TL;DR – It is a film that absolutely captures the essence of the camp it is adapting. Even if all the added features should have been enough to torpedo the movie, it remained a solid kid’s film, even if it made some questionable choices.  

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film

A Minecraft Movie

This was such an interesting movie for me to review, not in the least that it has been in devilment hell for ten years or so, which makes it fascinating to see what was finally produced. But also, this is a film about a video game that I have probably had my second-longest relationship with. Every year, I dive back in and build a new Minecraft world from scratch, discovering all the wild changes that have been made since last time. But video game adaptations can be very much hit or miss, and that long of a production period does give me pause.  

So, to set the scene, one day, a boy really wanted to be a miner, but no kids were allowed. Time went on, and when Steve (Jack Black) became an adult, he ran back into those mines, found a cube and activated a portal to another cube-based world. It was a joy to create until, one day, he discovered a portal to the Nether, ruled by Malgosha (Rachel House/Allan Henry), who loves gold and hates creativity. Forced to send his dog fleeing with the cube, the portal remained undiscovered until one day when four weird and different characters, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) from the town of Chuglass rediscover it. When they step through, they find themselves thrown into a world where everything from the trees to the grass to the sheep are all now cubes. It is a wild world that becomes even more dangerous when the sun goes down.

We are going to break down this film into its components, and the first thing I want to talk about is the visuals. From an adaptation perspective, this movie took the Pokémon: Detective Pikachu route, being very faithful with regard to the silhouettes but having a touch of fun with the textures. There is this moment when they step into this world, and you see it in all its glory, and you can’t help but smile. The best example of this is the Villager’s village under a grand rocky arch. It feels like something you would build in the game when creating in the landscape. The actual effects they use in this film are pretty good because even though a lot of this movie was filmed on a blue screen or The Volume, you don’t feel the disconnect that you can get. Part of this is because the digital artists were experts at compositing. They also took the time to get the lighting right on set so you feel connected at every stage.

A surprising amount of the Minecraft film is actually set in the ‘real world’ or as real as one can get with New Zealand pretending to be a slightly odd Indiana. But that does give us the basis for our human characters, which, unlike what was shown in the first trailer, are essentially quite good. Jason Momoa completely captures that vibe of someone who is inherently good, also very full of themselves, but maybe don’t trust him near your fine china. He commits to every moment in the film, and you can’t help but connect with the performance. They didn’t need to put in that backstory for Henry and Natalie, but I did buy that Sebastian Hansen and Emma Myers were siblings with a supporting relationship, but still one they are working out. I would have liked Danielle Brooks to get a bit more to do, but she is always a delight on screen as the only adult in the proceedings. Jack Black is well Jack Black. I mean, they sneak some Kung Fu Panda and School of Rock references into the equation. If you like Jack Black, then you will like him here, but as always, your mileage will vary.   

The next question is: how do you make a narrative film about a video game that famously does not have a story? Yer, sure, there is a vague lore and game progression, but that is not a story in any absolute sense. Part of this is by showing that you absolutely understand the property that you are adapting, with pitch-perfect references like a pig with a crown. You also do this by having the competing pushes of trying to get everyone home while also trying to stop an invasion from the Nether. These twin goals provide enough tension to keep the story moving, but they are also pitched to a younger audience, so it is not a deep experience. However, even though it is a relatively simple story, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t take the chance to take some wild swings. One of the main themes is that parents undermining their children’s creativity turns them into villains. Also, cowards destroy because creating is hard, and they are lazy. Watching this film is like walking into a house for a kid’s party that has been wholly baby-proofed, but they have a horror film on the TV, and there are real swords in the gift bags.

One of these wild moments is when a villager escapes to the ‘real world’ and then gets hit by Vice Principal Marlene’s (Jennifer Coolidge) car in what might be the oddest product placement moments I have ever witnessed in film. Usually, I would find it annoying when you cut away from the main story for a subplot that doesn’t matter. But here is where they have some of the best jokes in the film, Finish, a bunch of cameos, and moments where you sit there wondering how all this happened. However, while there are some completely wild choices, there are some profoundly safe choices that hurt the film. One of these is the music. They make the same mistake as The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Uncharted by not using the music from the game but poorly placed needle drops. The Jack Black songs were fun, but just using Minecraft’s soundtrack at the start and end was not enough.  

In the end, do we recommend A Minecraft Movie? If you are someone who is there for the nostalgia, or around 10, then absolutely I would recommend it. The kids in my screening were having a ball from start to finish, and if you are a parent and the school holidays are coming up, then this is a no-brainer. But for a film that is struggling to find a reason for its being there, I am not sure it covered all it needed to do during the runtime. Have you watched A Minecraft Movie? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked A Minecraft Movie, we would recommend to you The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of A Minecraft Movie
Directed by – Jared Hess
Screenplay by – Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James & Chris Galletta
Story by – Allison Schroeder, Chris Bowman & Hubbel Palmer
Based on – Minecraft by Mojang Studios
Music by – Mark Mothersbaugh
Cinematography by – Enrique Chediak
Edited by – James Thomas
Production/Distribution Companies – Legendary Pictures, Mojang Studios, Vertigo Entertainment, On the Roam, Domain Entertainment, Universal Pictures & Warner Bros. Pictures
Starring – Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel House, Jemaine Clement, Jared Hess, Matt Berry, Kate McKinnon, Allan Henry, Bram Scott-Breheny, Moana Williams, Hiram Garcia, Batanai Mashingaidze, Tommy Broadmore, Rowan Bacal, Brennan Standing & Dylan Chitekwe
Rating – Australia: PG; Canada: PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: PG; United Kingdom: PG; United States: PG