The Gist
A group of four very different individuals find themselves fighting for survival in a crazy world that seems to make no sesnse.
The Review
It is the movie that has everybody talking at the moment. Not only has A Minecraft Movie blitzed at the box office but in the US it has players of the video game it is based on so excited that Police have had to be called to cinemas to calm down excited teens and children.
I will admit that I went into the film with a completely open mind. While I have a rough idea about the game, because my nieces and nephews play it religiously, I have never played one second of it – so my judgement on the film itself is completely centred around the fact whether the film works as a piece of cinema.
Plotwise the film begins with Steve (Jack Black – School Of Rock) finally getting to achieve his life-long dream of becoming a miner. But on his first day as a miner he discovers a mystical orb that transports him to the Minecraft world – a world where he seems happier.
That happiness though is soon brought to an end when he and his loyal wolf Daryl (voiced by Jermaine Clement – Moana) are taken captive by the evil Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House – Thor: Ragnorok) who dreams of making the land a dark, dark place with no colour. In a bid of desperation Steve sends Daryl back to the human world in a bid to get help.
Years later Natalie (Emma Myers – Wednesday) and her brother Henry (Sebastian Hansen – Just Mercy) (whom she is the guardian of) arrive in the town that Daryl now wanders. At the same time perennial man-child Garrett (Jason Momoa – Aqua-Man), who has never outgrown the 1990s, finds the Minecraft world orb.
After meeting Henry Garrett decides to go and try out the orb and with Henry missing Natalie turns to the only person she knows in the town, the jack of all trades Dawn (Danielle Brooks – Peacemaker), to help her find him. Soon Natalie, Henry, Garrett and Dawn find themselves transported to the Minecraft world and having to fight for survival alongside Steve.
Directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) the first thing that the audience will notice about A Minecraft Movie is that this is very much a movie of two halves. The scenes set in the human world feel like they are aimed at the older members of the audience. They are loaded by tonnes of 90s references and an unnecessary sub-plot about the romantic side of Vice Principal Marlene’s (Jennifer Coolidge – American Pie) life. On the flip-side of that though the scenes set in the Minecraft world really appeal to kids but at times get a little too silly for the adult audience.
It is obvious that Hess and his team of writers have tried to make replicate what has made the newer Jumanji films so well received over recent years. But the problem here is that while the Jumanji films find a perfect way to mix comedy and humour together A Minecraft Movie does not.
Adults will find that the much of the action sequences and humour of the Minecraft world becomes more and more geared towards kids as the film goes on. The jokes around the fact that Jack Black is the action hero and Jason Momoa is the dopey side-kick are originally funny but start to wear thin as they are over-used. Even the final stand between the good guy and Malgosha is geared towards children which sees it become a bit of a let-down for adults.
The good news is though that kids will love the film. At the premiere I attended the kids seemed to the love the silliness of the Minecraft world and were laughing throughout. There were cheers as certain characters from the game appeared on the screen a sure sign that kids were lapping it up.
When it comes to the acting the entire cast does what they were hired to do. Jack Black brings the laughs while Momoa seems to enjoy playing the clutzy side-kick. Sebastian Hansen and Emma Myers do enough to show that they have good futures in Hollywood ahead of them but sadly like Danielle Brooks Myers is severely under-used in the second half of the film.
The Verdict
While adults will get a laugh here and there throughout A Minecraft Movie much of the action and humour here is aimed at the younger audience members. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing – especially if you are looking for a way to entertain the kids for a while.
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