Video games based on G or PG-rated titles are the new hot property when it comes to cinematic adaptations. The Super Mario Bros Movie, the Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy and Detective Pikachu all brought in big dollars at the box office; proving video game stories can be brought to life on the big screen successfully. While the movies above do have somewhat of a storyline in the games, Minecraft doesn’t. There is no narrative to follow and no story mode to charge through as the game is all about crafting and creating worlds. The game itself has permeated popular culture with its iconic blocky style and instantly recognisable. Adapting the aesthetic into a film, from the outset seemed like an easy cash grab that would only appeal to kids and be completely insufferable for adults. Even with a cast including Jack Black and Jason Momoa plus Napoleon Dynamite directorJared Hess at the helm, there is no possible way that this movie could actually work or be good right? Surprisingly the answer is, yes. A Minecraft Movie successfully blends the block world with human characters and has the entire family in mind when delivering heart, a great story, and for laughs for all ages.
Steve (Jack Black) dreams of being a miner as a child. Refused a position due to a no children allowed in the mines rule, he grows up and finds a portal cube that transports him to the Overworld (Minecraft land). Here he befriends a dog Dennis and uses his ingenuity and love of mining to create a home. One day he finds a black crystal that opens up a portal to the Nether, ruled by a race of evil pigs who want to steal the portal cube and take over the Overworld. When Steve and Dennis get captured in the Ether, Dennis escapes with the cube, leaving Steve trapped and the cube hidden under his waterbed back on Earth. Garrett (Jason Momoa) is a washed-up gamer, still clinging to the world record he won on an arcade game back in the ‘80s. Since then, he has opened a game shop to in which to keep his trophies and has become a life coach. By chance he runs into Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and his sister Natalie (Emma Myers) who, along with their real estate agent and mobile zoo operator Dawn (Danielle Brooks), find Steve’s cube and are pulled into the Overworld.
The four must learn to use their creativity to survive the Overworld that turns from day to night about every 20 minutes, with nighttime bringing out a horde of monsters from the game including zombies, creepers and flame-arrow shooting skeletons. Meanwhile Steve is attempting to escape from the queen of the pigs Malgosha (Rachel House) and is sent back to the Overworld to retrieve the cube and bring it to her. When Steve meets with the four, they devise a plan to travel across the land to get the earth crystal that can get them home. The usual hi-jinx ensue as the group go about their travels, interacting with objects from the game such as ender pearls, minecarts fuelled by redstone and loads of TNT.
One other character really stands out and makes a mark on the film, Jennifer Coolidge’s Vice Principal Marlene of the local school. Her personal brand of comedic timing is on point, and the innuendo with Jason Momoa will have the adults in hysterics. While she is definitely side-lined for the rest of the movie, the sub-plot of her meeting one of the Overworld Villagers who stumbles into her town and taking them out on a date is a great beat to keep jumping back to when the Overworld shenanigans get a little too much.
Jack Black is doing his usual brand of large and loose character: each line feels like an improvisation after a small note from the director as to where the scene needs to go, and the movie is all the better for it. Steve is hilarious, randomly breaking out into catchy rock songs and using his facial expressions and air guitar to fill in any seconds of silence. Jason Momoa keeps up with Black’s energy, and their interplay provides some truly great comedic moments. It’s a shame the other characters kind of fall into the background, with the extremely talented Brooks in the background with a few funny lines every now and then. While the movie tries to put Henry as the heart of the story, being the creative kid and all, he is automatically outshined every time Steve or Garrett enter a scene.
Some of the early trailers for this film showed some pretty horrendous looking CGI, particularly in the Overworld. Fortunately, it looks as though a lot of work has been done on the inhabitants, the Villagers in particular look like they have been ripped straight from the game and put straight into this world. The zombies however do still look a little too human as opposed to their gaming counterparts making some of their set pieces undercooked.
Director Jared Hess has worked with Black before on Nacho Libre and carries over the wackiness and mixes in the randomness of his most famous film Napoleon Dynamite. There are scenes that appear to be improvised with Hess providing a loose guide on where the story needs to go. My expectations for this film were extremely low, especially after the first two trailers that really showed us nothing more than a few glimpses at the Overworld. Being able to infuse the movie with great effects and the feel of the old school ‘80s family adventure similar to The Goonies, Legend and Labyrinth is an achievement.
A Minecraft Movie is not the movie you have been sold. Kids and young teens will be sure to flock to it for the IP alone. However, underneath the IP lies a film that celebrates being inventive, not sticking to the status quo, and the importance of creating something new in a world that overvalues wealth. Jared Hess makes sure that the messages are delivered with a chaotic sincerity that charms across all age groups. It’s a solid 3-star family adventure film for fans of the game (plenty of Easter eggs), while newcomers will enjoy the on-screen talent having the time of their lives.
