I used to be very hesitant about video game movies, but after loving movies like the previous Super Mario, Sonic, and Detective Pikachu, I’ve become much more excited for them. Where the first Mario movie was almost exclusively in the Mushroom Kingdom, it was a surprise to see that we’re already heading to space with Galaxy. So going into this, I was wondering just how well such a drastic transition would be, and in short, I was not disappointed.

The story for the movie is very fast-paced. Bowser Jr. kidnaps Rosalina, and it’s up to Mario, Peach, and the others to rescue her. The characters are very quickly moving from place to place, as the goal is clearly to add as many references to the Mario franchise as possible. I can see how someone can look at this through the lens of how movies are often enjoyed, and be a bit thrown off by the pace. Obstacles that would probably take a lot longer in most movies are resolved almost instantly here. With that said, I truly feel like the story here is not meant to be loved the way you would the tale of your average movie. Instead, this is a love letter to Nintendo fans on a grander scale than the previous one. It’s meant to give fans rapid-fire smiles with the amazing usage of the elements we’ve seen in the years we’ve played the games.

I was constantly grinning and even had to restrain my own reactions to not be loud as I saw references to not only Mario Galaxy, but Odyssey, Sunshine, and even much older titles in the series. There were some very clever ways to reference previous games that I adored. Since it’s part of the trailers, I’ll also mention how the inclusion of Star Fox was done very well. He was a fun addition to the cast, and I was initially disappointed that he was revealed in a trailer, as I wanted the shock of not expecting such a reference. Without spoiling anything, he was not the only one. So in the end, I did get what I wanted.

The characters are great too. They have much more emotional depth than I expected, as we get a dynamic between Bowser and Bowser Jr. that has not been this emotionally touching since Sunshine. We get a lot of warm and cozy moments when introduced to Rosalina, and overall, everyone was amazing to watch. With everything happening so fast, I was worried that we won’t get enough time to appreciate all of the new to the big screen characters, but I really feel like the movie does a great job giving them plenty of time to shine.

The visuals are also amazing. This is why I’m glad we are already doing references to Super Mario Galaxy. I felt like those titles were some of the most visually impressive ones, and they are even better here. It’s a beautiful movie to watch, and there were a ton of moments where I was in awe of the visuals.

So, overall, the thing I have to emphasize is that this is not a movie for typical movie lovers. Its pacing is far faster than what you would be used to with how most of them handle story progression. It’s a love letter to Nintendo fans on a much more grandiose scale, and the pacing is done to really get it to that level. The Mario franchise is not one to really tell deep and slow-paced stories, so the way this story is told feels really on brand with what we’re used to playing the games. There were so many references to not only Mario, but to Nintendo as a whole that I know I missed many of them. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll see where I can pre-order the Blu-ray.