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With eye-catching visuals, likable characters and some fun action, kids should love this film. Add in the fact that it’s based on the Super Mario games, and you have something that fans of that franchise will love. However, those who don’t fall into either of those categories may not find it all that entertaining. While the plot gives us one of the most definitive origin stories for the Mario Bros, the rest of the film contains elements from a lot of the more recent games in the series. (Which are all more or less repeated as each new generations of video games systems are released.) Once the story gets to the Mushroom Kingdom, it moves shockingly fast and breezes past what could be some cool observations from an outsider experiencing this fantastical land. This also doesn’t give our characters enough time to bond or get fleshed-out very much. The visuals look amazing, and recreate some of the most memorable stuff from the games. (This also includes working some classic soundtracks into the mix.) Unfortunately, the go into overload with the easter eggs. It feels like they tried to cram almost every reference they could to every Mario Bros. Game. While these are fun to catch as a fan, non-gamers may feel overwhelmed by everything wondering if any of it is important to the plot. The voice acting is solid, although Jack Black occasionally hams it up a bit too much as King Bowser.. The finale is fine action wise, but the character development wasn’t strong enough for any emotional payoff. There is a quick mid-credit scene that plays as a joke, and a post-credit scene that I skipped that may set something up for a potential sequel.
**1/2 out of *****