 |
| Mario may fight with critics, but they both deal with something worse, Fandom. |
I was going back and forth about doing a piece like this, I
don’t care if others like a thing I don’t and I don’t care if they dislike a
thing I do. After a month of so much nonsense though, I find myself wanting to
say… Can we all move on from the Mario movie? I like the live action Mario
movie, I like the Japanese TV Mario movie, I really loved 2023’s Super Mario
Bros. Movie and I enjoyed Mario Galaxy. They’ve all had their
issues, but I have fun with them, and no amount of negative reviews can change
that. Want my defense? Sure, I can give you that, but that’s not the point of
this article. I’m tired of the fandom reaction, a statement that realistically
applies to most things, but I’ve been especially tired of the Mario fandom, the
defenders and offenders.
When news
first broke out of Illumination doing a Mario movie, I was worried to say the
least. I’ve always viewed Illumination as the weakest of the major animation
studios, with most of their films just being mediocre. Nowadays my views have
slightly shifted and I’d say while my opinions of the movies haven’t changed, I
do respect them more, Illumination makes movies aimed at the young and the
parents caring for them, they don’t aim higher, but I can’t deny they work for
those audiences… plus it helps that every story I hear from them paints them as
a wonderful company. So, while I’d rather see Dreamworks’ or Pixar’s Mario, I’m
fine with Illumination’s. There are lots of movies, I doubt this will be the
last iteration of this character in my life, I don’t need these movies to be
Oscar contenders to make me smile, I don’t even need them to be great.
Once more,
to be clear, I don’t think critics are wrong to dislike this, everyone is
entitled to their opinion even if I disagree. Critics demand more substance,
better pacing, themes, etc. Complaints that are fair, complaints I agree with
in parts, not so much in others. I felt the sequel had better pacing, but the
first had a better overall experience, but understand why that’s not enough for
some. You are valid for not liking these movies and fans saying, “They’re not
meant to be smart” or “Did you expect a deeper movie?” Aren’t just idiots.
They’re also unintentionally insulting these cute movies by insisting they’re
meant to be dumb, rather than highlighting why they resonate regardless. Fans
unfortunately do that, in defense of the things they like, they’ll create any
excuse to call detractors wrong. It’s a braindead choice, often hurting the
appeal of their entertainment, rather than making it more so.
Why would
anyone want to engage with something that’s weightless nonsense? There’s an
answer and it’s that it still offers something, by stomping your feet to say
it’s meant to be dumb, you do these movies no favor. They’re visual treats,
with fun characters, fun music, action that’s a blast to witness, making up
where it lacks heart with sincere spectacle. Just because it’s not trying to
make you cry or think about the world, doesn’t mean it’s made without love or
thought. It’s a candy bar that gives you a sugar rush and it’s a fun rush,
that’s okay, sometimes we need junk for entertainment and to live. A film
teacher once told me that it was okay for a musical to “waste” your time with a
song and dance number that was exciting even if not exactly useful to the plot,
you paid to watch people sing and dance, get your money’s worth! Obviously,
things like that will draw ire from those unimpressed, but the audience that
connects, the audience that was made for it will appreciate it and that matters
too.
I
appreciate critics voicing their issues even when I disagree, fans should as
well, sometimes it makes the next one better, sometimes it doesn’t but that’s
okay. Stifling critic voices does nothing but make discussions feel less
special, a lot of classics become classic by people arguing back and forth and
finding things that make art special that you can’t find by simply saying “it’s
good”. Demanding critics approve your films by claiming it’s “meant to be basic”
without offering more than that just makes movies look dumb. If it’s simple by
design, expand on why that design is, it can’t be
that hard to praise art you like while making sure it doesn’t sound dumb.
Beyond that, why even care what others think? Yes it can be annoying seeing so
many dump on a movie you connect with, but so what? As long as it means
something to you, that’s all that matters.
On the
other hand, not all hate comes from critics, there’s a huge group of fans of
the Mario franchise, or just games in general who complain about this movie,
which is fair, everyone has a right to their opinion. Having a right to your
opinion though, doesn’t mean I can’t find it annoying, whether it’s missing the
point, nonsensical, or just delivered in the most arrogant and annoying way.
Professional critics sometimes become annoying with their critiques, sometimes
making their material sound like hacky stand-up, but that’s not often enough to
get me mad. Criticism over this movie being as bad, or worse than AI was
certainly annoying, yet it wasn’t the thing that tipped me over into doing
this. Critics can be annoying while trying to be funny, or doing poorly thought-out
hyperbole, but fans complaining? Fans who are clearly not professional critics
or who have little experience in sharing their thoughts? That was frustrating.
I won’t pretend I don’t get a little ticked off hearing critiques of things I
like that I feel is unfair, but the degree I’ve seen from these people is so
tiresome. Complaints ignoring specific plot details, complaints about how the
material was adapted that refuse to engage with the film. I’ve seen an
abundance of complaints over this movie including aspects of different games, people
trashing it because the main plot isn’t a side plot of the game, just bizarre
complaints that seem to ignore that movies are not games, while also refusing
to address the material therein.
This is me
mostly venting, I don’t know that I have a greater point other than fans sucks,
and I don’t mind different opinions, I’m just tired of hearing the most
obnoxious losers defend this and other movies I like, while also tired seeing
hate coming from fans who can’t even articulate a good point either. It’s been
over a month, I don’t care about the twist the movie has for the women, so much
anger a month in and I’m just tired. I hate hearing how it’s the worst
adaptation from people who haven’t truly suffered bad adaptations. I just hate
every loser with an annoying stance on this, be it the soft, anti-critic crowd,
or the people who think they’re making some grandstand saying they don’t like a
kids flick. You disliked a cartoon, more power to you, ranting for months will
not make anyone “fix” the next one, please accept these aren’t for you and move
on.
Written By Octaviano Macias
No comments:
Post a Comment