The world of Minecraft is vast and mysterious, with hostile monsters at every corner. To make a film adaptation of the beloved game, one must capture the world of Minecraft in a faithful way. “A Minecraft Movie” uses the world of Minecraft to deliver a film that entertains the audience and gives an action packed story.
The plot of the movie is very simple. It follows the main cast of Garret “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Mamoa), Steve (Jack Black), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) trying to defend the overworld from the evil forces of the nether by securing the orb of obedience.
The biggest fault in the plot is the character development. The film tries to present the main cast as misfits who are trying to find their place in the world, but through many hardships along the way, they develop as characters. The problem lies in the emotional climax because the climax felt underdeveloped and lackluster. It felt undeveloped because the film focused mostly on humor, not on character development, leading to the climax not being very impactful and lackluster because Henry (Sebastian Hansen) was not very emotional during the scene.
The film has a runtime of 1 hour 41 minutes, but inefficiently uses it. Before traveling to the overworld, the group spends time in the real world. This part of the movie is much too long and uses up time which could have been used to make the plot more in depth and complete. The film also has a subplot that further strains the story by using up even more time. Had the time been used more effectively, the characters could have been better developed.
The CGI is very high quality with a cartoon-like representation of Minecraft that keeps some features of the game, while innovating where necessary. The problem is that in many scenes, the green screen can be seen around the actors, ruining the immersion the CGI provides.
The main audience for “A Minecraft Movie” are kids and long time fans of the franchise, so the movie must have good humor and include many references and small details Minecraft fans can pick up. The humor was very well executed with Garret (Jason Mamoa) and Steve (Jack Black) fulfilling their comedic roles. With many memorable lines from Jack Black, the film was able to have very iconic and funny jokes. For longtime fans, the film was able to add many small details from the source material. From showing the skeletal structure of a creeper as it starts to blow up, or the red stone mines from the Minecraft dungeons series, the production made sure to include many small details that exemplify their love and care for the film.
One of the most memorable moments of the film was its honoring of Alexander also known as Technoblade. Technoblade was a Minecraft content creator who was beloved by the community, but on June 30, 2022 the news of his death devastated the Minecraft community. In his memory, the film honored him as a legend in the Minecraft community.
“A Minecraft Movie” though flawed in many respects, entertains its viewer and delivers a film which includes even the smallest details of its source materials. Through this humorous adaptation of the world of Minecraft, the film makes for a fun watch for children and adults alike.
