A Minecraft Movie info:
Director: Jared Hess
Writer: Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, and Neil Widener
Starring: Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, and Danielle Brooks
Hello and welcome back to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. Could it be that spring has finally made it? We are not out of the woods yet, but we’ve had some nice days, and softball season is in full swing, plus it’s Easter/Passover weekend, so if you celebrate, I hope you had a good time. Over here, we had some time off this past Friday, so we took the opportunity to get outside and do some work, then ended the day with movie time.
Our schedules finally aligned and allowed us to go see “A Minecraft Movie”. The Minecraft games have been a part of our family for years now, so we were all excited to see it. It was released in theaters on April 4th, so two weeks later, I was surprised at how many people were in the theater for a 9 pm viewing. But, at the same time, it’s been making money and selling out day after day, so maybe I shouldn’t be. I’m ready to start “digging” into this, so if you’re one of the few that haven’t seen this yet, then you may want to click here to check out other reviews I have ready to read, then come back here later.
Alright, so “The Minecraft Movie” was directed by Jared Hess, who is known for his cult hits like “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre”. Fun fact, Hess also does the voice of General Chungus in this movie as well. It stars Jack Black as Steve, the main character from the Minecraft video game that we all know. The film starts with Steve giving a quick history of how he wanted to work in the mines as a kid, then made his way back as an adult. He found a crystal and an orb, and when he put them together, it made a portal to another world.
The “Over World,” as he calls it, looks just like the game where you can use almost everything to build almost anything. He does just that and more since he has a gift for that sort of thing. He even befriends a wolf named Dennis. Things are going great for him until Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House) from the Nether World seeks the orb so she can block out the sun and rule the Over World as well. Steve sends Dennis back to Earth to hide the orb… and that brings us to where we are caught up.
The rest of the main cast is now introduced. Garrett (Momoa) used to be a big deal, but now he is washed up and is hurting for cash. Natalie (Myers) and Henry (Hansen) arrive in town after the death of their mother. Natalie is now responsible for Henry and has to work and take care of him. They are greeted by Dawn (Brooks), who was a friend of their mom and helped them find a place to live. After Henry meets Garrett, they discover what the orb and crystal do just as Natalie and Dawn track them down, but not before they are all sucked through the portal to Over World.
The four newcomers are confused and scared, but Henry quickly learns how to build using the world’s resources. It appears that he may have the same gift as Steve. Speaking of Steve, Malgosha thought she could use him as a tool to get the orb back by pretending to have Dennis, so he shows up and saves the day… much to the chagrin of Garrett. He explains who he is, and they make a deal to work together to replace the crystal that Garrett broke, so they can get home, and Steve can have the orb to save Dennis.
Most of “A Minecraft Movie” is very heavy on the kid-friendly side, and it appears that certain scenes were added so that the adults would have something to laugh at. The whole side-story of Vice Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge) and her relationship with a villager that made it through the portal was ok, but unnecessary to the plot of the movie as a whole. I would have rather seen more scenes in the Over World as opposed to it. But there is some humor to be had there (especially if you stick around for the credits).
After Dawn and Natalie get separated from the rest of the group during an attack on the village, there are some pretty funny moments as they make their respective ways to the mansion to find a new crystal. Like None more so than when Steve is riding on Garrett’s back during their escape. I won’t go into details here, but it’s a must-watch for sure. Eventually, they meet back up (including Dennis and plan the best course of action after Malgosha finally steals the orb from them.
As final battles go, it’s ok. It’s obviously kid-friendly, and any sort of violence is no worse than something you would see on the Minecraft video game. The setup to the battle is the best part as they are mining and crafting, or as Steve calls it… minecrafting. They build enough weapons and tools to help them take down Malgosha and her army and save the Over World. As Garrett saves the day, the four of them talk Steve into coming back with them, and “A Minecraft Movie” ends happily with everyone getting what they want.
Honestly, there has been so much that has come out about this film before we went to see it, I’m surprised I wasn’t spoiled beforehand. But the kids knew all about chicken jockey, the lava chicken song, and the special guest cameo at the very end of the credits. So, Mojang/Warner Bros. are definitely doing something right with the marketing here. They have been sitting on a goldmine for years. I’m surprised that it took this long to make A Minecraft movie of any sort and not just “A Minecraft Movie” that I just watched.
I could talk more, but I think this is enough for now. Overall, this was a fun movie to experience with my family, especially people who have been playing the games for years. However, it wasn’t an amazing film, and like I said earlier, I do think that it was originally aimed at a younger audience, but with pieces put in so that we adults would enjoy it as well. Based on that, I really can’t give this anything other than a 6 out of 10.
Have you watched “A Minecraft Movie” yet? If so, what did you think? Did your kids like it better than you did? That’s it for this week, be sure to come back again next week and join me for another review as we inch closer to the summer movie season.
