Film Preview: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(October 16, 2022) Original
(December 4, 2022) New Trailer (#2) — New Posters (#3-#8)
(March 19, 2023) New Trailer (#3) — New Posters (#9-#16)

Release Date:

April 7, 2023

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother, Luigi, trying to save a captured princess. Feature film adaptation of the popular video game.”

Poster Rating: D+ / C+ / B (6) / C / B+ / B- (6)

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Review: (#1) As a teaser, it works well. The cast list isn’t particularly impressive, but it satisfies a little. (#2) While having a lot of background details is important, there’s also a case to be made for there being too many such elements. They ultimately make the design feel more crowded than they should.

(#3-#8) A series of character posters with unique settings look like they are actively trying to sell the adventure rather than to sell posters, which is a nice change of pace.

(#9) The princess and her subjects. Not a visually daring design and there’s too much emptiness with it. (#10) It’s a solid effort with a lot of nice details, but also feels a bit too childish. (#11-#16) These character posters are a bit more compelling than the prior set, but not by much. They have more interesting detail and speak to the premise a lot more specifically.

Trailer Rating: C / C+ / C+

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Review: (#1) The decision to present what might appear to be the opening scenes of the film is a poor one. The action has limited humor and the introduction of Mario is ham-fisted at best.

(#2) While the plot is loosely explored, the raft of familiar locations should do more than sell the film to its target audience. Unfortunately, Chris Pratt’s vocal work is still terrible, which might ultimately make the film unwatchable.

(#3) The premise details are a bit lighter here with a lot of action in more locales that will be appealing to fans of the Mario Kart franchise. Yet, the entire effort feels even more hollow than before even if it’s tugging on the heartstrings of nostalgia.

Oscar Prospects:

While television properties don’t do well with Oscar voters, video game properties haven’t had lots of opportunities. Of course, this looks like it could be too slight to be a competitor.