Minecraft is a game that needs no introduction. But for those who live under a rock, Minecraft is an open-world sandbox game that lets the player build and do practically anything, revolving around the loop of — well, mining and crafting. The only real limit is your imagination and hardware.
Its impact on pop culture is far more potent than anyone could have imagined. Memes, influencers, drama, merch, and spinoff titles, and this all culminated with the franchise’s first foray into film, “A Minecraft Movie,” which stars Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, Rachel House, Jason Momoa, and Emma Myers. The movie is directed by Jared Hess, who is most known for the cult-classic comedy “Napoleon Dynamite.”
Put bluntly, this film is horrible in every sense of the word — and yet, there’s something so charming about it that you can’t ignore.
This film is really enjoyable for long-time fans of the game and the communities around it. Some of the cameos were really exciting to see, like popular Minecraft YouTubers DanTDM and Aphmau. The tribute to the late Minecraft YouTuber Technoblade, who died from cancer in 2022, was particularly heart warming.
The movie is visually hideous, and it is criminal that this movie wasn’t animated. There’s a huge community of people dedicated to making Minecraft animations that have been around longer than before any major studios had eyes on the IP. The hyperrealistic, live-action visuals look appalling and is the exact antithesis to the graphical art style Minecraft is most known for.
The visual effects ranged from pretty good to downright laughable at times. You can clearly tell when the characters are on a green screen, especially for the scenes when they are airborne, like the entire chase sequence with the elytra wings. At times, you can find yourself laughing at the movie instead of with it. The camera work was really irksome at times during scenes with dialogue, remaining static and locked in on the current speaker’s face rather than delivering a more dynamic or creative shot — a tall order for a movie all about creativity.
The dialogue felt really off at times, with some deliveries feeling like there was only one person on a soundstage. There were a lot of one-liners in the movie, and Jack Black, who plays Steve — who isn’t actually a character in the game, but the player’s avatar — is the worst offender of this. Throughout the whole movie, Black’s energy is either really good for the scene or clashes hard with the more dramatic tone the scene calls for. Any attempts at drama are quickly shut down by Black yelling about creepers or man sandwich.
Characters and their arcs are practically non-existent as well. One second, there is a coming-of-age subplot where Natalie (played by Emma Myers) tries to get Henry (played by Sebastian Eugene Henson) to realize his inventiveness and creativity are actually a blessing. In the next, the tension is ripped away with a painful zinger or characters getting attacked by mobs. That is the biggest crisis this movie has with its characters; there’s no room to breathe or really let things sit.
Despite its flaws, it’s fun to catch all the little references sprinkled throughout. Black’s energy, although annoying at times, is really contagious, and for every cringey one-liner there’s a moment that makes you appreciate the game and the fun it brought to so many childhoods.
With that being said, there have been clips circulating online of people going absolutely ballistic in the theaters at certain scenes. So, a quick PSA: theater workers are people too, so consider keeping from throwing your popcorn and drinks around the theater when the Chicken Jockey comes on screen.
This story was originally published in the April 25 issue of the University Times.
