Last week, the Super Mario Movie came out to be met with great approval from audiences. This was surprising, given that the critic score on rotten tomatoes was only 57%. I personally don’t think it deserves a score this low, but I’m also not sure that it deserves the 97% score that the audience has given it. It’s not amazing, but I think you could categorize it as a good movie. The plot moves very fast which makes it a little jarring, but these are minor critiques. Just as people don’t play the Mario games for their complicated plots, the movie is still fun and delivers a playful experience.

That being said, the plot is still very thin. I was bothered by all of the screentime they put into Mario and Luigi’s relationship in the beginning just for them to be separated immediately. It’s sad that Charlie Day’s Luigi wasn’t used to his full potential, especially given the character’s importance in the rest of the franchise. Luckily, the mediocre plot was largely glossed over by the very fast pace of the movie. The best part of it is probably all of the easter eggs referencing Nintendo games, which are fun to look out for.

Aesthetically, the movie was fantastic. The colorful animation is a big step up from any other Illumination film, and the movie’s widely lauded casting really paid off with fantastic performances from Jack Black, Charlie Day, and Seth Rogan. Of course, Jack Black/Bowser’s “Peaches” song will forever live on in infamy. Other than that, I was annoyed by the random pop songs from the 80s and 90s which pull from the atmosphere a little bit. However, when you get to hear the orchestral versions of the original Mario and Donkey Kong soundtracks it’s a treat.

Overall, I would highly recommend watching this movie with some friends. That being said, I would describe it as an “empty-calorie movie.” It’s fun to watch, but the story doesn’t really provide any emotion and it gets fairly repetitive after a while. Despite that, it’s just a fun movie with all of the color and its beautiful soundtrack.