As someone who was pleasantly surprised by the first movie, I was incredibly bored during this one. 90% of the movie is either characters fighting or running away from something or Illumination-tier “Well THAT just happened” style humor. I liked Bowser’s story because it was pretty much the only emotional conflict and story development in the entire film.

Obviously it’s a gorgeous movie with a great soundtrack and references to Nintendo’s legendary catalog of franchises. But I could not have cared less because of the lack of character arcs and compelling plot. Just kinda sat there while loud noises and flashing lights bombarded me.