Years ago, countless children spent hours mining blocks and hunting mobs in Minecraft, one of the most popular games in the world for the past decade. Today, those same children flock to the movie theater as teens and adults, chanting “chicken jockey” and “flint and steel” to watch the newly released movie starring their favorite childhood game, “Minecraft.” While “A Minecraft Movie” is lighthearted and entertaining, its clichéd plotlines cause what could have been an inspiring reflection of growth and resilience to turn into a flat and unimpressive film.
“A Minecraft Movie” is extremely shallow, with cliché plotlines and overused one-liners. The characters are flat, with not a single one displaying an ounce of depth or major development. The most compelling character in the entire film was Dennis the dog.
The fact that Jack Black also felt the need to unnecessarily burst into song during several intervals of the film further proves the complete joke that the movie is. Additionally, the acting and character portrayal are abysmal, with the characters having no depth or, seemingly, souls.
Jack Black delivers the main character Steve, a middle-aged man who first discovers the world of “Minecraft,” as if he were an old man at his grandchildren’s birthday party, trying to make the kids laugh. Jason Mamoa acts as Garrett, a once-famous video game player who grew irrelevant and broke with age. He seems to treat the movie as his personal vacation, taking a break from acting in serious roles to instead become a washed-out man fighting through his midlife crisis by making terrible jokes.
Jennifer Coolidge, also present in the film as a high school principal in love with a “Minecraft” villager, had absolutely no plot value in the movie whatsoever. It felt like she was there purely for the occasional funny line in her iconic comedy-gold voice. Her entire side story had no overall impact on the plot of the movie.
Although the CGI was high quality, the movie itself brought absolutely no justice to the production quality. It’s very likely that in several years, this movie will be classified as yet another overproduced and underdeveloped cookie-cutter children’s film.
Yet, many would tell you that terrible as it is, “A Minecraft Movie” is incredibly entertaining and fun. This film is so stupid and silly that it crosses the line between idiocy and humor and then crosses back again.
In the age of brain rot, people become more and more entertained with meaningless yet catchy lines and stupid yet entertaining scenes. “A Minecraft Movie” is so stupid it’s almost good. Jack Black singing an ode to his dog in the goodbye scene is both horrendous and hysterical. The line, “first we mine, then we craft, let’s Minecraft” is both ridiculous and riotous. During several of the iconic one-liners in the movie, the entire theater, in unison, shouted out the line before bursting into applause.
“A Minecraft Movie” is cliche, predictable and boring, with the sheer stupidity of the film increasing its entertainment factor. The true disappointment of the movie isn’t in its brainless and cliché humor. Rather, it’s in the shallow and soulless plot.
The “Minecraft” video game was originally released in 2008. Since then, the game has grown to be one of the most popular video games in the world, with over 150 million players monthly. However, despite the huge success of the game, “Minecraft” itself always had a firm and complex theme. At the end of the game, after defeating the Ender Dragon, a poem appears on the screen resembling end credits.
The “End Poem” begins with a monologue of two people discussing the “Player.” As the poem progresses, the message shifts from determination to the difference between the sandbox creativity of a game like “Minecraft” and the jarring reality of the real world. The poem describes the real world as similar to an algorithm and illustrates the deep connection between individuals and their place in the universe. In the end, it tells the player to wake up, dream and love in the real world. The famous ending quote, said by “Unknown,” reads, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
The game “Minecraft” itself has always been about the beauty of a sandbox world and the progression from creativity in a game to overcoming the hurdles of the real world. To many who played the game as children and are now teens and young adults, “Minecraft” taught the important life lesson that real life is never as smooth as a game, but should still be approached with the same creativity and resilience.
Although “A Minecraft Movie” explored themes of allowing creativity to blossom, the trite and simplistic way they approached the theme caused the impact and emotional value of the film to fall flat. While the characters battled “Minecraft” mobs, the real message and intention behind the game, that the real challenges are faced in real life, is hidden by the cliche plot and conflict. Additionally, the movie barely seemed to follow the plot of “Minecraft,” as the main “quest” of beating the Ender Dragon isn’t mentioned once.
The film doesn’t feel like a real representation of the game “Minecraft” itself, or the passion, creativity, resilience and growth behind it. Rather, the movie sacrificed plot for brain rot quality. What could have been one of the most heartwarming films for children, teens and young adults that grew up playing “Minecraft” instead became Jack Black’s personal anvil: naming random things in a funny voice and watching them become brain rot. Although the film is certainly entertaining in its own brain-rotted way, it comes as a disappointment to many “Minecraft” fans who were expecting a sincere, nostalgic movie and were instead handed a joke film.
Rating: 2.5/5
