Super Mario Bros (4½ Stars)

This is a film based on Nintendo's series of games about the lovable little Italian plumber Mario and his brother Luigi. Video game adaptations are always a risk. Fans of the games scream murder if their beloved games aren't accurately portrayed, while film critics complain if the films look too much like video games.

I know about the Super Mario games. After all, I haven't lived under a rock for the last 40 years. However, I'm not aware that I've ever played any of the games. All I know is that they're games in which he runs from left to right across the screen jumping over obstacles.

I was in two minds whether or not to write anything about the film's plot in this review. Is it really relevant? But here's a very short description:

Mario and Luigi fall into a pipe while making a repair in Brooklyn. They're separated in the fall. Mario falls into the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by Princess Peach. Luigi falls into the Dark Lands, ruled by a despot called Bowser. Bowser wants to marry Peach, but she's always refused. He's jealous of Mario, because he can see that Peach prefers him, so he captures Luigi and threatens to kill him if Peach doesn't agree to the wedding.

Mario leads the battle against Bowser. A lot of it involves running and jumping and driving in small go-carts. And that's really all the film is about. It's an on-screen video game with a minimum of talking or character development. The cinema was packed, and the kids loved it. There was laughter throughout the film. I say kids, but it was noticeable that there were a lot of older teenagers in the room. The video game franchise has a cult following that attracted a lot of older children.

There were two boys sitting behind me, probably aged about 10. They were loud enough for me to hear them. They kept making comments whenever a character or an object appeared in the film that they recognised. "Look! It's the <fill-in-the-blank>!" To get the most out of the film you probably have to know the games, but I still enjoyed it as an outsider.

The cinema made a big event out of the film. In the passageway behind the film a Super Mario area was set up for small children. They could ride on go-carts or miniature bikes and do tasks as they passed. They had to shoot at enemies or enter a cave to find treasure. Most of the parents were impatient and dragged their children away after one ride. I didn't mind staying longer, and Oliver kept on riding until the friendly ladies finally said they wanted to go home.

It was a great film for the kids, and a great event afterwards. My thanks to the wonderful lady who was overseeing the event. When I first arrived there was a long queue of children waiting to participate. She had a lot of work on her hands. This photo was taken later, when only Oliver and one other girl were still riding.

I was surprised to see that "Super Mario Bros" had an after-credits scene. I already knew it was coming, thanks to the wonderful web site aftercredits.com, but very few people in the audience waited until the end. I didn't understand the scene when I saw it, but when I got home I read that it was a hint about an upcoming film. What's the point of after-credits scenes that almost nobody watches? The mothers in the audience wanted to pull their impatient kids out of the cinema as quickly as possible.