Movie Review: A Minecraft Movie

I didn’t go into A Minecraft Movie with high hopes. Since the video game that it’s based on is almost completely devoid of plot, allowing players to roam free and create what they please, it seemed like it would be a tricky property to adapt. Others have succeeded with similar challenges though, like Greta Gerwig with Barbie. As with that movie the source material here just wasn’t for me for whatever reason (maybe I’m too old), but being the most successful video game of all time, it clearly resonates with a lot of people. Also as with Barbie though, I wound up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I would, even if this movie doesn’t approach the creative heights of Gerwig’s.

A Minecraft Movie kicks off with an incredibly exposition heavy opening sequence, in which we learn that Steve (Jack Black) stumbles upon a portal to the Overworld, in which everything is made up of cubes and he is able to create nearly anything he wants from the materials around him. Later, he stumbles upon another portal that takes him to the Nether, also made of cubes but dark and devoid of creativity. He winds up being taken captive by the Nether’s ruler, Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House) who wants to strip the Overworld of its resources, but he sends his trusted, cubic dog Dennis into the real world to hide the Orb (also a cube) in his bedroom, at least temporarily thwarting her plans.

And then the actual plot kicks in. After the death of their parents, Natalie (Emma Myers) takes on the task of being the legal guardian to her younger brother Henry (Sebastian Hansen), and moves the pair to the town of Chuglass, Idaho where she has been given a job handling social media for the local potato chip company. After Henry causes an incident at school, he discovers the Orb on a shelf in a retro game shop owned by former video game champion Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa) and the pair are pulled towards the original portal it created. Natalie tries to find him and enlists the help of her real estate agent, Dawn (Danielle Brooks) who quickly ascertains where they are headed. They catch up to each other at the precipice of the portal and wind up being pulled into the Overworld, where Garrett accidentally breaks part of the Orb, trapping them inside with a newly freed Steve as their only hope of returning home.

The script has been through several hands over the last decade plus of development and it shows, but despite that it still does a decent job of setting up the lore for a world that didn’t really have any to start with while also remembering to highlight the spirit of creativity and exploration the game encourages. References to and in-jokes about Minecraft abound, all of which earned enthusiastic responses from the fans present at my screening, but there is enough here that doesn’t require prior knowledge of the game to keep us newbs entertained.

Director Jared Hess is probably best known for creating the endearingly oddball indie comedy Napoleon Dynamite, and he brings plenty of that energy here, even managing to incorporate tots into the story. His low-key absurdism works well with the story, with the parts in which his mark is most apparent standing out as the film’s best. As the action gets bigger and bigger in scale, the humor gets more generic and even falls to the wayside altogether, but Hess still proves himself adept at handling the sort of big budget spectacle that a modern franchise requires.

The cast are the true standouts here though. Jack Black is in full manic mode, which can sometimes be overkill but mostly works for this movie. Jason Momoa is great fun to watch playing heavily against type and demonstrating some genuine comic chops. Brooks charms in her role and gets more than a few laughs, while Myers and Hansen prove winning as the emotional core of the story. And Jennifer Coolidge makes the most of her appearance in a B-plot that serves little purpose other than to keep us filled in on how much time has elapsed in the real world, getting many of the film’s funniest lines.

Despite the plot being simultaneously too simple and too complex, A Minecraft Movie proves to be a fun time. The blocky world the characters find themselves in was never going to look plausible, but it’s rendered with a tactility that makes it feel real nevertheless. Hess’ oddball sensibilities work with the inherently peculiar world and his cast get us to care about these 5 weirdos. Fans of the game should love this movie, and the rest of us may feel at least a little compelled to pick up a controller and try a little ‘crafting. ★★★½