From a die hard videogamers point of view, it's really hard to ignore how miserably this film disregards the source material. The only things that are even remotely close to the video game series are the characters names. The rest is all completely improvised and not for the better.
Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo) discover an entrance to a parallel universe and head in to save Luigi's brand new (within the hour) girlfreind. This world has humans which have evolved from dinosaurs. The only highlight is Dennis Hopper playing the role of King Koopa, the evil ruler of this dimension. This high budget flop has some nice set designs and special effects, but the rest of the experience is flat.
Super Mario Bros. is presented in it's orignal 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This is a surprisingly good print with great, bright color and black levels. The sparks that seem to fly in almost every frame are spectacular to watch. The sound is only available in basic Dolby Surround and is active, but a full 5.1 track really could've made this movie a better ride.
Special features are completely absent, even excising the standard trailer. This budget release will probably be the best all 3 of the films fans will likely get. The great look of the film will be great for those looking to show off some high definition capabilities, but that's the only reason to have this disc in your collection. Shame the movie couldn't replicate the classic Super Mario Bros. Super Show and have Lou Albano in a cameo.
Originally posted at Breaking Windows.
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