give it a year and i will feel completely differently about this movie, but having just watched it today, i fucking loved it
like, here's the thing. the entire movie is nonstop fan service. like there wasn't a single scene without fan service, even if it's super obscure (there was one reference in particular that i'm really impressed with myself for catching, i'll put it at the end cuz it's technically a spoiler i guess even though it isn't really, but yeah). and it was So much fun. even just, like, predicting when things were gonna show up or happen (and being right most of the time lol). it had me hooked the whole way through
and i think it's impressive that they managed to make a movie that crams in so much fan service, and yet still make something enjoyable for people who haven't played any mario games. like it's just a Fun movie the whole way through, you don't actually have to know anything
despite all of that, as a movie critic, like, if you're reviewing the movie based on its plot/narrative, it sucks ass. you realize pretty quickly that it's a movie where stuff just, happens. like, there is a plot, i guess? but if you think too much about it there's so many scenes that just really don't make any sense, like it's just to progress the plot forward. there's no coherent narrative throughout any of it. hence why i say that give it a year and i'm gonna think the movie sucked, because yeah
and yet, none of that really matters i guess, cuz i was thoroughly entertained the whole way through. i do wish the movie had a more coherent narrative though. cuz some people have said that it's not trying to be a "good" movie, it's trying to just be fun, and that's totally valid, but i don't think you have to pick one or the other. you can have a movie that's packed with fan service and is just a fun entertaining not-too-serious time, while simultaneously having a "good" movie. and the mario galaxy movie doesn't even try to do that
and because of that, it doesn't have any rewatch value for me. i have no desire to watch it again. it's similar to the first mario movie, where like, i can't really remember what happens in it. like, broad strokes i can remember it, i guess, but stuff just Happened, without any real reason (the in-movie reasons are really weak and you're not really meant to think too much about them because they fall apart like immediately if you do)
all in all, i still recommend the movie to pretty much anyone. you will have a fun time watching it. i didn't feel let down at all after watching it, but after thinking about it critically it still feels like a let down. but also it's a great movie. i said after the movie ended that 10 year old me would've Loved it so much, but then i realized that it's not just 10 year old me, i'm 22 and i loved it exactly as much as i would've back then, because i grew up with mario and that part of me still exists
conclusion: i love mario so much, like my entire childhood is owned by a megacorporation and i don't even care
thoughts on the big reveal/twist
click me for spoilers!
(first of all i mentioned that there's a reference i got that i'm impressed i got: they referenced the 1993 super mario bros movie. and that's just so cool. even if you saw the 1993 film it's so easy to miss)
the thing with peach and rosalina being siblings is actually so fucking stupid though. it spits in the face of all pre-established lore of rosalina as a character. it almost feels disrespectful to mario galaxy, cuz like, that game had a storybook, and it's a really emotional story, and i can't confirm if this is true but i've heard that shigeru miyamoto fucking hated the storybook, because he thinks games should just be Fun, he doesn't really see video games as an art form. and i guess that's valid? but that really comes across in the movie; everything is so dumbed down to the point where they just give up on doing anything besides just providing entertainment. and i don't think they had to do that.