The Gist
Mario and Luigi are sent on a mission to rescue Princess Rosalina after she is kidnapped by Bowser Jnr.
The Review
It may come as a big surprise – but it looks like the film that might divide audiences the most this year is none other than The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. If you have been following what has been said about the film during its opening week it seems like people either love it or hate it – there is not a lot of grey around this film.
Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not a massive gamer. I’ll play the odd game every now and then and of course I have been exposed to Super Mario over the years. I played it a little as a kid and in recent times have always joined in when someone has thrown Mario Cart on at a party, but even as a non-gamer I have to say I kind of enjoyed this film. I’m not sure why so much hate has been thrown at the film – all I can think of is that some people may have forgotten that this is a film meant for kids.
Plot wise things here are pretty basic. Not a lot has happened since the last film. The legend of heroes Mario (voiced by Chris Pratt – Guardians Of The Galaxy) and Luigi (Charlie Day – The Lego Movie) has risen to the point where now even Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson – Captain Marvel) is reading about their adventures with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy – The Witch) in bedtime stories to her star subjects.
Mario and Luigi spend most of their time travelling around helping people – their latest quest has landed them a new friend, Yoshi (Donald Glover – Solo: A Star Wars Story), while they have also made sure that the evil Bowser (Jack Black – School Of Rock) has stayed small and out of the way.
However soon Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key – Wonka) find themselves getting called into action when in a bid to fulfill his Father’s legacy Bowser Jnr. (Benny Safdie – Good Time) kidnaps Princess Rosalina.
Now most of the people that have been criticizing the film have been pretty quick to point out that the film has a pretty basic plot. But seriously this was never going to be a film as in-depth as Shakespeare and to be honest all kids really want to see here is a good versus evil storyline involving the characters that they have come to know and love. That this film delivers in spades – and I must say there should be a heap of praise placed on the heads of the team of directors and animators behind the film because the animation here sure looks sleek.
The other major plus for this film is the way that it has been designed to please those that plays the games. I saw this film in a room full of gamers and whenever a character appeared that excited them there was hooting and hollering that filled the cinema – it was pretty obvious by the reactions that this film was keeping the gamers very, very happy.
Staying on that subject one of the great things about this film is how it keeps all generations of gamers happy. There are times during the film where the sleek animation disappears for a few seconds the film reverts back to the graphics of the original Super Mario film. Likewise, the team behind this film have dug deep to make sure that it contains some deep game references and characters and even cross-overs games with the introduction of characters like Fox McCloud (Glen Powell – Top Gun: Maverick) making an appearance. It was moments like that that had the gamers very excited.
And while the plot itself is pretty basic there is more than enough going to keep audiences of all ages happy. Kids will love the fact that they can follow along with their hero’s journey here while on reflection you can see that the film follows the basic structure of the games themselves. In order to reach Princess Rosalina the heroes at hand must get past all the obstacles and characters in every land that stand in their way. Perhaps that is the reason why this film seems to be enjoyed more by those who love gaming than those who prefer to sit down and watch a good film.
The Verdict
The way to approach The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is to just go into the cinema expecting a fun time. This was never going to be a deeply serious film or even a game changer in the genre. But I can guarantee that if you are a Super Mario lover or are simply looking for a fun film for the whole family then you will not be disappointed.
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