A Minecraft Movie isn’t made for everyone. Kids will enthusiastically cheer countless moments while adults might look at each other in confusion. However, that is okay. This movie is for the fans, and they deserve something to call their own. Adults who have endlessly complained online about the kids loving this new video game movie should understand it isn’t always about them.
With that said, A Minecraft Movie is unabashedly dumb. However, that is part of its charm. The film knows what it is and what it is trying to do. This movie wants to be ridiculous in every way and succeeds wildly at that endeavor.
What Is A Minecraft Movie About?
Jack Black plays Steve, the character players control in Minecraft video games. He has wanted to mine since childhood and finally gets the chance when he grows up. While mining, Steve finds the Orb of Dominance and the Warth Crystal and enters the Overworld. This needs no explanation for the kids who play Minecraft. However, the movie’s opening features a lot of exposition to explain to the clueless parents what is happening.
The evil Malgosha imprisons Steve in the Nether to get the crystal. She is a queen who wants to send the world into darkness. As a child, Malgosha was humiliated at a talent show and decided that all creativity and art should be destroyed. Steve sends his beloved dog Dennis into the real world to hide the Orb and Crystal from Malgosha’s reach.
When people from the real world find them and enter the Overworld, it endangers the entire universe. That’s the main story. The people entering the Overworld include Garrett (Jason Momoa), a former video game legend who is facing hard times; Henry (Sebastian Hansen), a creative high schooler who is bullied; Natalie (Emma Myers), Henry’s older sister who is caring for him after their mom’s death; and Dawn (Danielle Brooks), a real estate agent who loves animals.
Is A Minecraft Movie Worth Your Time?
Minecraft is a quest movie, with the four outsiders teaming up with Steve to find a way to keep Malgosha from getting the orb and crystal. It also has a ton of Easter eggs from the games, and most people who have never played the games will recognize these Easter eggs by the cheering of the kids in the audience. Love it or hate it, this is a movie made for kids to interact with, and it succeeds on every level in that aspect.
There are a few problems with the film along the way. Some of the actors are mostly trying to go further over the top than the one before, with Jason Momoa and Jack Black constantly trying to out-stupid each other. If anything, Emma is the eyes of the adults in the audience, as she says that nothing makes sense. There is also a slight problem with the film showing Malgosha as someone who had a tragic childhood but does not offer her a chance at redemption; instead, it relies on making a joke about her defeat.
However, while the story is basic and much of the plot borders on stupidity, fans can expect a lot of laughs, some heartfelt moments (and Easter eggs), and amazing visuals.
Jared Hess, the man behind Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, directed A Mineceraft Movie, so anyone familiar with his work should know what to expect. It is not a great movie by any means, but it is the movie that Minecraft fans want to see, and in that regard, it is a winner.
