by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
After Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) is kidnapped by Bowser Jr (Benny Safdie), Mario and Luigi (Chris Pratt and Charlie Day) are called on to help look after the Mushroom Kingdom with the help of their new dinosaur friend Yoshi (Donald Glover). At the same time, Princess Peach and Toad (Anya Taylor-Joy and Keegan-Michael Key) set out to find and rescue Rosalina. Meanwhile, the brothers work to rehabilitate the now-tiny Bowser (Jack Black), unaware that Bowser Jr. is setting out to free him.
Loosely based on the Super Mario Galaxy games from 2007 and 2010, this film inserts a fairly generic plot into a largely plotless pair of video games, similar to the first film. The main appeal lies in the world the story takes place in, which pays homage to the Mario games.
I didn’t really understand why critics laid into the first film as much as they did. It seemed like they were expecting something deep and meaningful that would resonate with kids and adults, as Pixar films usually do. Why they would think they were getting that from an Illumination film based on a video game series, whose games have always had either a paper-thin plot or no plot at all, is beyond me. But long story short, like the first film, the plot is fine for keeping the kids interested, but nothing more.
The visuals of the world do a great job of paying tribute to many different Mario games, primarily the Galaxy games that gave it its title. Still, there are many references to others. You are made to keep your eyes peeled and your ears open to catch all the references in the form of setting, characters, items, sound bites, and music. They even worked in some nods to 2D games, despite the film being a 3D animation, which were extremely clever in how they were executed. The animation of the world is also a spot-on recreation of the worlds from the games, but with a lot more polish. I almost felt like I could pick up a controller while watching because it looked so much like the game.
As well as Mario references, there are a few cameos from non-Mario characters. R.O.B. the robot (Ed Skudder) provides a fun bit of belittling of Nintendo, and Fox McCloud (Glen Powell) plays a large enough role that it was more than a cameo. Any possible references to the Star Fox games would have gone over my head, as I never played them, though there was one very predictable joke connected to those games. There are similar cameos from a group of characters from a Mario game, even though Nintendo doesn’t seem to want to reference them anymore, so it was fantastic to see them get some attention finally.
The most grating part of the whole experience for me was the parts with the Toads and the Lumas in Rosalina’s world. Both groups seemed to be played up as this film’s version of the Minions; they existed to act juvenile and irritating to everyone except the kids watching. There are some fun easter egg moments during these scenes, but on the whole, these scenes were my least favorite part. There didn’t even appear to be any different types of Lumas like there are in the Galaxy games.
The most interesting thing done to any character here is with Bowser. He is given something of a redemption arc, as his time living in a small house in Peach’s castle has given him time to think about his behavior. For about half the runtime, it was the most interesting thing about the actual plot, and I found myself caring about what Bowser was going to do. Black once again does a great job as the voice, adding a lot of good humor. A lot of the time, the humor isn’t even what he says; it’s just Black’s delivery. Then something else happens, and this plotline is basically just dropped. Bowser Jr. being in this makes sense, given that this film is based on the Galaxy games, and he is one of the main bad guys in those games. However, I can’t help but think it might have been more interesting to see the Koopalings. I can’t imagine any lifelong Mario fans jumping up and down with excitement because Bowser Jr showed up.
While it was odd that Rosalina was the one kidnapped here, since that doesn’t happen in the game, I felt it was a good move for the plot because it gave Peach the chance to play a larger role. Peach takes on a more main-character role in this entry, and she is given more backstory. The makers of this clearly wanted to lean into the strong female lead angle to show women can hold their own in a fight, which is becoming more common in kids’ films nowadays. Taylor-Joy does a great job in the role, giving a clear vibe of a woman who knows exactly what they need to do and isn’t afraid to walk into a battle.
However, like the first film, the biggest shortcoming here is the story; to put it mildly, it’s a mess. There are about five different subplots involving different characters, and the film jumps around between them in a seemingly random way. Everything about the story appears to have been written to make things look like the games. There is a particular event near the end involving Bowser that, from a purely story perspective, makes absolutely no sense, but makes complete sense to anyone who has played the games, because it plays out in the same way. The problem is that, in a basically plotless game, you can accept anything because nothing needs to make sense; a game needs to be fun and a challenge. In a film, there needs to be more of an explanation for why things happen the way they do, and they give us none of that here; they figured the fans would go with it since it happens that way in the games. It’s the kind of plot you aren’t meant to think too hard about because if you do, things quickly fall apart.
All in all, this sequel is more enjoyable from a fan’s perspective than the first, because it has many more references and characters that fans will recognize. The easter eggs, new characters, and worlds the characters visit are all a joy to see on-screen, and the whole thing looks gorgeous. From the viewpoint of a simple film fan, it is not as good as the first, due to a more convoluted plot that makes even less sense than the original. It’s harder to ignore the story problems because they are more integral to what is going on. With the first film, it was best not to think about the plot too hard; with this one, you probably shouldn’t think about the plot at all. However, if you want to enjoy seeing a bunch of references to video games you remember playing over the last 40 years, you will have a blast.
Rating: Just Okay
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now playing in theaters
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