There was a time in Hollywood when any time a studio tried to adapt a beloved video game into a movie, it would be cursed, ending up up unanimously panned by critics, audiences, and fans alike. Last year’s “Borderlands” (dir. Eli Roth) was a reminder of those dark days.
However, in more recent times, the video game movie curse appears to be broken, with fans and audiences celebrating the recent adaptations of films such as “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, “Five Nights at Freddy’s”, and the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise (which have notably been favored by critics).
With the success of those films, it was only been a matter of time until Minecraft got a movie, and while the one we got is decidedly not good, it is still entertaining enough to provide a fun movie-going experience.
To start with some critiques, the plot for the movie is all over the place, largely due to there being no clear main character. You would think that Steve (played by Jack Black) would be the main character, since he is who we open the movie with. Adding to this belief would be the fact that characters in the Minecraft game itself spawn in as either a “Steve” or an “Alex” depending on their gender.
However, the plot quickly shifts to Garrett (played by Jason Momoa), who we know as an 80s gamer who runs a failing video game store. Lastly, the plot shifts yet again, this time focusing on two kids named Henry and Natalie (played by Sebastian Hansen and Emma Myers) before they all find their way into the world of Minecraft.
After that happens, it is anyone’s guess as to who the audience is supposed to be following along with.
There really is not much of a story once the team abandons the real world. The writers seemed like they had a hard time trying to make a good story out of a game that is not plot driven. This makes sense; Minecraft is an open-world game where players can build anything they want, upgrading tools and fighting to survive.
In that regard, you could say the movie remained faithful. At the same time, for a game that encourages creativity, the movie is anything but. It pretty much plays as a feature length meme compilation, which does not work for everybody, but I just could not help but have fun with it.
Jack Black in particular gives an over-the-top performance as Steve, and thanks to him, this movie is very quotable. His line deliveries of: “I… am Steve!”, “Flint and steel!”, and most notably, “Chicken jockey!”, make for some easy laughs. Jason Momoa looked like he was having fun as well, considering he does not get to flex his comedic muscles nearly as much as his physical ones.
The standout comedic moment would have to have been the subplot involving Jennifer Coolidge falling in love with a villager. I cannot make this stuff up.
The movie’s greatest strength is its visuals. It is a very colorful movie, and real effort was put into recreating the blocky world of Minecraft and everything inhabiting it. When the human characters enter this world, it feels jarring, but I got used to it after a while, since it is not a film you are meant to take seriously.
Overall, “A Minecraft Movie” is the rare movie that is so bad it’s good. Kids, and those who played the game, will appreciate and enjoy it much more than the casual moviegoer, but if you switch your brain off and try not to think about the plot too much, you may end up having a good time as well.
