The Mosley Review: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Without a doubt the number 1 genre to receive the dreaded sequelitis treatment is none other than animated films. What is sequelitis you ask? Well, for the uninitiated, sequelitis is when a popular film receives a sequel or many sequels that greatly expand the franchise while forgetting what made the first entry special and overcrowding the often none existent story with flash and not enough grace. Like the straight to VHS sequels of the 90's and the current Despicable Me and Minions franchise, I feared this would happen here, but not this soon. I really enjoyed the simplicity and yet complex nature of the storytelling of the first Super Mario Brothers film. Sure it had its moments of fan service thrown at you, but it made sense. Now comes the new sequel and from the trailer and title I knew this film lost the plot. I wanna say halfway through the film, I was wondering what the point of this film was again and why are we here. Its a planet / galaxy trotting adventure that has so many plates spinning that not even the person that set up the plates knew where it all began. I'm not looking for Shakespeare when it comes to these film, but at least a coherent and engaging story. Not to say that I didn't enjoy the visuals, but I just wish this improved on what worked in the first film.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day return as Mario and Luigi and they both were good as they were in the first film. I did enjoy that they got to play around more, but I kind of didn't like how weak was Mario this time around. He was sort of a side character in his own story. Luigi got more time to shine as he delivers some great comedic moments. Donald Glover joins the cast as our favorite dinosaur, Yoshi. Yoshi steals the film as expected and he was fun to watch as the loveable companion to Mario and Luigi. Anya Taylor-Joy continues to be the awesome action heroine of the franchise, Princess Peach. I enjoyed the possible love story brewing between her and Mario in the first film and this film addresses it a bit. I hated that he was friendzoned for the majority of the story, but by the end there is hope. Brie Larson was great and loving as Princess Rosalina. She was the adoptive mother of the Lumas children and enjoyed her motherly treatment and defense of them. Jack Black returns as Bowser and I loved that he had a different side of him. He was more friendly, but his rage and hatred for Mario wasn't too far underneath the surface. It was cool to see a villain become an ally for a bit. Benny Safdie was fantastic as his long lost son, Bowser Jr. Benny brings so much energy and venom to the sinister personality of the character and I loved it. The instant chemistry between both of them was the best evil paring you could ask for. Their family bond was both heartwarming and darkly hilarious. Glen Powell joins the franchise as Fox McCloud and he was perfect as our favorite hotshot pilot. When he bursts onto the screen, it brought a smile to my face.
The score by returning composer Brian Tyler was awesome as expected. He continues to effortlessly incorporate the themes of the Mario universe in smart and catchy ways that elevate the action and sometimes warm your heart. Like I said before, the biggest problem this film suffers from is excess. I may not be the biggest fan of everything Nintendo, but I did feel as if I being told to get excited because this character is here and that character is there. It was pretty overwhelming with cameos that really were an excuse to create another prolonged action scene. The film truly lacked any form of focus or plot structure and I was saddened by that. This one is definitely for the kids and hardcore Nintendo fans, but I know that they can do better and not become the other franchises I listed before. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
