Friday night marked the opening of the highly anticipated live-action adaptation of the beloved block game, Minecraft. Despite the movie’s expected failure, showings saw theaters packed with high schoolers and small families.
Following the release of “A Minecraft Movie’s” trailer, social media produced brain-rot content, dunking on Jack Black’s characteristic line delivery and preparing for disappointment. Phrases such as “Chicken Jockey,” “Flint and Steel” and “I…. am Steve!” were paraded through the internet. However, as opening night would suggest, the memes inadvertently boosted the film’s popularity and set it up for success.
“A Minecraft Movie” is by no means a good movie. The shallow plot follows Steve (portrayed by Jack Black), Garett Garrison (portrayed by Jason Momoa) and crew (consisting of actors Sebastian Eugene Hansen, Emma Myers and Danielle Brooks) as they fight to obtain the Earth Crystal and reform “the Orb” so they can return to the real world.
To boot, they evade piglins from the Nether (a second dimension in the Minecraft world) and their sinister queen, Malgosha, whose goal is to bring her dimension to the Overworld. Her resolve comes from a tragic past where she lost “Nether’s Got Talent” and vowed to desecrate all forms of creativity in the Minecraft world, a world embodying creativity.
The plot fails to elevate itself to a sophisticated level and reduces its characters to stereotypes their actors have played before. While one familiar with the Minecraft game can find charm in the references and easter eggs in the movie, a fresh viewer will find difficulty in following the worldbuilding, having not been accustomed to the game.
“A Minecraft Movie” was written and directed with the fans in mind, not seeking to draw in potential new players or communities. However, showings saw their theaters packed to the brim with the hype of eager viewers. The experience of watching the movie in theaters shouldn’t be missed. Each of Jack Black’s catchphrases received a standing ovation, the entire theater in uproar over a phrase that had been memed on the internet.
“A Minecraft Movie” has out-of-place CGI, an offensively generic plot and shallow characters, not to mention several musical numbers performed by Jack Black. Still, the theater experience leaves nothing to be desired.
“A Minecraft Movie” is “fun-bad” in every sense. If you grab a group of friends and make your way into a packed showing, you can count on a theater experience of a lifetime.
