Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 38 minutes, Directors – Aaron Horvith, Michael Jelenic
When Bowser’s (Jack Black) son (Benny Safdie) kidnaps space princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) to use her powers so the pair can control the universe, Mario (Chris Pratt) and co must venture into the galaxy to save Rosalina and beyond.
With her role as Princess Rosalina in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Brie Larson has shattered the record for the highest hourly rate ever paid. I can only presume this is the case because with her character having been featured heavily in trailers, and Larson a prominent face on the promotional trail, it comes as quite a surprise that she must have only spent an hour in the recording booth with around ten lines of dialogue; largely confined to the opening. For the rest of the film she’s an afterthought, or is just kept awkwardly silent as if the writers just forgot to give her lines in scenes where plenty of others speak.
Donald Glover (who apparently campaigned to be cast in his role), too, must have had an easy day at work repeating his character Yoshi’s name and otherwise uttering gibberish. Yoshi’s inclusion in this sequel to the highest grossing film of 2023 is largely a case of ‘just because’. It’s the reason for almost everything that happens here, a barrage of easter eggs and musical cues shouting to the audience ‘hey, remember this!?’ as references to the Mario game franchise, and beyond, are prioritised over a plot.
As Bowser Jr (Benny Safdie) kidnaps Rosalina in order to use her power to free his father (Jack Black) so they can control the universe Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) set out to save her and the galaxy, whilst Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) set out on their own adventure. Scenes jump back and forth between different events and characters with a barrage of visually and audibly loud sequences which provide little to engage. It’s difficult for a film this loud and chaotic to feel thoroughly boring, yet somehow I found myself struggling to stay awake as the clutter of the poster made its way into the editing.
Action scenes feel as if the film is cutting around itself so that shots switch away from the action, or sit just outside of it, as if trying to avoid properly showing it in a succession of rapid cuts. All while still trying to throw more and more references at the screen. It’s as if the creatives don’t entirely have confidence in the screenplay – hinted at in just how starry the voice cast is, relying on names over anything else. Yet, the new additions get almost nothing to do in utterly thankless roles. The same could be said for returning characters; Peach may have dialogue, but even her strand feels like a side plot largely given because she’s Peach and needs something to do.
There’s more of the same here in terms of both humour and what’s thrown at the screen and audience in the hope of entertaining, although misjudging what’s entertaining rather than just whether it will be or not. Trying to appeal to fans of the games, there’s little structure for anyone else, or even them as it will most likely work best for the youngest audience members (although at the screening I saw this at there was little laughter or response from even them – The Magic Faraway Tree had a much more engaged family audience). It’s a film that would border on overload if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s so dull. Maybe it would be a different experience if I could name which game which item or power-up comes from, but even then that’s just a reliance on audience nostalgia and participation, avoiding both a properly formed narrative and characters who actually have something to do.
Trying to branch out into the galaxy, the world seems a lot smaller when it’s limited to game references which do little more than simply act as a reference. With barely used new characters and a shambolically-assembled set of subplots and action scenes it’s a bland mess that doesn’t seem to have confidence in its own material.
Just A Little Bit Random 