Jumping from planet-to-planet at breakneck speed, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is full of delightful references for longtime gamers, yet average moviegoers might find the film to be that of a sugar crash – fun in the moment, but tiresome by the end.
After saving the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser [Jack Black] in the original film, Mario’s home world is once again turned upside down by the arrival of a Luma – a celestial, star-like child that begs for Princess Peach’s [Anya Taylor Joy] help to save their mother, Princess Rosalina [Brie Larson], from Bowser Jr [Benny Safdie]. Once Peach and Toad [Keegan-Michael Key] leave to find the kidnapped princess, Mario [Chris Pratt], Luigi [Charlie Day], Bowser and their new friend Yoshi [Donald Glover] set off to discover what the goal of Bowser Jr.’s dastardly plan truly is.
While “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” might seem like more of the same to the naked eye, there are plenty of improvements from the original that deserve recognition – however, the sequel also has more than its fair share of drawbacks.
Although the original “Despicable Me” might seem dated by today’s standards, it would be a disservice not to notice Illumination’s striking animation improvements. From fluid, crisp action, dynamic camera movements, realistic texturing and a memorable art style, the at-one-time underdog studio has more than made a name for itself among other animation houses such as Pixar – which is currently having an identity crisis of its own. These improvements were noticeable in their earlier franchises, it’s all culminated in the “Super Mario” films. Story quality aside, “Galaxy” features kinetic, exciting action from scene-to-scene, using both franchise lore and quick, exhilarating fight choreography to keep the film’s adrenaline up at all times. It’s quite impressive the action sequences that Illumination has crafted out of a series of simple platforming video games.
What helps keep the film’s constant race from fight scene-to-fight scene effective is its usage of game-accurate music. The original film used more than a couple of “hot 100” tracks such as “Thunderstruck,” “Take on Me” and “Holding Out for a Hero,” – and it was uninspired in every way imaginable. However, composer Brian Tyler takes a step back with the sequel, reimagining and giving new life to many popular “Mario” music tracks, from the original games all the way to the “Galaxy” titles from the late 2000s. The voice acting remains nothing stellar, but fun and serviceable throughout. Pratt and Taylor-Joy continue to provide fine voice work to their respected characters, and Day and Black shine once again as Luigi and Bowser. Luckily, all of the film’s newcomers, from Larson and Safdie to Glover and Glen Powell – who stars as scene stealer Fox McCloud – bring hilarious comedic chops to the fray.
Nevertheless, even with the film’s fun action sequences, nerdy references and incredible score – it can become tiresome rather quickly. The film isn’t ever boring necessarily, yet its needless key-jangling and swift movement from scene-to-scene don’t feel like great pacing rather than the TikTok-ification of the theatrical experience. From bright shining lights and loud music to jokes being cracked every 30 seconds, the movie never takes a moment to stand still and tell a real story. Which brings up the film’s biggest glaring problem: There is barely any narrative cohesion here.
Although the original’s story was rather thin, the writers of “Galaxy” clearly decided to go away with any real tale, as the entire hour and a half experience is stringed together by fun, but pointless action scenes, random side quests and a poorly baked emotional message tacked onto the third act. The film attempts to add a bit of emotional depth to the strained relationship of Bowser and his son, yet there is no finality to their story arc, with their complicated bond and development turning into meaningless mayhem.
Illumination’s newest offering features plenty of thrilling action, memorable cameos and fun voice performances, yet the video game sequel’s lack of story and never-ending pace might leave viewers more eager to take a nap than buy tickets for a rewatch.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” released April 1 and is in theaters now.