How do you adapt a video game? Not like this, not like this at all! I’m convinced this was another movie script rewritten with Super Mario Bros references. What in the holy hell does this film have in common with the video game? Of course, it’s quite hard to adapt a game that was basically about running to the right and jumping on enemy’s heads. But how did the writers come up with this plot?

Goomba_Movie — In what world is this a Goomba?!??!

We jump from scene to scene without much narrative or cohesion in a jumbled mess of a plot. Hoskins and Leguizamo, as Mario and Luigi, look like they’re having a great time, as does Trump-esque Dennis Hopper as Koopa. The dystopian parallel universe is beautifully realized, weird, peculiar and very creative. It’s just a shame these are wasted in a baffling movie that barely justifies the running time. ‘Super Mario Bros’ may have been the first video game to film adaptation, so in that sense I could cut it some slack. But there’s not enough slack to cut for this film!