Film Review – The Super Mario Bros. Movie

The world of Nintendo’s Mario character has grown exponentially since its debut in the early 1980s. The little Italian man and his mighty jump has developed into a media behemoth, with the “Super Mario” video game series transforming the brand name into an event, leaping out of console play to become a fan obsession in T.V., books, theme park additions, and, of course, the movies. One of the early stabs at a game adaptation was 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.” To a few, the endeavor was a daring reimagining of the character’s adventures in unreality. To most, the feature was a cringe-inducing bastardization of the source material. Illumination’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” seeks to take back the big screen, with directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (“Teen Titans Go! To the Movies”) putting in a major effort to respect the Mario universe, delivering a bright, colorful, and swiftly paced odyssey for the Brooklyn plumber that’s packed with references and reverence, absolutely determined to satisfy loyal button-mashers who’ve been let down before. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com