By George & Josh Bate
With The Last of Us, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Gran Turismo, film adaptations of popular video games have experienced a reversal in fortunes after years of dour attempts. It was only a matter of time then that Minecraft – one of the most popular video games out there (so popular even bonobos love it) in the 14 years since its initial release – was given the feature film treatment. After years of development, in which directors like Shawn Levy, Rob McElhenney, and Peter Sollett entered and exited the project, the world of Minecraft finally comes to theaters. Trailers and other promotional material have offered somewhat concerning previews of the film and, admittedly, led us to have quite low expectations heading in. And, without much prior exposure to Minecraft nor reverence for its world and characters, low expectations were accompanied by low interest for us. Astoundingly though, exiting the theater after the 100-minute runtime, A Minecraft Movie became our greatest and most delightful cinematic surprise of the year so far.
Based on the video game developed by Mojang Studios, A Minecraft Movie follows four misfits, who find themselves pulled through a portal to the Overworld: an uncanny, cubic realm where creativity thrives. While there, the group encounters Steve (played by Jack Black), a man from Earth who has made a life of his own in Overworld and decides to help them get back to their world while recruiting them to save his new home.
As viewers without much knowledge of or exposure to the video game Minecraft, A Minecraft Movie unfolds in an approachable manner. Easter eggs and hidden details to the game are clearly sprinkled everywhere and, as evidenced by the numerous enthusiastic cheers and claps at our screening, will create great joy for fans of the game. But never did a sense of alienation or confusion creep in. This is aided by a streamlined main plot that never becomes too dense or convoluted. The extent to which A Minecraft Movie satisfies hardcore fans of the game remains to be seen, although those fearing they will be unable to follow the movie due to their lack of connection to the game can be assured this is not the case.
The world itself is beautifully realized through detailed and immersive visual effects. The film seems to capture the aesthetic of the video game to perfection, with every unique creature and block possessing so much personality. A Minecraft Movie doesn’t stun with its cinematography and there are a couple shots (mainly of character dialogue) that feel off, but overwhelmingly the film is a visual marvel. The history of cinema has seen a number of fictional worlds populate the screen over the years, and the Overworld in A Minecraft Movie is the latest that warrants commendation for how stunningly depicted it is.
An approachable story and gorgeous visual effects aren’t sufficient to make A Minecraft Movie the surprising success it is. What drives most of the enjoyment in watching the film is an offbeat, witty sense of humor. Director Jared Hess has forged a reputation for unusual, clever humor with films like Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre, and Gentlemen Broncos. With A Minecraft Movie, Hess’ sense of humor certainly becomes more mainstream (likely due to the fact that the film is written by five screenwriters, none of whom are Hess), but it never loses sight of that flavor of strange comedy that makes Hess’ work so distinct. The film features numerous laugh-out-loud moments, both witty one-liners and physical gags, that cleverly vary in the category of humor they fall into. Family movies like this often err in having humor that overly appeals to a certain age, while falling flat with others. However, this is not the case with Minecraft, a film that strikes a great balance between more mainstream, universally appealing humor and oddball comedy.
At the heart of this sense of humor and the film more broadly are stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa, whose performances alone make the movie worth watching. Funny voices, strange pronunciations, musical interjections, and hilarious body language are just some of the ways in which Black elicits laugh after laugh in the movie. Anyone who has seen an interview with Black will know that his performance here greatly mirrors his real-life personality, but this does not take away from his singular ability to grip audiences with such an off-brand sense of humor. Viewers who typically don’t get much mileage out of Jack Black comedies may find much of the film’s humor to fall flat, although those who do are in for a genuinely funny moviegoing experience.
Unlike Black, Jason Momoa delivers a performance that diverges more from much of his previous work. Momoa plays Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison, a washed-up celebrity who once won the title of Best Gamer in the 80s and who now owns a failing business in rural America. Sporting a hilarious mullet with bangs and a garish pink jacket, Momoa goes loud with this performance, an ambitious turn that could have easily gone awry. Thankfully, with witty dialogue and an invested performance, Momoa’s The Garbage Man rivals Jack Black’s Steve for entertainment value. There is a self-deprecating quality about Momoa’s performance as the typically tough-guy actor plays a hopelessly alone and insecurely confident loser. A testament to Momoa’s performance, this beat never grows tired and, instead, offers a multitude of great laughs. Momoa and Black play brilliantly off one another, and the film is arguably at its best when the two are on-screen exchanging lines and out-unusualing (yes, we know, not a word) one another. Their magnetic chemistry has us desperate to see another Minecraft movie with them or, at the least, another comedy with these two side-by-side.
In comparison to Black and Momoa, the other characters are largely disinteresting. Brother-sister duo Henry and Natalie (played by Sebastian Hansen and Emma Myers respectively) are intended to be the primary emotional touchpoints of the film as they have arrived to a new town following the passing of their mother. Their sibling bond isn’t given the attention necessary to really buy into the emotions of this loss, which leaves a number of scenes between the two uninteresting in comparison to the more compelling visuals and turns from Momoa and Black. The same can be said for Danielle Brooks, who plays Dawn, another member of this gang of misfits who find themselves in Overworld. While Brooks does well given the material at her disposal, she adds very little to the film and doesn’t reach the comedy heights of those around her.
Adding more to the film though is Jennifer Coolidge in what is by far the film’s most unusual element. Coolidge plays Marlene, the Vice Principal of Henry’s school who falls in love with a Villager from the Overworld after she runs him over. Coolidge’s plot takes place entirely on Earth, unlike the rest of the film, and could have easily been cut entirely without any impact on the narrative. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case as Coolidge and her love story with the Villager bring a zany, more adult quality to the film packed with innuendos and hilarious one-liners. The jumps back to the real world to catch up with Coolidge and the Villager are certainly random, but, every time they occurred, they were a welcomed detour from the central narrative.
The game Minecraft affords players with the opportunity to exercise their creativity and imagination in seemingly limitless ways, something A Minecraft Movie tries to convey. The film begins by depicting Sebastian Hansen’s Henry as a creative child, whose intelligence and innovation can get him in trouble at times. The Overworld, in turn, seems like a perfect place for Henry to realize that creativity is not a fault and engage his imagination like never before. The inclusion of this theme is admirable and even necessary given what the game Minecraft is all about, but its depiction in the film is rather one-dimensional. Lines about creativity and imagination seem to be shoehorned into the film with little subtlety, indicating a more nuanced handling of this theme would have likely been more effective. There is more success and emotional resonance, however, found in the film’s theme of found family.
VERDICT: 7/10
Heading into A Minecraft Movie with low expectations and little prior exposure to the Minecraft game, the new family film from Warner Bros. has quickly become our greatest cinematic surprise of the year. An approachable narrative allows for Overworld newcomers to not feel alienated, while a wealth of Easter eggs and hidden details will delight hardcore Minecraft fans. Incredible visual effects to bring the Overworld to life create a visual marvel of a film, only offset at times by a few off-putting character shots. Jack Black and Jason Momoa produce performances that alone make the movie worth watching, with Black delivering every comedic idiosyncrasy in his playbook and Momoa leaning into self-deprecating humor for a performance that is more fun than anything we’ve ever seen him do. While other central characters fall flat, a strange subplot with Jennifer Coolidge works surprisingly well and exemplifies how deftly the film balances mainstream humor with offbeat comedy. The opportunity is missed to capitalize on themes of the necessity of creativity and imagination, although there is more emotionality with the film’s exploration of found family. With A Minecraft Movie, director Jared Hess and company have created.
Kanzi the bonobo, who recently passed away at the age of 44, played Minecraft and showed the universal appeal of the popular video game. For those in a position to do so, please consider donating to Kanzi’s bonobo family at Ape Initiative here.