The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out this week, already poised to keep making bank by turning more game nostalgia into a pumped-up franchise for Nintendo and Universal Pictures. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) reprise their roles as the Mushroom Kingdom’s go-to plumbers to fix and fight well… anything you’ve seen in the games you grew up playing.
Here, Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) is called upon to rescue the mother of the Lumas, Rosalina (Brie Larson). This mysterious, powerful princess, who happens to share a past with Peach, is taken by Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who needs Rosalina to become what powers his plan to get his dad, Bowser (Jack Black), back. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi, with the help of Yoshi (Donald Glover), are tasked with keeping the kingdom safe and Bowser in his (small) place.
The Good
The movie brings it as a sequel that succeeds as an all-time great game-to-screen adaptation of fan-favorite sequences. Set up as a Princess Peach adventure, it establishes her journey to find Rosalina as the film’s core. When we’re with Peach, the film’s story shines. Taylor-Joy relishes her one-liners and buddy comedy moments with Toad (Keegan Michael Key). Peach elevates the movie, giving the franchise its best action sequences.
Outfitted with her iconic umbrella, when Peach takes on a good portion of Super Mario 2 bosses, Super Mario Galaxy is a pure blast. It’s a casino chase in the world of Mario by way of Matrix, with Peach not pulling any punches. The Easter eggs here make sense as a part of the story, and that’s when the movie really cooks.
Similarly, the introduction of new characters such as Yoshi, Rosalina, Bowser Jr, and Star Fox’s Fox McCloud (Glen Powell) really establishes fantastic lore building. They each get really solid origins, but their setups serve what could be their own movies in ways that make this movie convoluted instead of stronger.
The combination of 2D animated sequences for backstory and the use of multimedia textures, such as crafted worlds and 8-bit, as seen in the games, really shows Illumination can do more than just CG when it leans into the Nintendo arsenal of creativity. Those were the moments that make the movie stand as a visual experiment firing on all cylinders and make the game homage gags land.
The Easter eggs really speak to every generation of Mario fans, and for a film that hinges on that, Super Mario Galaxy is a love letter for everyone who’s picked up a controller to play their first games on Nintendo consoles. But that cheat code can only get the story so far.
The So-So
While the character introductions work, their way into the film’s plot super-smashes the heart of the story — they don’t thread together into the same movie in which they appear. There’s the weird cute competition between Yoshi and Toad, which rings true to the games but contributes nothing to the movie. Yoshi also just shows up and quickly gets embraced into the crew when the cliffhanger made it seem his origin was going to be a major plot point and not the first level of the movie.
Mario’s subplot quickly takes over as the main storyline; he and Luigi mend bridges with a rehabbed Bowser as they help him reconcile with his kid, for what feels like some generational healing was a solid B plot. However, Bowser Jr. really gets fumbled, as he and his dad seem headed in a direction to learn from each other, but then just do not.
It’s all funny enough, sure, but all the buildup with the Mario subplot goes out the window once they all reunite with Peach. The same goes for the use of Easter eggs; when their purpose works with the plot, the movie is pure fun. But then it gets muddled when it becomes reference after reference put in the basket with varying degrees of success.
Overall
The excitement that the Super Mario Galaxy movie draws on really makes the movie feel strung together with distracting, dopamine-fueled moments that work on a superficial level. We missed the random fun choices that the first film brought to the franchise, like Bowser’s power ballad; there’s no big Jack Black music moment this time.
Even the absence of its predecessor’s offbeat humor, like gloomy Luma’s lines, was felt. It’s too safe a bare minimum script that feels like a low-effort playthrough that gives up what made the first film charmingly bonkers. It’s traded in by miracles of visual comedy, where the movie gets away with making bold choices, but I’m worried these strengths will be discarded in the next one. The lesson shouldn’t be that it doesn’t matter if this one just makes a bunch of money; put that money into making a good third film.
Universal and Illumination need to level up to become a more creatively prepared Ready Player Two with Nintendo’s Player One strength, which it brings through its franchise characters. Before churning out spin-offs and other worlds, the fans deserve a better castle built with a stronger story foundation. Maybe next time, trust the creative minds that get the keys to the kingdom to imagine beyond the easy.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out now!
