Hello everybody and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be talking about what is shaping up to be the biggest movie of the year thus far, A Minecraft Movie! This is of course based off of the massively popular video game of the same which was first launched in 2011 by Mojang Studios. It is to this day the best selling video game of all time with over 300 million copies sold and an active and devoted fanbase that continues to grow with younger generations also getting in on the sandbox fun. With that sort of popularity, it was inevitable that a feature film would get made and after many years of development, it has finally arrived with director Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre fame at the helm. I’ll admit right now that while I am definitely aware of Minecraft and much of what is in it and have many friends who are avid fans, it was never something that I myself was really that into growing up. So this review will be from the perspective of a relative outsider to the property in the sense that I have had more indirect contact with it than actually playing the game and following the lore. I’ll admit that the first teaser (like for others) for this didn’t do much for me, but subsequent trailers were better and I was interested in seeing what this would be like. Was this able to win me over into becoming a bigger fan of the property? Let’s jump right in and see what this film was able to craft given the materials it had!
The film starts out with voiceover exposition by Steve, who yearned for the mines as a child (sorry, couldn’t resist) and came back as an adult to fulfill that dream. During his escapades, he discovers mysterious artifacts known as the Orb of Dominance and the Earth Crystal. When combined they create a portal to the Overworld, a place of limitless possibilities where one can make things out of blocks. Taking full advantage of this, Steve lives life to the fullest here, until one day he stumbles upon a portal to a dimension known as The Nether where an army of Piglins led by the evil Malgosha, wants to take over the Overworld. Not wanting his newfound home to be destroyed he sends his trusted dog Dennis, to hide these artifacts on Earth in a town known as Chuglass, Idaho. After some time a former 80s video game champion known as Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison, finds the items at an auction and through various circumstances, him, a kid with a knack for creativity, Henry, his hard working sister, Natalie, and their real estate agent, Dawn, end up going into the Overworld where they must go on an adventure to save it before it’s too late.
Right off the bat, one thing that I do appreciate about this film is, regardless of how one feels about it, at the very least it very much feels like Jared Hess’s movie through and through. He brings his absurdist style of comedy to the table and it honestly works pretty well within the wacky world of Minecraft. There are so many bits of just random off the wall jokes coming in out of nowhere and it is that style of randomness and (I mean this as a compliment) stupidity that really worked for me especially with the performers playing it up so well. I especially think the comedy shines best in the beginning, when we are getting introduced to the characters, as I feel Hess and the various writers involved were able to balance that comedy with some genuine solid heart as we learn about the situations these characters are in. Plus, one can sense the love the team has for the game with there being various easter eggs thrown in (I’m sure die hards caught a lot more of them than me), but also with how the film aims to be a celebration of creativity and the value it has in a world where things can be quite dour and reality stings a bit too hard. It’s a familiar message, but one that fits what this property is all about.
That being said, I do think the film suffers from quite a few issues that prevent it from being as successful as it could’ve been. For one, once the character start to go on their journey, the film just becomes a fairly standard adventure quest to look for a McGuffin that lacked a lot of the solid character building that was present in the introductory beats. Due to that, a lot of the arcs that are set up fail to get properly fleshed out and few of the intended attempts at emotion land as hard as they should’ve. It honestly felt like an inferior riff on the last two Jumanji movies from a story perspective and instead of really developing the ideas it has in mind, it just kind of goes about trying to cram in as many elements of the game into the script as possible. Even the comedy, which is a highlight of the feature and is pretty consistent in regards to entertainment, starts to wear off at some points with certain jokes just getting a bit repetitive. It is frustrating as I do think there is some good entertainment value here, but I just wish there as more to be invested in.
Much has been said about the film’s visual style just from the trailers, and is it uncanny at times in the final films? Sure, but honestly I got used to it as most everything honestly looks fine. Enrique Chediak’s cinematography is vibrant and colorful with the Overworld being a fun looking environment with some creative production value that brings the blocky style of Minecraft to life in a way that manages to make things look interesting. I think the various animals that are present are quite cute and I do think most of the elements from the games were translated pretty well from the Creepers to the Zombies to the skeletons, etc. Sure, the more humanoid beings such as the villagers and pillagers have an… odd look to them, but even then I got used to the visual style as whole quickly and at the very least everything looks like it is from Minecraft. I’ll admit that the green screen can be pretty evident at times, but it was not as bad as I thought it would be based off of the trailers.
I also do think Jared Hess’s direction is able to make all of this work because he brings so much energy that matches this wacky world and is able to do a solid job of matching things up with the not too serious tone. It definitely will not be for everyone, but for me I thought there was something endearing in how Hess goes about portraying things here. In regards to the action, it is a pretty solid on the whole. I think there are some truly enjoyable sequences that manage to be genuinely exciting with an aerial flight scene being the highlight as it is fast paced, had an inventive use of the setting, and is has some really strong comedic moments. I also thought the final battle had quite a bit of fun imagery and some neat pay offs, even if I also felt it including quite a few of the other set pieces got pretty repetitive at times. It also did feel like the film was built around those set pieces with the story being an excuse to get to them which wouldn’t be as much of a problem if the story itself were more compelling. Hey, at the very least Mark Mothersbaugh is able craft a really neat score that likely takes cues from the game while also being a fun set of compositions in their own right, nailing the adventurous and comedic feel of the film down pat.
The aspect that I think elevates the film a bit for me is just how game the cast is. The material may not be the best, but they for sure try their best inject everything with as much personality and campiness as possible and it definitely helped keep my attention. The main star is of course Jack Black who portrays Steve and no surprise, he shows once again why he is one of the funniest and charismatic talents working today. He is just this fiery force of nature that just goes for it with no shame, excelling in delivering all of these exposition dumps with the energy of someone who does show love for the property. He even manages to give in some solid physical comedy when needed and gets to show off his vocals multiple times with some amusing songs at often times random moments. I also like the spirit of the character and how yearns for creativity and while I wish more of that was explored (he mostly just dumps Minecraft lore for most of the movie), I did like how learned the value of sharing this creativity with others. The other big stand out for me was Jason Momoa as Garrett who manages to bring his comedic skills for another fun performance. He successfully plays up the character’s too cool for school attitude and feels like someone stuck in the 80s. Despite the macho bravado though, it serves as a front for someone who is very much adrift in life and has trouble dealing with reality as an adult wanting to re live his glory days. Momoa also plays that part surprisingly well and his character has arguably the most interesting and (by defaults) fleshed out arc. Him and Black also have a very amusing bromance that sometimes borders on romance at times.
The other three of the main group are also giving it their all as well… even though their characters aren’t given nearly as much interesting to do. Sebastian Hansen is technically among the leads here as Henry and I like the idea of his arc where he finally gets to enter world of his imagination after the real world looks down upon him. Despite Hansen’s best efforts, his arc isn’t really developed in meaningful way and his relationship with the other characters just feels rushed in certain areas. This unfortunately true when it comes to his sibling dynamic with the protective but caring, Natalie, which is set up well but is glossed over once the adventure begins. Despite the best efforts of Emma Myers and Danielle Brooks, both Natalie and Dawn end up getting the short end of the stick, getting little to do except comment on the absurdity of the situation they are in. On the villain side of things I quite enjoyed Rachel House’s voice performance as Malgosha who makes for an entertaining big bad and one whose motivation as silly as it is, nicely fits in with the themes of the movie and Hess himself makes an amusing appearance as a high-ranking piglin named General Chungus… no I’m not making that up. Oh and Jennifer Coolidge shows up in a small role as Vice Principal Marlene who gets her very own superfluous subplot involving her falling in love with a villager who wanders into our world. As useless to the story it is, it still provided among the bigger laughs of the picture so I can’t complain.
On the whole, as someone who is a casual knower of the property, I found A Minecraft Movie to be mixed bag with plenty of stuff that works and other things that don’t. It starts out strong, has some really fun comedy throughout, has a good message at its heart, it’s colorful, the action can be entertaining, and the cast brings a lot of energy to their roles. However, it is held back by a messy and generic story, an overreliance on exposition and lore, some repetitive parts, and a lot of the characters end up feeling underdeveloped. I think those who are big fans of the games will definitely find a lot to appreciate and enjoy about it and I think kids are going to eat it up as it is harmless and does provide enough solid entertainment value. On the other hand, if there are fans hoping for something that utilizes the brand new to tell a compelling narrative, I don’t know if this is the one. As someone who isn’t a die hard fan, I think there is enough here for me to enjoy, but it isn’t quite the pleasant surprise I was hoping it would be. Of course, the movie is going to be huge regardless of my thoughts and I am happy that it seems to be resonating with audiences. Plus, even though I didn’t love it, I did find it to be a more fun newbie experience than Five Nights at Freddy’s which is something (hopefully I like the follow up more later this year).
Side Note: There is a post credits scene at the very end of the credits. If you are a fan, I highly recommend staying for it as it teases the direction in which a follow up could possibly go and is a nice nod to the games.
Rating: C+
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