'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' review: Look at those ripped Peach buddies

Universal Pictures

We officially have a front-runner for the rising Star Fox award, and we also have a new movie based on the 'Mario' franchise from Nintendo. How's that? Following the success of 2023's 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie', its sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, heads off to space but hopes that it's not a waste of space. Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are back to cause some brotherly commotion alongside Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) after vanquishing Bowser (Jack Black) previously. Bowser's son Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie) seeks revenge by kidnapping Peach's sister Rosalina (Brie Larson), as he wants to use her powers to devise a powerful weapon. Mario, Luigi and Peach team up with a plethora of silly characters, including a dinosaur named Yoshi (Donald Glover) and fox pilot named Fox McCloud (Glen Powell), as they travel across galaxies in order to find out where Bowser Jr. is holding Rosalina as a captive.

If we want to start with a positive spin, we should sink our teeth into the animation part of this animated trek. Pretty much anything and everything that is worth yapping about when it comes to "Galaxy" has to do with the wonderful work that all the animators have produced. Shepherded by directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, they create depth, vibrancy and liveliness for every single image. Character designs are perhaps the highlight, from our main characters to those in the deep background, whilst the lighting, art direction and a general embrace of colour are noteworthy aspects as well. Making this even more impressive is the quick three-year turnaround, which would normally cause concern.

What's disappointing is that this technical expertise gets wasted by the project's emptiness. We could say it is supposed to be an adventure fantasy comedy, but not only is writer Matthew Fogel's script about absolutely nothing, the film seems to be lost in the sauce. Why wouldn't you use Mario and Peach's liaison to play with romantic comedy or drama? Why wouldn't you subtly introduce kids to class differences considering one of them is a princess? Why wouldn't you teach them about the everyday good that blue-collar folks—like a plumber—can choose to do, particularly when threatened by weaponry? Why wouldn't you embrace screwball elements and physical comedy when laws of motion don't apply? Why are you always taking the easy way out?

You could also learn something about video games and problem-solving that they require. You could make a cool racing picture based on 'Mario Kart'. You could make a hilarious friends-hanging-out flick based on 'Mario Party'. You could make an ambitious, visual feast considering we're dealing with different galaxies here. A rom-com, an actioner, a wild space adventure, any one of those with an underlying theme and lesson or even two—that's not too much to ask, is it? Instead, we get Galaxy, a nothingburger that is all references to other media and zero nutrition. Fogel's writing is lame and listless. Horvath and Jelenic's direction can barely be described as direction. Where is the vision?

Bright spots are rather rare in the voice acting department, too, but at least Safdie, of all people, is genuinely trying and his involvement was only revealed to me when his name popped up in the end credits. The only explosion of energy comes from Powell who's honestly just doing "Glen Powell but after a few small beers", but his Fox McCloud is nonetheless a fun presence. Otherwise, the quality here is inadequate. Pratt is still miscast and boring, Day is mostly fine but equally uninspired, plus Taylor-Joy and Black are just being themselves again. But finally putting Galaxy, its casting directors and others in charge of those decisions in the hall of shame is the casting of Glover; wasting that credit and salary on him instead of a qualified voice actor (maybe a newcomer) is Hollywood madness at its finest. Voice acting is an art form in itself, but these creatives are clearly trying to murder it in cold blood. Embarrassing, really.

Adding to the annoyance of hearing this film is composer Brian Tyler's score, which is absolutely horrendous. One of the worst you'll hear this year in fact. It's even more noticeable because the sound editing and design actually complement the colourful animation, whereas the music is bland and unimaginative. There are no more terrible needle drops, but Tyler seems to have decided to be a fan of recycling and inject that insipidity into his score instead of putting it into the rubbish bin where it belongs. From the screenplay to the orchestrations, everything screams "I'm just here to collect my paycheck". Again, embarrassing stuff.

Offensive to one's intelligence and completely void of artistry would be a step too far. It's also less than 90 minutes without studio logos and end credits, which feels like an act of mercy considering the scene structure doesn't have any sort of rhyme or reason. Saying that this is not a movie but more of an advertisement for Nintendo's product catalogue would be a fair assessment, though. Let's-a-go watch something else, yeah?

Smileys: Character design, sound editing

Frowneys: Screenplay, direction, score, casting, story, tone

When you get hit by a talking mushroom during a race, your car might get Toadalled.

1.5/5

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