Early Super Mario Bros. Movie reactions call it a love letter to "every era of Mario"

gamesradar.com:

Wahoo! Early reactions from the world premiere of the The Super Mario Bros. Movie are in, with critics saying Illumination and Nintendo’s animated adventure is a fitting tribute to the long-running (and long jumping) Mario franchise.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie "is the ultimate love letter to every era of Mario. Loved the humor & especially Jack Black’s Bowser," wrote Fandango’s Erik Davis (opens in new tab). "I felt the same way watching the movie as I do playing the games."

"Teared up from hype more than once," said Kinda Funny’s Tim Gettys (opens in new tab). "The music is the star of the show. Nintendo fans are gonna be obsessed. I'm not sure ANY movie in history has ever had THIS MANY Easter eggs."

Despite decrying a "shallow narrative," Game Xplain’s Andre Segers (opens in new tab) praised The Super Mario Bros. Movie as an "utterly delightful thrill ride" and a movie that is for "Mario fans first." Not to be overshadowed by his brother, Charlie Day’s Luigi is apparently "the highlight of the movie" according to another audience member (opens in new tab).

Not every reaction is full of praise, however. Gizmodo’s Germain Lussier wrote (opens in new tab), "A few solid scenes capture the spirit of the game but mostly it's an overly goofy, bare-bones plot, filled w/ bad jokes & worse song choices. It looks great but I was more bored & annoyed than entertained."

Despite it sounding like classic Mario, Princess Peach voice actor Anya Taylor-Joy has spoken to the Inside Total Film podcast about reinventing the series’ ‘damsel in distress’.

"From the very first meeting that the creators and I had about her, I was really impressed and excited by the fact that we were all on the same page as to who Peach should be in this new