The Super Mario Bros. Movie receives disappointing reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has finally hit the theaters worldwide, save for Japan, where it will premiere in three weeks. As such, the reviews have come in. While the audience has rated the film very positively, as evidenced by the 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the same cannot be said about the critics' views and the critical score.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an abysmal rating of 54% from all the critics and an extremely disappointing 43% from the top critics. The critical consensus, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads:

"While it's nowhere near as thrilling as turtle tipping your way to 128 lives, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a colorful -- albeit thinly plotted -- animated adventure that has about as many Nintendos as Nintendon'ts."

Before the film's release, there was a significant backlash over the casting of American actor Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario, who is generally depicted as an Italian American. The film has also received a score of 48 from Metacritic.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie: What do the critics have to say about the film?

The critics have various things to say about the film, though negatively. Some have pointed out and criticized the basic nature of the film's narrative, while others have dubbed the film as a feature-length commercial instead of a cinematic experience.

James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film a 2.5/4 and said in his review on Rotten Tomatoes that he wanted more from The Super Mario Bros. Movie but was only getting a part of the experience instead of the whole experience. He even said that the film did not work in a conventional cinematic way but in such a way that it felt less like a movie and more like a brand experience.

Alison Wilmore of New York Magazine and Vulture said:

"It’s all dispiritingly rote, aside from bursts of weird vitality whenever the film veers into action out of the games."

Odie Henderson from the Boston Globe claimed that the film was not a movie but rather a checklist of fan expectations or, in other words, was more of a fan-service kind of movie.

However, some critics were more positive about The Super Mario Bros. Movie. John Nguyen from Nerd Reactor said:

"I'm still entertained by it. I still like the Easter eggs. Brian Tyler's score is amazing in this with the blending of the different themes from Mario, while making it very orchestral and cinematic and just a lot of fun."

Michael Compton of the Bowling Green Daily News also had praises for the movie, stating in his review that not only is The Super Mario Bros. Movie sure to satisfy fans of the games, but it is also very imaginative and clever in its delivery that it will work for those who do not know the difference between a Sega and a Nintendo.

Mathew DeKinder of Mat's Entertainment said that the film has succeeded in its mission of setting up a potential cinematic universe for itself.

"The importance of this movie to play the hits and get off of the stage (runtime is a cool 92 minutes) was huge for Nintendo to safely and securely establish its own cinematic universe. In that regard, it’s mission accomplished."

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Will the negative reviews from critics affect the box office of The Super Mario Bros. Movie?

Since the film has just been released and is yet to be released in Japan, it remains to be seen whether or not the primarily negative reviews will affect the film's box office. As per a report from IGN, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has had a strong opening weekend, with box office projections for the film estimating it to garner $141 million worldwide.

According to Universal, The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned $31.7 million in North America on a Wednesday and $66.4 million on its opening day. As per IGN, from Friday to Sunday, the film is expected to bring to the box office $92 million.

The Super Mario brand is extremely popular and has a solid and devoted fanbase. As such, there will be a lot of people from the fandom who will go and see the film.

Chris Pratt, in a press interview for The Super Mario Bros. Movie with extraTV, has shown fans of Mario that he understands their skepticism towards his portrayal of the character and respects their devotion to and love of the franchise. He said that he intends to give them a good experience, which will possibly motivate at least some people to go and see the film.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie plot and cast list

The film's story will see Mario and Luigi visit the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time and encounter characters such as Princess Peach and battle foes such as Donkey Kong and Bowser.

The official synopsis of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as per the film's website, reads:

"Based on the world of Nintendo’s Mario games, the film invites audiences into a vibrant, thrilling new universe unlike any created before in an action-packed, exuberant cinematic comedy event."

It continues:

"While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers Mario and brother Luigi are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi."

The official main cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie is as follows:

• Chris Pratt as Mario
• Charlie Day as Luigi
• Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach
• Jack Black as Bowser
• Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong
• Keegan Michael Key as Toad
• Fred Armisen as King Cranky Kong
• Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek
• Khary Payton as Penguin King

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is directed by Aaron Hovarth and Michael Jelenic from a script by Matthew Fogel. Chris Meledandri and Shigeru Miyamoto, the creative minds behind the games, serve as producers of the film.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiered in Los Angeles on April 1 and hit theaters worldwide on April 5. The film is set to be released on April 28 in Japan.