April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. But it is also, if I check the clock, Mario Time.
91裸聊视频淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,91裸聊视频� with its vistas of primary colors, is here to brighten our dreary springs, T.S. Eliot be damned. That there is a swell of enthusiasm for a Mario Bros. movie is a once-unthinkable development. The last time Mario hit the big screen was in the little-remembered 1993 live-action film with Bob Hoskins as Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi and Dennis Hopper(!) as Bowser. Hoskins called the experience 91裸聊视频渁 f91裸聊视频斺赌斺赌� nightmare.91裸聊视频�
But a lot has changed in the three decades since 91裸聊视频淪uper Mario Bros,91裸聊视频� the very first video-game adaptation. A once widely derided genre is now a cash cow. 91裸聊视频淭he Last of Us91裸聊视频� is a massive success on HBO. Pokemon and 91裸聊视频淯ncharted91裸聊视频� are box-office hits. With Sonic the Hedgehog already two movies in, Mario is playing catch up.
And 91裸聊视频淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,91裸聊视频� which opens in theaters Wednesday, is a spirited and sprightly attempt to race to the front of the pack. A collaboration between legendary video-game designer and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (both producers), it91裸聊视频檚 a drastically more sincere effort to capture the fun and spirit of the Nintendo game.
And visually, it91裸聊视频檚 a dream. Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and their animators have rendered the Mario universe with cartoony splendor, matching the game91裸聊视频檚 ingenious simplicity with a more robust and equally delightful day-glo palate. If part of the appeal of playing 91裸聊视频淪uper Mario Bros.91裸聊视频� and its many offshoots has always been to be immersed in such a sunny imaginary world 91裸聊视频� plus the bouncy earworm compositions of composer Koji Kondo 91裸聊视频� the movie has successfully mirrored that mushroom-stomping pleasure. It makes you 91裸聊视频� want to play Mario.
That91裸聊视频檚 because as nice as it is to look at 91裸聊视频淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,91裸聊视频� it91裸聊视频檚 not anywhere near as fun as it would be to play it. It91裸聊视频檚 a-him, Mario, but it91裸聊视频檚 no a-masterpiece. The storyline is only a touch above the interstitial bits of plot you usually get between gameplay. With the exception of Jack Black91裸聊视频檚 grandly lovesick Bowser (he91裸聊视频檚 part Phantom of the Opera, part Meatloaf-styled balladeer), there91裸聊视频檚 nothing here that deepens these characters beyond their usual 2-D adventures. Mario may be a modern-day Mickey Mouse but his kingdom is on the console.
91裸聊视频淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie91裸聊视频� begins much like Spike Lee91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淒o the Right Thing91裸聊视频�: in a Brooklyn pizza parlor. There Mario (Chris Pratt, passable despite the outcry) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are struggling to get their plumbing business off the ground. There are a few moments of stereotypical Italian life 91裸聊视频� pasta and a big family dinner 91裸聊视频� before the brothers91裸聊视频� attempt to fix a water main break drops them through a portal and into the fantasy realm of the game. (In future Brooklyn-set sequels, Mario will presumably combat waves of strollers and hipsters.)
On the other side, Bowser lords over a Koopa Troop army in scenes that can feel like the most surreal imitation yet of 91裸聊视频淭riumph of the Will.91裸聊视频� But while shrinking or enlarging are possible on this other side of the green pipe, there91裸聊视频檚 never any mention of the possibility of lives being lost as Mario makes his way through mushroom patches and question-mark boxes. His predicament is just as clear as in the game: He91裸聊视频檚 been separated from Luigi and he must help save Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) from being forced to wed Bowser.
Game logic often dictates Mario91裸聊视频檚 movements. The shells of the turtle-like Koopas can be slid around like ammo. And choosing a Mario Kart vehicle is just as difficult a decision. Sometimes, the overlap is less consistent. An invincibility star is the most sought-after item in this adventure, greatly exaggerating its typical usefulness. Those things last for like 10 seconds.
None of this is likely to be enough for anyone to exclaim 91裸聊视频淥h, yeah!91裸聊视频� while hopping up and down and doffing their cap. But it is an hour and a half91裸聊视频檚 worth of superlative marketing that will whet your appetite for more Mario back home on the couch. If anything, the 91裸聊视频� as Mario would say 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频渙key dokey91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淪uper Mario Bros. Movie91裸聊视频� only reinforces the distance between two wholly different mediums. It may be game-on for video-game adaptations but the Mario main event is still back on Nintendo.
91裸聊视频淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,91裸聊视频� a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for action and mild violence. Running time: 92 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
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By Jake Coyle
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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