Why does this movie exist? The answer is obvious: it is a commercial, not artistic enterprise, and by those standards it is a success. It is a 90-minute commercial for Mario, slickly delivered with rough voice acting but a pretty delightful score. There are many things that you point at and say "ah, I remember that!" and that is the point. It is a movie that exists to remind you of the fun you had playing Mario games, and by the Ebert definition of a good movie (accomplishing what it sets out to do) it is a good movie.

But there is a hollowness at the core of this movie that slightly witty asides like the melancholy dark star cannot fix. Take, for instance, The Lego Movie.

★★