The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and all the images you see in this review are owned by Universal Pictures
Directed by Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic
I can’t say that I was a fan of the first movie, but I did appreciate what it accomplished for the audience it was aiming for. A sequel was inevitable given its billion dollar box office, but it did manage to catch my interest with its promise of a space-faring adventure with Rosalina from the Galaxy series of games. Still, this is Illumination we’re talking about, whose work can be charitably described as passable, and trying to encompass the cosmic side of the Mario universe is no small feat even for a studio with some artistic panache; let alone one whose greatest contribution was ripping off the Rabbids. Can the Mario brothers drag a great movie out of this middle-of-the-road studio, or will this be yet another average outing for the venerable Nintendo franchise? Let’s find out!!
The Mushroom Kingdom has stayed relatively peaceful since the Mario Brothers (Chris Pratt and Charlie Day) toppled the big bad King Bowser (Jack Black); leaving Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) to rule unabated with an iron fist and an army of toads! The duo even has a new sidekick named Yoshi (Donald Glover) who is as friendly as he is adorable, but while things may be looking up for this little corner of the universe, terrible things are brewing in the furthest reaches of space. The Princess of the Cosmos Rosalina (Brie Larson) is kidnapped by Bowser Jr (Benny Safdie) and one of her children, a Luma much like the one we saw in the first film, manages to escape and get a message to Princess Peach. With such a powerful princess in trouble, she wastes no time in heading off to the stars, leaving our plumbers and a somewhat reformed, and also tiny, Bowser to follow far behind while dodging the nefarious machinations of Bowser’s son. What is Bowser Jr planning to do with Rosalina’s power, and does his father have a role to play in either stopping or supporting his son? Will the Mario Brothers catch up to Peach in time to help her save the day, and does she have a greater role to play in all this than even she realizes? What does it mean that the universe is full of interconnected worlds that we can easily reach from star portals!? Just imagine the implications! And the possibilities for cameos and references!
The Reviewers Unite 