1.4 out of 5!  This is one of the greatest regrets in history, in its chaotic production!

1.4 out of 5! This is one of the greatest regrets in history, in its chaotic production!

What is it about? Inspired by the video game “Super Mario”, this film tells the story of a people of dinosaurs living peacefully under the earth, who are threatened by a tyrant who kidnaps Daisy, a young and beautiful archaeologist, to achieve his goals. The Mario brothers, plumbers, go to this underground world to help a young girl escape.

A fiasco in every way!

Super Mario Bros. is the first known live-action adaptation of a video game (technically, the first is Mirai Ninja, adapted from an obscure Japanese game in 1988). When it was released in 1993, the feature film grossed only $21 million worldwide against a cost of $48. The result: Nintendo has never again produced live-action films adapted from one of its licenses (this week’s New Mario is an animated feature produced by Illumination, Nintendo and Universal).

This financial failure is compounded by a critical failure. A quick review of Nanari, Super Mario Bros. It is strongly condemned by the press and the public, be it in terms of script, actors, staging, scenes and fidelity to the game. To illustrate this fiasco, the average viewer of a movie on AlloCiné is an example. 1.4/5. It is one of the lowest rated video game adaptations, ahead of Street Fighter (1.3/5), Mortal Kombat: Final Destruction (1.1/5) or House of the Dead (id .).

John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins

Dennis Hopper (still) ill!

Dennis Hopper plays the film’s big bad, Koopa. The actor’s habit, because he played the antagonist of the blue velvet, speed or even water world. Note that Michael Keaton, Kevin Costner, and Arnold Schwarzenegger were more or less considered to slip into Koopa’s skin. A few years later, Schwarz would portray Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997), another film that quickly caught on with Nanars.

Tom Hanks as Luigi?

Tom Hanks was asked to play Luigi, but given the commercial failures of Turner & Hooch (1989) and Joe vs. Vulcan (1990), two films in which he portrayed the hero, the production ultimately chose John Leguizamo.

Hell for Bob Hoskins!

After landing the role of the famous plumber, Bob Hoskins didn’t know that he was about to make a movie based on a video game. It was his son who explained it to him by showing him a game on Nintendo! But the filming turned out to be hellish for the actor. The latter and John Leguizamo quickly realized that the film would be a waste. The interpreters of Mario and Luigi decided to drink a lot of alcohol on the set, convinced that there was nothing else to do…

Bob even broke his finger on a door while filming a pickup truck chase. She had to wear a pink plaster cast like her hand…

Who will realize it?

Super Mario Bros. Directed by the couple Rocky Morton and Annabelle Jankel. Following the success of their previous and first film, the thriller Dead on Arrival alongside Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, they were chosen to helm this adaptation.

During filming, the crew hated them for several reasons. Among them: their stubbornness in wanting to control everything through abuse, the constant rewriting of the script and the obvious lack of communication… Dennis Hopper explained:

“Making this movie was a nightmare. These directors were both control freaks and never spoke before making a decision. I was supposed to shoot in 5 weeks, which turned into 17 weeks. Budget.”*

After the film’s disastrous reception, the respective careers of Rocky Morton and Annabelle Jankel logically suffered. The latter decided to continue directing alone, filming commercials, serials and DTV. Rocky, he quit.

*Source: IMDb

Source: Allocine

You may also like