2/2)

This is where the movie earns its gold coins. Illumination is often criticized for its soft, rubbery animation style, but here, paired with the endless creative IP of Nintendo, they deliver a visual experience that is absolutely stunning. The animation is tactile, expressive, and gloriously saturated. Every frame feels like a concept artist’s dream board come to life.

The world-building is the true visual MVP. The Mushroom Kingdom is a pastel-colored, charmingly cluttered wonderland, while the Dark Lands where Luigi is imprisoned are appropriately menacing, a grim fusion of purple lightning and craggy rock. But the real joy is in the details: the filmmakers manage to seamlessly integrate the physics of the games. We see 2D side-scrolling action translated to 3D chases in Brooklyn, and the entire Rainbow Road sequence is a dizzying masterpiece of color and chaotic kinetic energy that will make you physically lean into the turns.

Nothing looks cheap; the level of detail on the water, the fire, and the ice is top-tier blockbuster animation. The creative team truly understood that the feel of playing Mario—the way the light glints off a power-up, the geometry of a world built purely for platforming—had to be prioritized, and they nailed it.

SOUND (2/2)

If the visuals are the body of the movie, the sound is the heart, pumping pure, filtered nostalgia straight into your veins. Composer Brian Tyler didn't just write a score; he created a masterful orchestra of remixes and interpolations of the original themes by Koji Kondo. Every classic track—from the Super Mario Bros. theme to the Mario Kart and Donkey Kong cues—is woven into an action-movie tapestry that builds genuine epic scale. It’s a brilliant balancing act where the emotional gravity of the adventure is underscored by a triumphant, rhythmic earworm you’ve known since you were six.

But beyond the score, the sheer commitment to sound effects is what elevates this film to an 8/10. The Pavlovian satisfaction of hearing the exact sound of a coin collecting, a block shattering, a power-up jingle, or the iconic "ping" of a mystery block being hit is worth the price of admission alone. The sound is seamless, expertly mixed to give weight to Bowser's roaring flame breath while still leaving room for Charlie Day's frantic squeals. The film understands that for millions of people, those original 8-bit sounds are the story, and it treats them with the respect they deserve.

CHARACTER (1/2)

The voice casting was controversial from the jump, but the finished product justifies most of the choices, or at least makes them secondary to the overall spectacle. Chris Pratt's Mario is... fine. He's grounded, earnest, and the choice to avoid the classic "Wahoo!" accent makes sense for a film trying to ground him as a relatable guy from Brooklyn.

But the film belongs to two actors: Jack Black and Charlie Day.

Bowser (Jack Black): Black delivers a performance for the ages. He’s not just a terrifying, spike-shelled tyrant; he's a deranged, emotionally stunted lounge singer obsessed with Peach. His delivery of the original piano ballad "Peaches" is an unexpected, glorious moment of musical psychosis that completely transforms the villain from a cartoon menace into a memorable, comedic presence.

Luigi (Charlie Day): Day’s signature neurotic energy turns Luigi into a perfect, perpetually screaming foil for the confident hero. His capture in the Dark Lands and his subsequent, justifiable panic provides the emotional grounding for Mario’s quest.

The other key surprise is Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). She is not a damsel in distress; she is the capable, strategic, and battle-hardened ruler who is teaching Mario how to survive. This modern, proactive interpretation is one of the most welcome changes from the source material. Meanwhile, Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong is the perfect blend of recognizable cartoon swagger and slightly annoying frat-boy bravado. Every performer is having fun, and that translates directly to the audience.

FACTOR X (2/2)

Let's talk brass tacks: this movie is critic-proof because it is fun-proof.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a perfectly distilled, high-fructose corn syrup shot of pure entertainment that prioritizes spectacle and fan service above all else. It is a movie made by fans, for fans, and it never apologizes for that. This isn't a complex mediation on the loneliness of the hero or the perils of capitalism; it's a celebration of the joy of gaming.

The X-Factor here is the relentless, inventive use of the entire Nintendo toybox. The movie doesn't just show you Rainbow Road; it puts you in the driver's seat. It doesn't just show you power-ups; it makes the application of those power-ups a key part of the action choreography. It’s an adrenaline rush that only slows down for a Jack Black power ballad. While some critics may lament the simplicity of the story, the audience (and frankly, anyone who grew up with a Nintendo controller glued to their hand) correctly identified this as the true spirit of the source material. It's vibrant, kind-hearted, hilarious in spots, and delivers on every single promise it makes.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is not trying to reinvent the cinematic wheel; it's just trying to make it spin really, really fast. And it succeeds magnificently.