Mario Movie Breaking Records; 5 Day Opening Weekend Set To Beat Frozen 2

[PAOerfulone]

My only criticism of the movie is that it went by too fast. The pace was moving like it was eating one of those spicy peppers Yoshi ate from Galaxy 2 that made him go super fast. As such, some plot points and elements of the movie didn't get enough attention or development that it should have which made it feel kind of hollow and a bit of a let down. Some of these include:

Spoiler!

- More of Mario and Luigi's life in Brooklyn, including family life and their relationship w/ their father -who disapproved of Mario's direction in life.
- Mario's growth and journey towards eventually becoming the hero we have known him to be in the games. We already see that Peach plays an important role in that so spending more time on it would have also developed and fleshed out Mario and Peach's relationship as well as given her more character moments.
- Mario and Donkey Kong's relationship - One of the plot points in this movie that after their fight Mario and DK DO NOT like each other and antagonize each other frequently. However, despite that, they are willing to put aside their differences to work together. And there's a moment in the movie where Mario and DK are isolated and they get into an argument that leads to DK expressing his frustration over his relationship w/ Cranky and how he disapproves of him, similar to Mario and his father. This seems to be the point where Mario and DK finally see eye-to-eye and they bury the hatchet and become friends... But just as quickly as it's brought up, the moment is dropped altogether and it leaves for a very anticlimactic moment. I couldn't help but remember the 2nd Sonic movie and how Sonic and Knuckles got plenty of their own moments together to see their similarities and eventually become allies and even friends. I was hoping for something similar here between Mario and DK, but what we got left A LOT to be desired.

They could have easily spent another 20-30 minutes developing and exploring these plot elements and they still would have had a reasonably long film at just a tick over/under 2 hours and I think the whole film would've been better for it. I only hope that there's an Extended Cut somewhere down the line w/ more scenes that address some or all of these points.

But other than that, I absolutely loved the movie and enjoyed it IMMENSELY! I had a huge smile on my face the entire way through as I pointed out each and every easter egg that I could from certain locations, power-ups, and ESPECIALLY the music!

I greatly enjoyed the cast of characters!

- Keegan Michael-Key as Toad felt as natural as breathing. Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach gave the aura of a strong and capable leader of a kingdom who's also a sweetheart at her core. Charlie Day as Luigi brought out the best traits of Luigi that we know and love him for: the cowardly little brother who's still going to give it his best effort and do all he can for his older brother despite his fear. Chris Pratt as Mario was a refreshingly grounded take on the character that was solid in its portrayal. And last but certainly NOT least: the absolute BEST part of this entire film - Jack Black as Bowser!!! Oh. My. God. He was FANTASTIC!!! The star of the movie without a doubt! 

A great film despite it's shortcomings in places - It's a solid 'B' for me. 8/10, maybe 8.5. My only advice for Nintendo and Illumination for next time (and there WILL be a next time, this movie is doing WAY too well at the box office for there not to be) would be this:

"Slow. Down. Take your time. Give these characters the moments and development they need for the audience to connect w/ them and their predicaments. This isn't the video games where we have 30-40-50 hours of gameplay in between 30-60 second cutscenes to do that - Give them time to breath and let the moment play out naturally. If the film is a little longer because of it, so be it. As long as it's great or excellent, the audience won't care how long it is. I'm not saying it has to be Endgame, Way of Water, or Return of the King. But give your characters, their story and their struggle more time to solidify themselves so that the payoff is THAT much sweeter!"

I REALLY hope that's what they plan to do since I think it's pretty safe to assume that Nintendo's film making ventures will continue from here.

I'd expect them to stick largely to Mario as they try to firmly establish themselves and carve out their own space in the film market. Two more films/sequels where we get more characters (Yoshi, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Bowser Jr., Koopalings, Rosalina, etc.). A couple of spinoffs, perhaps: A Luigi's Mansion movie where we meet E.Gadd (Christopher Lloyd PLZ!), maybe a Yoshi's Island movie, or a WarioWare TV series,  And, of course, we GOTTA get a Donkey Kong movie at some point

Spoiler!

During the Mario/DK fight, we got to see Diddy, Dixie, and even CHUNKY!!! Plus, the DK64 RAP!!!

Once all those Mario related projects have come, gone, and been successful, and Nintendo has firmly cemented their presence in the film industry, THEN we'll begin to see them expand and introduce their other franchises into TV and Movies: Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, Splatoon, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing. And maybe, JUST maybe, WAYYYY down the road - Smash Bros.

Last edited by PAOerfulone - on 16 April 2023