--- title: "Super Mario Bros.: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/super-mario-bros/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/super-mario-bros" critics_score: 42 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Super Mario Bros. (1993): what the critics said Critics' score 42 from 11 reviews: 2 positive, 3 mixed, 6 negative. Most critics find Super Mario Bros. muddled and short on laughs, though praise for its physical world runs through even the negative reviews. The sets, creature designs, photography and effects earn more approval than the storytelling, with several critics admiring the inventiveness of its dystopian setting. Performances divide opinion: Dennis Hopper’s King Koopa and Fiona Shaw’s villainess attract praise, while the central characters are often judged thin, charmless or poorly served by the script. The sharpest reservations concern the garbled plot, strained humour and uneasy mixture of adult and children’s imagery. Several reviews also find little of the game’s energy or spirit. The spread is wide, however, and later assessments offer no uniform rehabilitation. Collider makes the strongest positive case, valuing the film’s political themes and practical craft; Paste finds personality and integrity in its unruly sets despite artistic failings. Both value qualities that the harsher reviews find insufficient to rescue the film. ## The Guardian — Charlie Lyne Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 8 November 2014. The critic describes the 1993 film as a noble failure whose flaws were overstated at the time by commentators wary of game adaptations. The accompanying making-of documentary is singled out for providing a comprehensive portrait of the production's descent into disaster. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/08/super-mario-bros-film-review) ## Los Angeles Times — Michael Wilmington Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 29 May 1993. The critic sees the film as a split endeavor, wildly accomplished visually but wildly deficient in writing and story, resulting in a bright, clamorous extravaganza that knocks the eyes out while dulling the mind. Praises the visual coups, effects, cinematography, production design and maniacal impressiveness; complains about the obvious script, flat wisecracks, thin characters and commercial reassurance over challenge. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-05-29-ca-41093-story.html) ## Sight and Sound — Ben Thompson Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 24 September 2021. The critic praises the inventive production design and Dennis Hopper’s deranged performance as villain King Koopa, but is less forgiving of Mario and Luigi. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/super-mario-bros-1993-archive-review) ## Slant Magazine — Steve Macfarlane Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2013. The critic calls the film a jaggedly ambitious catastrophe whose production history and bizarre reinterpretation of the source material doomed it, despite impressive production design and visual ideas. He singles out the uncomfortable mix of adult and kiddie imagery plus the directors' failure to capture any gameplay energy or tone. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/sinful-cinema-super-mario-bros/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 29 May 1993. The critic finds the film a bizarre, effects-heavy sci-fi adventure lacking the game's jaunty spirit but notes it has selling points in its intense, crazy energy from trying hard to flesh out a thin story. Praises the vigorous live-action comic strip and expense put into it; complains about the marketing-driven nonstory and total superfluity. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/29/movies/review-film-plumbing-a-video-game-to-its-depths.html) ## Time Out — SGr Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. Praises the set design, photography, effects and giant Goombas but calls the film a dog overall, citing the garbled storyline and mugging performances that will baffle kids, bore adolescents and depress adults. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/super-mario-bros) ## Variety — Lawrence Cohn Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 1 June 1993. The critic calls the film wildly overproduced and derivative, 1993's answer to 'Howard the Duck,' with no laughs, tedious narrative and stiff direction that fails to justify its cost. Praises some technical elements like morphing effects, sound and sets along with Fiona Shaw's villainess; complains about the absence of tension, originality, laughs and humanized central roles. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1993/film/reviews/super-mario-bros-1200432606/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 8 July 1993. The critic finds the film a vast, cold-blooded creature that is not an agreeable sight, with a monotonous affair that even its dinosaur elements cannot save from commercial extinction. Adults and the unaddicted will find it dull, with pixel-thin characters that are charmless and humour that is fitful. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-games-people-play-super-mario-on-the-big-screen-alan-rudolph-s-double-vision-and-an-english-director-s-view-of-sweden-1483768.html) ## Collider — Gregory Lawrence Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 January 2021. The critic praises the 1993 film as a bold, weird, madcap piece of commercial filmmaking that offers a refreshingly political take on the source material. They single out its tactile production design, practical effects, and themes of fighting oppression for particular praise. [Read the review](https://collider.com/super-mario-bros-movie-is-good/) ## Paste — Jesse Hassenger Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 April 2023. The critic views the film as a memorable, personality-driven travesty with visually striking production design that stands out among video game adaptations. They single out its unruly, tactile sets and junky integrity for praise while noting its artistic dodginess. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/super-mario-bros/movies-live-action-super-mario-bros-1993) ## Digital Spy — Mark Langshaw Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 1 October 2014. The critic finds the film a garbled mess with a cringe-worthy script and poor adaptation of the source material, though noting some visual spectacle and nostalgic effects from its dystopian world and creature designs. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a599880/games-on-film-super-mario-bros/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/super-mario-bros.md