Product: Super Mario Bros. [VHS] (1993)
Rating: 3.0
A Much Better Movie Than Its Given Credit
I continue to marvel at the awful reviews this film STILL gets nearly 15 years after the fact. People who call this the "Worst Video Game Based Movie Ever" need to really get a life.Let's get one thing straight: no, it's not all that faithful to the original game. Toad, the little guy with the mushroom hat, is turned into a weird parody of Bob Dylan, and Koopa, instead of an evil dinosaur-looking monster, is turned into an evil corporate head.But once you get past these things, and just accept this as a stand alone movie, you actually have a pretty creative sci-fi adventure story. Two separate dimensions, formed when a meteorite hit, and a portal between them can only be formed when a tiny bit of the meteor is restored...dude, that's pretty cool stuff.Bob Hoskins is great as Mario, and he's likable in just about every film he's ever done. Some say Dennis Hopper just took this for the paycheck, but that's silly; if you liked his Frank Booth character in Blue Velvet, then you'll agree he's playing virtually the same character here. Yes, he's a little over the top...he's been over the top in everything he's ever done! The visual effects are pretty good for 1993...keep in mind this was released just a month before Jurassic Park. The Goombas are a pretty great visual creation. And there're a few good lines of dialog, mostly provided by Iggy and Spike. Overall, this wasn't a cheap little movie; you can tell that time and effort went into it.So it's one thing to not like this movie, but to say it's one of the worst ever made is just absurd. Mostly just an attempt to laugh off the Nintendo craze of the early '90's. Check out The Super Mario Bros. Super Show; now THAT was an awful show.