The Live Action Super Mario Bros Movie is turning 30 this year...

Just as the new animated movie is about to arrive.

I was hit with a wave of nostalgia for the original film. It's ugly, bizarre, and misunderstood. And I loved every minute of this movie growing up. I remember being so excited about the movie when I saw the first poster at a bus stop. Then I saw the commercial and found out it would have dinosaurs in it! It's everything a kid like me would want. It was going to be the dinosaur summer blockbuster for me in 1993... then a little-known movie called Jurassic Park came out a few weeks later.

The truth is, I never got to see this movie the day, or even the year it came out. We didn't have the money, and I ended up borrowing the movie on VHS from a classmate many years later in 7th grade. By then, I knew what the movie was like based on the commercials, the toys, and some articles I'd read back in 1993. I knew what to expect visually just from all the pictures and commercials alone. So the visuals weren't a surprise to me. Even though I called it ugly earlier, it didn't bother me. Looking at it as an adult, I can see everything is intentionally ugly. Honestly, I think I understood that even back in 7th grade. It was a dystopian cyberpunk world and that was my first exposure to cyberpunk! The concept of another dimension was cool. It definitely had nods to elements from the games. A lot of them were twisted versions of what we know. I think what I loved most about the plot and acting was that it really captured the feeling of 2 average guys that were taken out of their element and somehow managed to save the world. Mario and Luigi were in way over their heads. They're not action heroes, so they fight in their own unique ways. I always took the flamethrowers used in the movie as this world's interpretation of the fire flower. It's far from my favorite movie of all time, but I liked the movie. I even recorded it on VHS when they did a TV showing of the movie years later. No regrets.

Rewatching it as an adult, I still don't hate the movie. Sure, I can see the weird tonal shifts, some half-baked plot points, and clumsy expositions, but the weirdness of the world, the feeling of 2 ordinary guys fighting for their lives and saving the world in the process is just as fun as it was back in the day. The thing is, with the internet, I also learned things about this movie that many of us never got to know back in the day. All the drama, the problem productions, the rewrites, and just the whole clusterfuck that happened behind the scenes made me appreciate it more than ever. It was a freaking miracle that this movie was made! I know Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper hated the movie. The filming of this movie was a nightmare for everyone. Hell, even if Dennis Hopper and Bob Hoskins are still alive today, I doubt they would be impressed by the cult status this film achieved. I do know John Leguizamo definitely appreciated its current cult status.

Here's the thing, I don't think this movie is some hidden masterpiece or anything like that. For all intents and purposes, this movie is not that great. But man, I had a blast watching it. The movie is never boring and visually striking. The visuals still hold up today! I recommend checking out the fan-restored version of this movie which I'll link below. It restored 20 minutes of the film and adds more context to certain scenes and delivers a payoff to a joke that the original cut never had.

Super Mario Extended Edition Rough Cut