‘A Minecraft Movie’ falls short in capturing game’s creativity, depth
"A Minecraft Movie" follows the journey of Steve, played by Jack Black, as he tries to save the world from an evil pig leader who lives in the Nether. Our columnist argues that the bad dad jokes and lack of plot make the film a difficult watch. Emma Lee | Contributing Illustrator
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Minecraft, the video game with a dedicated fan base and over 300 million sales, has expanded to film. Whether the Minecraft franchise needed a movie is debatable, but director Jared Hess unfortunately made one anyways.
“A Minecraft Movie” hit theaters in the United States last Friday. The film follows Steve (Jack Black) as he tries to save the world from an evil pig leader, Malgosha. Malgosha lives in the Nether, (a stand-in for hell) and wants to destroy the Overworld (the main world of Minecraft) because she hates creativity.
In the beginning of the movie, Steve’s dog, Dennis, hides the Orb of Dominance, which can be used to destroy the Overworld, in the real world, just as Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen) and his sister, Natalie (Emma Meyers) move to Idaho. A local, Garett (Jason Momoa), unknowingly bought the Orb of Dominance at a garage sale. When Henry comes across the orb, he accidentally sends himself, Garett, Natalie and Dawn — the real-estate agent who sold the kids the house — into the Overworld.
At this point in the film, there’s a confusing mix of reality and Minecraft. Hess clearly couldn’t pick between cubic or realistic 3D creatures, so he combined both, but neither mixed well together. The human actors are on a green screen that displays the cubed and blocked world around them. The inconsistent visuals are overstimulating and caused me to experience sensory overload.
There are many musical scenes throughout the film, where Steve sings for a brief period. It adds to the hectic nature of the movie, but also distracts from the plot. The movie is already oversaturated with details and storylines, and it’s even harder to follow with the music.
Shortly after entering the Overworld, the group encounters Steve, and he saves them from dying at the hands of monsters. Afterward, Steve shows Henry and Garett the different items in the game and how to use them.
At this point, the movie reaches a lull; it lacks plot and seems to be going over various aspects of the game and how blocks work. But it should be assumed that viewers are already familiar with crafting tables and Ender Pearls, because they wouldn’t be watching the film if they weren’t already fans of the game.
Joe Zhao | Design Editor
This also applies to many of the monsters that are introduced in the movie. The group runs from different monsters during the night, including spiders, creepers, skeletons and zombies. It feels like the film is trying to introduce the viewer to these characters by having them appear, but as someone who has played Minecraft before, it dragged on too long and wasn’t engaging.
Attempts at sentimentality, such as the strain on Natalie and Henry’s relationship, don’t land well with viewers because the film itself is completely unserious.
With characters like “General Chungus” and Henry’s Vice Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge) falling in love with a villager, much of the movie is cringe-worthy. Between Black’s constant dad jokes and Momoa fitting the “buff but brain dead” stereotype with his character, it’s a tough watch.
As the film progresses, the audience gets insight into Malgosha’s hatred of creativity — she used to love to dance, but other pigs made fun of her at a talent show. This concept contributes to the film’s larger (albeit weak) message: creativity, although not easy, is important. Creativity is what makes us human and brings us happiness.
For Steve, and many of the other characters, growing up meant losing his creativity. Joining the Overworld was an escape from the drabness of reality, where people who think outside the box are shamed. However, after his journey with Henry’s crew and defeating Malgosha in a sword battle where he renders her powerless, Steve realizes it’s time to come back to the real world.
While “A Minecraft Movie” tries to capture the creative spirit of its video-game counterpart, it can’t help but fall short with a confusing plot line and abundance of film elements that don’t necessarily pair well together. The movie is a clear cash grab that tarnishes the franchises for long-time fans. Instead of provoking feelings of nostalgia and fun memories for former players, it’s a hard watch that leaves you feeling like you fell in lava.
