Film Review: A Minecraft Movie

Minecraft is known throughout the world as one of the biggest video game franchises of all time. The music, the creatures and blocky aesthetic all combine to make the game look and feel distinctive and different from many others. The survival and crafting aspects work in tandem to deliver a game that feels unique to every player. The result of its success has led to a film adaption of said video game. There is a struggle here though. How do you constrain a narrative for a film that is based on a game where you can make and do whatever you want. The answer is simple — make a fish out of water story where the characters must explore an unknown world.

Jack Black plays Steve, a man who yearns the need to mine. As an adult he fulfils his lifelong wish to explore the mines based outside his town and as he does he discovers a mysterious blue orb, or cube depending on how you interpret the story, and this blue orb is the key to travelling to a mysterious cubic world where everything is cube shaped from villagers to zombies. Steve must protect the real world from a threat that looms in the hidden depths of the overworld. Four unlucky heroes also find the blue orb and are themselves transported to this same world. Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Hansen play these misfits.

A Minecraft Movie is littered with easter eggs for keen eye adventurers who have ploughed hours and hours into the game it is based on. The lore, terminology and rules of the “overworld” sound simple but to people unfamiliar to Minecraft will probably struggle to understand what is going on. The story has a lot going on and lacks no focus. The film is too speedy and you don’t get to know the characters well enough to care about their fates.

The elephant in the room though is the visuals. The film is CGI heavy and it is very much noticeable from start to finish, but not in a good way. A Minecraft Movie is aimed at younger audiences and it shows. The film is like a child on a sugar rush. The jokes are a little senseless at times, the action lacks any heft and the story feels stitched together by staples. There are a lot of things that let the film down but it isn’t all bad.

The chemistry between Jack Black’s Steve and Jason Momoa’s Garrett Garrison is a highlight, with the bickering and back and forth banter providing some of the better laughs for the film. The comedy really shines however with any scene that has Jennifer Coolidge in it, with Coolidge playing a recently single Vice Principle. Her subplot of falling in love with a Villager in the real world is genuinely hilarious and provides a lot of deadpan humour and some jokes for the parents to enjoy too. It is a shame these moments don’t hold the film any better. For better or for worse, A Minecraft Movie is at the very least entertaining to watch.

★★☆☆☆

2/5

Final Verdict:

A Minecraft Movie is bonkers, crazy but full of creativity. The foundation of the game series is there and fans of the video game franchise will gain a lot more out of it than the general audience. Adults and people unfamiliar with the lore and rules set out by Minecraft will struggle to accept the silliness and absurdity of the premise. Jack Black and Jason Momoa both help sell the film with the wise-cracking jokes and comedy quips but it is Jennifer Coolidge who clearly steals the film in every scene she is in. A Minecraft Movie may feel blocky and uneven with some dubious visual effects, but at least it manages to entertain us even if it is a little bit.

Thanks for reading today’s blog!

Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions