I’m always kind of curious to see how I’ll react to a movie that critics and regular moviegoers feel divisive about. In a way, I am a critic as I love watching and reviewing movies. On the other hand, I also enjoy really dumb movies that have utterly no cultural value. When it came to the original Super Mario Bros. Movie, I leaned heavily towards the “regular moviegoer” side. I really enjoyed that movie and I feel, even if you only have some passing knowledge of the games, most people would still like it.

So, when Illumination announced they were making a sequel to it and they were hinting that this was going to be a much bigger film than the previous one. After all, they weren’t just going to be on a singular planet anymore. No, Illumination was taking the Super Mario Bros. to a galactic level as they were putting together The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Yep, screw you, Super Mario World! Nintendo doesn’t love you anymore! We’re skipping way ahead to Super Mario Galaxy!

Now, I do have a few things to mention for this review of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. The first thing is this will be a SPOILER FREE review. I know this review is coming in a bit late but that’s only because they didn’t start showing the movie here in the Philippines until this Saturday as all of the malls were closed due to Holy Week. I know the film already made a ton of money which means a lot of people have already seen it. Still, I’m making this a SPOILER FREE review just in case.

The second thing I have to mention is, unfortunately, I have never played any of the Super Mario Galaxy games. I didn’t own a Wii so I never got to play them. I have some base familiarity with the characters who were introduced in the games but, when it comes to the actual lore, I don’t have any idea. So, I can’t be taken in by the nostalgia from the name. Take that as you will. Now, with all that out of the way, on with the review!

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie takes place some time after the events of the first film. This time, Bowser‘s son, the aptly named Bowser Jr., unleashes a two-fold plan which involves rescuing his father from imprisonment as well as capturing Princess Rosalina to harness her power in order to get the power to destroy the galaxy. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad and new buddy Yoshi have to then travel the galaxy in order to save Princess Rosalina and, in turn, the galaxy itself.

First, the good stuff. The 3D models in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is pretty good. Illumination did a good job of making sure the characters from Nintendo’s platformer come to life on the big screen. While I don’t really see that much difference from the model quality from the original Super Mario Bros. Movie, I didn’t really think they needed to be improved on. The new characters, Princess Rosalina and Bowser Jr. look really good. However, I do have a minor gripe with Yoshi as… honestly, I’m not sure why. He just looks off and he comes off as out of place to me. That’s the best way I can explain it. Still, like I said, this is a minor gripe as it didn’t distract me too much.

The animation is also top-notch. Illumination did a bang up job with the action scenes here. Everything is fluid and they selected the best camera angle to make the fights look dramatic and make sure everything is visible on screen. There’s also enough frantic motion to make things feel really dynamic but not too much that it feels like they’re overdoing it for slapstick.

Unfortunately, that’s all of the good stuff I can say about the movie.

I have a lot of problem with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. One of the biggest ones has to be with the story. I have no problem with basic plot of Mario and friends rescuing a princess. That’s been in the games for ages so why would I have an issue with that now. No, my problem with the film’s story is there’s very little meat in it! It feels like things just happen to our heroes without much rhyme or reason. That’s mostly because I feel Illumination and Nintendo tried to squeeze in as many references to Mario and Nintendo franchises into the story. It didn’t matter if it made the story more cohesive or not. They just had to put them in because, hey! Nintendo fans will love it!

I get that as I myself love me some fanservice. I just know there are fans who’ll be pointing at the screen and say, “Look, those are the bad guys from Super Mario Bros. 2!” and “Hey, that’s a reference to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island!” and “Oh, look! That’s the paintbrush from Super Mario Sunshine!” However, if they add fanservice to the detriment of story, then they should just avoid it altogether. I will say I did like that one specific character they added. Even though Nintendo themselves spoiled who this is in a press release, I’m not going to as this is a SPOILER FREE review. However, the rest of those cameos and scenes feel more gratuitous and I just feel they could’ve devoted that time to making a better story for the main characters.

Speaking of the main characters, they feel really generic this time around. And I don’t mean that in a good way at all! None of them really feel like they have any real motivation when it comes to why they’re doing what they do. There is hardly any attempt for any character growth here and, even when there is, it’s almost immediately retconned a few scenes later.

In turn, this makes me feel like this is a big misuse of the voice talents. You have the likes of Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Donald Glover and Jack Black. And yet you just give them a very generic script which doesn’t feel like you would need them because any other actor could have done that performance. I mean, it’s a sin that you got Jack Black who did an incredible job at playing Bowser in the first movie. Remember Peaches, the song? The song where they successfully fused Jack Black and Bowser to make you fully accept Jack Black as the character? Yeah, they don’t have a scene like that here. They didn’t need to make another viral song as it would be difficult to capture the lightning in the bottle that is Peaches, the song. But they should have tried to give Jack Black something to make him stand out as Bowser because… because he’s Jack Black! Let him shine, dammit!

In the end, I am going to have to side with the critics here. Maybe I didn’t enjoy it as much as the casual moviegoing audience because, like I said, I don’t really have any nostalgic connection to the Super Mario Galaxy movie. If I did, maybe I would’ve loved it more because I would’ve been one of those fans pointing at the screen saying “I understood that reference!” But I went to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to enjoy a movie without any of its connections. While I did like the animation, I just couldn’t get on board because of the lack of a cohesive story and the unclear motivations of the characters.

However, I can’t really give it a full thumbs down as I just have the feeling fans of the Super Mario Galaxy games or Nintendo will love it much more than I did. If you fit that bill, then I say go watch it. But if you’re not exactly a super fan, I say wait for it to come to streaming.

Have you seen The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!