Mario: Bob Hoskins
Luigi: John Leguizamo
Koopa: Dennis Hopper
Daisy: Samantha Davis
Lena: Fiona Shaw
Here it is.
The film that you wanted to forget and hoped it would sink
into obscurity. It's back and just in time for it's tenth anniversary.
So let's start with the obvious. Many asked why take such a classic game
and turn it into a live-action movie that has little to nothing to do
with it besides the characters? Personally I think the big wigs at
Hollywood Pictures bought the rights because the game was huge in the
early 90s and noone really knew how to bring it to the big screen. But
back to the film's main problem, it's continuity to the games, like
Batman says, the answer lies somewhere in the details.
Super Mario Bros. tells a simple story. Two plumber brothers, Mario
and Luigi are barely getting by. Each job brings minimal cash and a
corporate buisness is stealing their work. That all changes when Luigi
meets Daisy, who he obviously falls for. Daisy just happens to be a
fossil digger (in Manhattan nonetheless) and upon investigating said
fossils a leak occurs. Mario and Luigi go into fix it and instead wind
up chasing Daisy into an alternate dimension.
This alernate dimension plays that the meteorite that killed the
dinosaurs merely seperated our worlds. These dinos have evolved into a
form much like our own but still possess their reptilian traits. Enter
the evil King Koopa (played by none other than Dennis Hopper, bet no fan
saw tha coming) who wants to re-merge the two worlds. In order to do so
he needs Daisy's piece of a fossilized rock to bridge them. But Mario
and Luigi have taken it upon theirselves to get thru Dinohattan, rescue
Daisy, and get back to Brooklyn before supper.
I've figured this film out. Once you hear this explantion I believe
you'll like the film better. This movie is all about alternate
dimensions, right? This is the alternate dimension to the videogame
Mario world. Here's some examples. Luigi falls for Daisy, in the game
it's Mario. The Goombas resemble giants, we all know they're much
smaller in the game. You'll spot these everywhere and I think maybe the
writers knew they couldn't do the game so they put a spin on it. This is
the alternate dimension the videogame world of Mario and it deserves a
second chance.
I remember seeing this film ten years ago and I loved it. I didn't look
at it as a videogame film and couldn't escape it's fun nature. Ten years
later and I've gotta tell you I loved it even more. This has cult
favorite written all over it. Just try to not be drawn in by it's charm
and fun characters - I dare you. Get past the fact that it has little to
nothing to do with the game and it's a fun time.
Buena Vista finally brings Super Mario Bros. to DVD in a
non-anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer. Non-anamorphic in 2003?! Yep, getting an
anamorphic transfer from one of Buena Vista's budget titles is almost
impossible. For this reason alone I'm almost convinced that this was
merely transferred from the laserdisc. The transfer is just OK.
sometimes it shines like in Dinohattan scenes or lit rooms. Dark scenes
are riddled with color smearing (mainly on fleshtones) and some
compression artifacts. This isn't as bad as it could have been but I've
definitely seen better transfers.
The audio is actually one of the better 2.0 tracks I've heard in a
while. This film can get pretty loud at times and it shines thru.
Aside from not getting an anamorphic transfer there are no extras. I
still remember the trailer and it would have been nice to see it here.
Packaging is amaray using the film's theatrical poster as the cover.
Menus are static with the videogame Mario music playing. There are only
12 chapter stops.
This is a great film and it deserves more attention than it got, and no
I'm not being sarcastic. If this disc would have been priced at 30 bucks
I'd say skip it. As it is this DVD is priced at a mere 10 bucks list
price. In fact most online sites are selling it for as low as 6 bucks.
So pick it up and just give it another chance.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
