“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” Reviews Are In

Reviews are out for Universal Pictures, Illumination and Nintendo’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and the results aren’t good. With 75 reviews counted, the film sits at just 44% on Rotten Tomatoes and a woeful 37/100 on Metacritic.

The latter makes it one of the worst scoring films of the year, only a little ahead of “Scream 7” (35), “Mercy” & “Return to Silent Hill” (34), “Psycho Killer” (25), “The Strangers: Chapter 3” (19) and “Melania” (5). In both cases it’s considerably behind the first “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” which scored a 59% on RT and a 46/100 on MC.

Criticisms of the film seem to be the same as those of the first film. Namely, nothing much in the way of plot or stakes and it boasts a relentless fast pace with a ton of fan service, but doesn’t seem to know what to do with its characters.

Here’s a sampling of reviews for the title:

“Is it a ride that includes clear story structure, comprehensible stakes, or narrative momentum? Not really. Is it a ride featuring a lot of bright colors, familiar characters, and the occasional deranged moment? Absolutely.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence

“There’s a flat empty nothingness to “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” even more than its flat empty predecessor, and that’s a huge bummer.” – Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times

“Whereas a cosmic beast like Cthulhu or Azathoth at least possess all-knowing knowledge in addition to their sanity-breaking powers of terror, a horror like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie retains no vaguely redeeming qualities.” – Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail

“Of course it’s intended for little kids, but it surely didn’t need to be such a visually dull screensaver of a movie, with even more of the cheesy, Euro-knockoff look of that first film.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“These comparisons are meant to evoke warm nostalgia, but the old-fashioned game sequences actually prove far more exhilarating and charming than what this leaden blockbuster has to offer.” – Tim Grierson, Screen

“There’s barely a plot here. Not a single memorable character. Not even another piano ditty for Jack Black to sing. It’s a series of large, vaguely connected explosions.” – Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

“There’s no sense of discovery when it comes to these planets, meticulously created to resemble the games without nary a wrinkle of surprise to be found. The animation style doesn’t help: this galaxy is an impossibly shiny one.” – Wilson Chapman, Indiewire

“So lacking in substance and purpose that after a while you can’t even hear the dialogue over the incessant sound of Aristotle’s ghost punching himself.” – William Bibbiani, The Wrap

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has begun rolling out worldwide and is currently open in Australia with much of the rest of the globe getting it within the next few hours.

Reviews are out for Universal Pictures, Illumination and Nintendo’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and the results aren’t good. With 75 reviews counted, the film sits at just 44% on Rotten Tomatoes and a woeful 37/100 on Metacritic.

The latter makes it one of the worst scoring films of the year, only a little ahead of “Scream 7” (35), “Mercy” & “Return to Silent Hill” (34), “Psycho Killer” (25), “The Strangers: Chapter 3” (19) and “Melania” (5). In both cases it’s considerably behind the first “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” which scored a 59% on RT and a 46/100 on MC.

Criticisms of the film seem to be the same as those of the first film. Namely, nothing much in the way of plot or stakes and it boasts a relentless fast pace with a ton of fan service, but doesn’t seem to know what to do with its characters.

Here’s a sampling of reviews for the title:

“Is it a ride that includes clear story structure, comprehensible stakes, or narrative momentum? Not really. Is it a ride featuring a lot of bright colors, familiar characters, and the occasional deranged moment? Absolutely.” – Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence

“There’s a flat empty nothingness to “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” even more than its flat empty predecessor, and that’s a huge bummer.” – Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times

“Whereas a cosmic beast like Cthulhu or Azathoth at least possess all-knowing knowledge in addition to their sanity-breaking powers of terror, a horror like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie retains no vaguely redeeming qualities.” – Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail

“Of course it’s intended for little kids, but it surely didn’t need to be such a visually dull screensaver of a movie, with even more of the cheesy, Euro-knockoff look of that first film.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“These comparisons are meant to evoke warm nostalgia, but the old-fashioned game sequences actually prove far more exhilarating and charming than what this leaden blockbuster has to offer.” – Tim Grierson, Screen

“There’s barely a plot here. Not a single memorable character. Not even another piano ditty for Jack Black to sing. It’s a series of large, vaguely connected explosions.” – Clarisse Loughrey, Independent

“There’s no sense of discovery when it comes to these planets, meticulously created to resemble the games without nary a wrinkle of surprise to be found. The animation style doesn’t help: this galaxy is an impossibly shiny one.” – Wilson Chapman, Indiewire

“So lacking in substance and purpose that after a while you can’t even hear the dialogue over the incessant sound of Aristotle’s ghost punching himself.” – William Bibbiani, The Wrap

“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has begun rolling out worldwide and is currently open in Australia with much of the rest of the globe getting it within the next few hours.