‘A Minecraft Movie’ review: The sandbox game successfully respawns as a film

Alfred Hitchcock had blondes, MacGuffins, and director’s cameos. Spike Lee has dolly pictures, New York settings, and fourth-wall breaks. And Jared Hess has tots, llamas, and frequent use of “friggin.’” 

I’m not saying that the Napoleon Dynamite director is on the extent of these two auteurs. Nevertheless, it’s spectacular that regardless of being an adaptation of a juggernaut of a online game, A Minecraft Film nonetheless looks like a Jared Hess film at its core, even right down to its setting in Idaho (when it isn’t set on the planet of Minecraft, that’s).

A Minecraft Film may have merely been pushed by its mammoth online game origins, content material to drop in-jokes and references inscrutable to those that haven’t dived into taking part in Minecraft and pleasant to those that have. That might have been the protected route — and it’s one that almost all IP diversifications are OK with taking — however oddly, Warner Bros. and sport studio Mojang look like nice with Hess placing his personal quirky stamp on this universe. 

Possibly it’s not so odd in spite of everything. From my restricted understanding of the sport (very restricted as a childfree grownup who googled “Minecraft explainer” on my technique to the theater), creativity and making the world your individual are valued inside Minecraft gameplay. And even when I hadn’t achieved 5 minutes of pre-screening analysis, A Minecraft Film is vocally specific in espousing creativeness as a key to success within the Minecraft land of Overworld.

The plot of A Minecraft Film is rather a lot — and in addition not the purpose.

Credit score: Warner Bros. Footage

The plot of this family-friendly journey is difficult to clarify succinctly; whether or not that’s my fault as a Minecraft noob or has to do with the 5 credited writers (Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta) is up for debate. Mine-obsessed Steve (Jack Black) by chance discovers a portal (in a mine, naturally) that results in Overworld, an animated universe stuffed with blocky animals, timber, and constructions. Steve masters constructing and crafting in Overworld and decides to remain, particularly after he bonds with a cube-shaped canine that he names Dennis. 

Later, that very same Overworld portal additionally sucks in former online game champion Garrett “Rubbish Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), realtor/cell zoo entrepreneur Daybreak (Danielle Brooks), and two younger siblings, Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers). They uncover the foundations of Overworld by trial and error, studying the way to construct constructions and craft instruments in the course of the day and easily attempting to remain alive at night time, additionally by constructing and crafting, amidst assaults from zombies, spiders, and creepers. Their expertise mainly echoes the sport’s mods: in Create, gamers deal with developing their very own world, whereas Survive finds them trying to not die with every nightly assault from creepy creatures.  They go on a quest for the film’s MacGuffin — the cube-shaped Orb of Dominance — the place they encounter extra creations that made the youngsters in my screening lose their little minds with pleasure. In the meantime, they attempt to keep away from the invading hordes from a hell-like underworld populated by beefy, blocky pigs and dominated by the sorceress Malgosha (voiced by Taika Waititi–favourite Rachel Home). 

Past all of … that, A Minecraft Film additionally includes a wholly pointless subplot a couple of cubist Overworld citizen who stumbles into our world and encounters Henry’s daffy, oversharing vice principal, performed by Jennifer Coolidge. These scenes may have been lower out solely with out affecting the rest on display, however a credit sequence gives payoff. It’s exhausting to be too mad at its inclusion as a result of it exists as a car for Coolidge, who additionally starred in Hess’s Gents Broncos, and may be very a lot on the identical comedic web page because the filmmaker.

Jason Momoa and Jack Black are at their comedic finest.

Credit score: Warner Bros. Footage

Leads Momoa and Black are additionally on Hess’s weirdo wavelength. Momoa stars because the has-been online game king with a wardrobe of fringed jackets and a wonderful curly shag haircut, and his deadpan supply is essentially the most hilarious the Aquaman actor has ever been. Hair-metal-loving Garrett is desperately attempting to recapture his earlier glory, and Momoa speaks within the oh-so-serious-but-oh-so-funny cadence that will probably be acquainted to anybody who watched Napoleon Dynamite on repeat. 

Equally, Black has his trademark exuberant vitality that borders on obnoxiousness, and it’s the proper match for this completely foolish film and its younger viewers. Some adults might not discover Black entertaining, however they’re previous and boring. For his second spherical with Hess, following Nacho Libre, Black will get that the director doesn’t need naturalistic performances steeped in Stanislavski. A Minecraft Film isn’t trying to be delicate; it’s the larger, the higher, and Black understood the project.

In her first movie look post-Oscar nomination for 2023’s The Coloration Purple, Brooks isn’t given a ton to do. Nevertheless, if everybody within the solid had been working on the over-the-top degree of Momoa, Black, and Coolidge, A Minecraft Film could be overwhelming and exhausting, a destiny it in some way skirts regardless of all the pieces happening right here. Hansen and Myers, the 2 younger actors taking part in brother-and-sister duo Henry and Natalie, are charming sufficient and comical after they’re required to be, but it surely’s simple to get misplaced amidst the larger performances and the backdrop of blocky animated sheep.

All these bizarre proper angles and the oddly inorganic shapes of the natural issues of Overworld imply that the animation and particular results don’t need to — and shouldn’t — persuade the viewers they’re actual. Minecraft itself seems to be fairly low-fi, and the visuals of Hess’s movie work properly inside that established fashion. But it doesn’t look low cost; it’s as if Warner Bros. didn’t thoughts spending a little bit cash in anticipation of the pile of cash the movie will doubtless make.

Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess brings his signature foolish fashion.

Credit score: Warner Bros. Footage

Whereas I don’t love that IP guidelines the field workplace, Hess’s tater-tot-grease-stained fingerprints are throughout A Minecraft Film. It feels prefer it was made by a human — and a splendidly bizarre one — fairly than merely churned out by a studio or media conglomerate to reap the benefits of their property. It’s enjoyable and humorous, totally engaged with the spirit of the sport, during which creativity and creativeness rule. It doesn’t really feel prefer it’s pandering to children, however, as evidenced by the giggles at my screening, they had been having fun with it. For grownup viewers who require logic of their storytelling, nevertheless, mileage might fluctuate. 

“This place is senseless,” Natalie says at one level with a tinge of exasperation, and she or he is talking for all of us uninitiated. Whereas it’s largely coherent, A Minecraft Film is in all places. However nobody within the viewers is right here for the plot. They’re both watching A Minecraft Film for his or her love of the Minecraft world or as a result of they love somebody who loves it and isn’t sufficiently old to drive themselves to the movie show. So far as online game diversifications and youngsters’s movies go, A Minecraft Film is so a lot better than it must be. 

Dad and mom will doubtless discover this movie extra entertaining than listening to their children discuss Minecraft for the equal period of time (101 minutes, for the document). A Minecraft Film may also present a deeper understanding of the universe (Minecraft’s, not the actual one) for individuals who haven’t skilled it firsthand earlier than. It’s a very good primer for the sport that by no means looks like homework.

A Minecraft Movie opens in theaters nationwide and in IMAX on April 4.