That’s basically what I think of it. In all fairness, Bowser deciding he’s a bad guy again was handled fine. Then again, Bowser and his son is the only real meaningful plotline in here. I was able to enjoy the non-stop action as a Nintendo nerd, but the story is definitely worse than the first movie.

A few annoying things:

-Bowser lets himself get captured by the Honey Bee kingdom, only to suddenly get rescued by his son, in something like the 3rd or 4th time his UFO shows up to move the plot along. Why couldn’t Bowser start a rebellion or just free himself? It’s not like he was a total wuss even if full of self-doubt.

-The whole bit with Peach and Rosalina doesn’t have the needed emotional impact. Rosalina starts off an apparently important character and is reduce to a macguffin. I really felt the negative reviews when Peach finishes reading the book, just begins to process what she read and then it suddenly cuts to the next part.

-Yoshi and Fox have no character outside their basic attitude and a few reactions. They’re little more than glorified plot devices. Which is a shame, because the latter’s inclusion could’ve been more interesting.

-Wart seems like he’s going to be a recurring secondary villain, but after contacting the Bowsers he just goes away (And my man Mouser had a crappy showing).

-Nothing of the Bros’ civilian lives. Something with the family would’ve been good for set-up.

-Donkey Kong not returning, while not a surprise, took away that rivalry with Mario which gave the first movie some weight. That bit where Mario and Fox stare each other down, only to be completely cool, came off as a lame fakeout.

Storywise, most of what carried it for me was Bowser trying to reform and Junior bringing him back to villainy. And I wouldn’t cut the dystopian casino bit. The final battle with the Bowsers was also great.