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So just yesterday, I was just scrolling through HBO Max, looking for something decent to watch, when I just casually stumbled across the icon for the motherfucking Mario movie in the New Releases Section! I was shocked, but pleasantly surprised! I knew that it was going to come to streaming services soon, but not this soon!
I wasn't able to watch it in theaters during its inital release this year, so of course, being the total Mario loving bamsee I am, I had to drop everything I was doing (aka:nothing) to finally watch this crazy movie. And OMG, what a movie it was!
The animation quality was beautiful. Everything was so colourful, bright and expressive! I grew to love the movie designs for the characters and settings as they were faithful to the source material yet adapted in a way that made sense for a movie, if you know what I mean. I was concerned about Chris Pratt's voice during the first trailer's reveal, only to find myself not even paying attention to it during the actual movie. While it's not nearly as iconic as Charles Martinet's voice, it's not bad and gets the job done. The voices for Peach, Luigi and Bowser were great, though.
There were tons of Nintendo easter eggs scattered throughout the film that were fun to spot! I was very surprised to hear that sort of "DK Rap" inspired chanting during the DK fight. I also liked the little Kid Icarus rep at the beginning. Some might think that their were just "ads" or "nostalgia pandering" but I respectfully disagree. It's very easy to see that the film was made by talented creators who were genuinely passionate about the games. The easter eggs feel more like tributes or even "love letters" imo. In fact, the whole movie was one big love letter to Mario, Nintendo, retro gaming and 80's pop culture in general.
The story overall was a nicely done, self contained, 'fish-out-of-water' origin story about the Mario brothers, but I do feel that they could have elaborated more on certain aspects, like Peach's origin story. I also would have like to see more character development and involvement from Luigi in the story, as he spends most of the film trapped in Bowser's castle. But then again, from what I've read, the crew was forced to cut down the film's runtime from 3 hours to roughly 1 1/2 hours, so I can't blame them too much. Besides, it's a movie about a videogame about a plumber adventuring through a wonderland to save the princess. I'm just here from a good time lol
Despite the flaws here and there, this is overall a great movie and lovely adaptation of the games. I recommend watching it if you have the time and opportunity!
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