A Minecraft Movie Review

It's not a stretch to say that Minecraft was the most influential and famous of videogames for Gen-Z. The game was something of a holy grail, the limitless possibilities and endless avenues for creativity through a world interpreted by blocks where one simply mines and crafts spawned countless mods, webseries, animations, lore, and the wholesale careers of Youtubers that dedicated their channels to covering the game and making content within its infinite square glory. Just like the eventual Sonic films, perhaps a movie based off Minecraft was inevitable. Yet many wondered the specifications of such a project. Would it be animated, similar to various online projects? Who would the characters be? What would the story even look like? Would cultural icons embedded into the game's mythology like the terrifying 'Herobrine' be included? Ultimately, what we received was something more predictable, but still rather enjoyable for what it was. How exactly does A Minecraft Movie pair up to my personal expectations, and was my theater stained with popcorn and employee tears after the infamous 'Chicken Jockey' line? Let's find out!

Firstly, if you're expecting a level of depth or intricacy from this film, abandon that hope immediately. This movies knows exactly what it is and what audience its catering too, that being young children and preteens accompanied by their families they likely dragged along to shell money out at the ticket booth to watch this. Nevertheless, it also managed to attract the Minecraft fanbase, still a millions-strong enterprise of creators and consumers that find anything related to this blocky realm worth investing in, and for that, it delivered well enough. The narrative follows a collection of mismatched individuals hailing from a parodical Midwestern town, including washed up gamer-archetype Garret Garrison, older sister Natalie and younger brother Henry, and petting zoo owner Dawn. There's also a rather strange sideplot involving a woman from our world named Marlene falling in love with a Villager NPC from the Minecraft World.

Our heroes end up in the Minecraft world after a mysterious artifact from that realm ends up in theirs, and to get home, they must enlist the help of Steve, played by the notorious Jack Black. Steve was an obvious choice of protagonist for the Minecraft Movie, considering that's the canonical name of the Default Skin that one spawns into the game with, and selecting Jack Black to play him was certainly a risky choice, but it panned out perfectly. Jack Black's love of performative mania combined with his clear enthusiasm of the role made for an entertaining presence on-screen that made me audibly cackle a few times- and that's what this film truly specializes in: making you laugh. There's not a serious moment throughout this movie, even when a character supposedly 'dies' it's practically broadcast that they'll victoriously return for a climatic beatdown. I suppose it's meant to make children watching feel reassured, but I moreso appreciated that because of the lax tone of this movie, one could focus more on how exactly they adapted the game itself, which I believe was done marvelously.

Though checkered with CGI, I still received the classical Minecraft feel from this movie. Whether it be the exploration of vast mountain ranges, humble villager settlements, terrifying caves, or the nefarious Nether, it felt like any ordinary Minecraft game brought to life for the big screen. The film's villains are Piglins, humanoid pig creatures with a penchant for gold and destruction, led by an evil sorceress called Malgosha, and they're a delight to watch as well. Their second-in-command is General Chungus, a hilariously voiced brute that provides much of the film's meme moments.

Another antagonistic force that's highlighted are the aggressive Illagers, a counterpart to the pacifistic Villagers specializing in raiding and pillaging, there's a section that takes place within an Illager Manor, a famous location known to any Minecrafter, where the movie's most distinctive moment takes place: Steve screaming the name of a particular Mob: the Chicken Jockey. This moment became such a cultural phenomenon likely because of how much emotion was placed into his utterance of the words. The urgency, the shock, and the emphasis with which Steve says it made me laugh in the theater, though I'm sorry to report that the nearby crowd didn't repeat my sentiments much. The internet's meme economy was crucial for this movie's success, as other hilarious lines Steve utters like 'WATER BUCKET, RELEASE' or 'THE NETHER', bolstered by Jack Black's deranged performance, granted it the extra push it needed to become a star movie of the year, earning a culminative 800 MILLION+ DOLLARS IN THE INTERNATIONAL BOX OFFICE!

Moving on, while there can't be much stated for a 'theme' of this movie, there is an underlying message about how difficult it is to create, and how sometimes our monotone world feels as though its strangling those who enjoy thinking outside the box. Of course, the hopeful tinge at the end of the movie with Steve returning back home to the normal world (with the certainty that he'll return back to the Overworld during times of crisis or rather whenever he feels like it) with his adorable dog Dennis assures the audience that even in darkness, those who find their creative spirit will always triumph over evil. Or... something along those lines.

Anyways, where this movie specializes is bringing you and yours a gut-bustingly fun time through the big screen. The scary Mobs, the exaggerated portrayal of a real-world Midwestern town revolving around a potato chip economy, all the major and side characters and their wacky personalities, and just the right amount of memeability made for one of the funniest, most enjoyable, dumb-fun experiences I could've had this year. Grab your pals and give A Minecraft Movie your well-deserved viewership!