Reviews for The Super Mario Galaxy film are exactly what you’d expect

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out this week, and just ahead of the films debut come the reviews. I’ve just been reading through a handful of them, and wanted to share some choice quotes and some overall thoughts.

Now, before I get into the critical consensus on this sequel, I want to lay out my stall: the first 2023 Mario movie was fine. It wasn’t great, but it was serviceable in its goals. Those being to one, make a boatload of cash, and two, serve as a dumb popcorn movie you can go and see with your kids.

When compared to other animated gems such as Wall-E and Up, this Illumination-creation just doesn’t stack up by any measure. However, it was pretty to look at and filled with fun moments for fans young and old — despite being on the whole rather shallow. It’s a weird film in that I had a dumb grin on my face whilst watching it from start to finish, but on reflection it left a lot to be desired.

I could say more, but it’s already been said by others countless times before, and much more eloquently no doubt.

So, what about this new movie? Well, I was under no pretence that this second Nintendo and Illumination collab would be any different. With over a billion in the bank, why be risky? …and so it goes with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

Here’s what the reviews are saying about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie:

I don’t think Peter Bradshaw, writing at The Guardian, liked it much. His brief one-star review calls this “inert and uninteresting animated follow-up” a “visually dull screensaver of a movie“. He correctly calls it an “Easter holiday cash grab” (duh), but then concludes with an odd AI comparison which doesn’t really land for me.

Andy Robinson, over at VGC, highlights how this sequel has a rather busy sub-100-minute runtime that could have done with just a bit longer to breathe. This rapid pacing holds together what he calls a “pretty threadbare plot“ but notes that this is “unlikely to bother Nintendo diehards and families who go in expecting a fun popcorn film“. I like the comparison here to the “kinetic joy” of Mario games in general, and how this movie mirrors that. I think as long as you go into this not expecting a deep plot you’ll be happy with the “action-packed visual spectacle” on offer here.

The Hollywood Reporter’s review, penned by Frank Scheck, amused me if only for comparing this new Mario flick to Bond’s Moonraker of all things: “more action, more characters, more everything“. It’s got “endlessly frenetic action sequences, rendered in eye-popping, color-saturated animation that feels like the visual equivalent of sugary sweets“. Sounds about right.

Lindsey Bahr, writing for the AP, makes an apt comparison to the games and how that translates to this particularly movie experience: when playing a Mario game, you’re transported to an “inviting, shimmering” space, “full of wonder“, and the returning directors clearly understand that, because that’s what we get here, no “real-world grittiness” just, the joy of Mario on the big screen. However, Lindsey also notes that any escapism is somewhat punctured by more cynical “realities of late-stage capitalism” thoughts that such an obvious cash-grab film invites.

Owen Gleiberman at Variety touches upon the ‘Galaxy’ title and theme of this follow-up, noting how due to the entire movie pretty much being set in outer space “it never settles on a planet, or anywhere else, long enough to give you a satisfying sense of locale“. He goes on to call it “an orgy of video game Easter eggs” — a film “wearing its Easter eggs on the outside“. Like others, he takes issue with the pacing calling it “frenetic in such an impersonal way“, being “so focused on those little pings of recognition for gamers“. One of the most interesting lines in this review? “It feels like the Nintendo suits took over this time” — make of that what you will.

IGN’s review, from Clint Gage, is lukewarm: “OK is the best word I can think of to describe both the quality of this film, and my reaction to all the choices they made while making the film“.

Over at Polygon Michael McWhertor said, just like its predecessor, this new “even less focused” film “relies on nostalgia and dazzling visuals to carry a paper-thin plot“. He concludes by saying that anyone “hoping for a more mature plot or emotional weight should probably resign themselves now: Galaxy tees up endless potential sequels and spinoffs, and it looks like the Super Mario moviemaking machine not only has a proven formula at this point, it’s sticking with it.“

Bradley Russell’s review at GamesRadar+ notes that there are some “baffling choices” in this film that he claims mirror “Miyamoto’s long-running philosophy to prioritize excitement over all else“. It’s a film described as having “relentless imagination” in some of the set pieces, and charming moments, but on the whole comes up a bit short. It may surpass “the original in both the action and animation departments“, but overall only “sporadically lives up to the Galaxy moniker“.

Ross Bonaime at Collider, like many others, brings up the thin story, noting that some new characters don’t “get the attention they deserve“ — on the whole though? This is “a charming, often hilarious, and playful testament to the greatest video game franchise of all time“.

I haven’t seen the movie just yet, but I think the closing remarks in the review over at Looper (from Reuben Baron) will probably end up being where I land: “I can make no great intellectual defense of this movie [..] but I had a good time“.

At time of writing the movie has a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2023 film ended up at a 59%.