2/5 stars
It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Nintendo’s crown jewels, those lovable plumbers Mario and Luigi, are back. The Super Mario Bros Movie was a staggering hit in 2023, grossing US$1.36 billion – showing just how beloved these video game icons really are. Now comes the inevitable sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Loosely inspired by the 2007 video game Super Mario Galaxy and its 2010 follow-up, the film takes us back to the hallucinogenic Mushroom Kingdom and its ruler, Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy).
This time, Mario (Chris Pratt) and brother Luigi (Charlie Day) encounter Yoshi (Donald Glover), a cute dinosaur-like creature – and a fan favourite from the games – as they go on a mission to rescue the cosmic princess Rosalina (Brie Larson).
Abducted by a mysterious UFO, she is held captive by Bowser Jnr (Benny Safdie), who is out for revenge after his father, the turtle-like Bowser (Jack Black), was miniaturised by Mario at the end of the last film.
So begins a hyperkinetic sprint to save the day in a film of only sporadic good moments. Perhaps the best among them is watching Mario and co evade Bowser Jnr’s booby traps – an acrobatic scene that is then amusingly replayed on the villain’s monitor in old-school computer graphics.
With a wealth of animated detail on screen to soak up, Nintendo fans will also get a kick from a cameo by Fox McCloud (Glen Powell), the protagonist from the Star Fox series.
Of the vocal performances, Safdie, the writer and director of The Smashing Machine, is a riot as the antagonist with daddy issues; Glover also brings Yoshi vividly to life.
But this outing is a letdown, thanks to a humdrum saviour narrative and a script that just is not as funny or as fresh as its predecessor.
Usually, it takes five years to develop a premium animated feature, which may explain why a sequel churned out in just three years feels so underwritten. It is hard not to wish co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic had taken another year to work with Matthew Fogel’s screenplay.
Still, visually, the film is a treat, especially the depiction of the Mushroom Kingdom and all its adorable citizens, and there are plenty of Easter eggs scattered throughout to enjoy.
But while it will not matter a jot to the legions of Mario-obsessed viewers that will flock to see this, it is impossible to shake the feeling that this is an underwhelming follow-up. Hardly game over – a third film must surely be greenlit – but there is a nagging sense that it could have done better.
