Few video games are as widely beloved as Minecraft.
People of all ages have something to say about the impact the best-selling, world-building game had on them, creatively or otherwise. By the same token, most people, if not everyone, had a rather adverse reaction to the announcement of “A Minecraft Movie,” a live-action Minecraft film coming from Warner Bros. studios. Rightfully so, I might add.
The realm of video game film adaptations is one with less hope than the nether world, especially for adaptations that choose to bring beloved properties to life via live action. Not to mention, many of these live-action adaptations, such as “Assassin’s Creed” and “Tomb Raider,” can be best described as “box office poison,” to quote the late, great Norm McDonald.
However, in the wake of the smash hit “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the world of video game adaptations seemed to be on the up and up. That was until the first official trailer for “A Minecraft Movie,” directed by Jared Hess, was released online.
The reactions were not positive. Fans and the general public found plenty of negative things to say about the tone, the humour, the truly abysmal green screen and just about everything else that Warner Bros. released leading up to the film.
Now that the film is out, I can safely say that everything listed above is precisely what the final film delivers. The trailers do not hide at all what the film is or what it intends to be. And for these reasons, without any hint of irony, I greatly enjoyed “A Minecraft Movie.”
On some level, it feels that the filmmakers knew exactly the type of reaction this film would garner and preemptively leaned into the inherent stupidity of its premise. It is a level of self-awareness and, strangely, self-confidence that I, and most others, could not help but literally applaud them for.
Without exaggeration, I cannot recall a recent theater going experience that exuded nearly as much energy as was present in my screening. The most bizarre thing about this energy is that most of it stemmed from Jack Black, who plays the game’s protagonist — Steve — in the film, doing not much more than simply saying familiar things from the games as if he were reading them off cue cards.
And yet, I found myself laughing every single time. Were those laughs out of pity, disbelief, genuine amusement or an ungodly mixture of the three? I honestly could not tell you. But a laugh is a laugh, and a ticket bought is a ticket bought.
With that said, I will not fully discredit the film by claiming that it offers nothing more than easter eggs. There are, admittedly, a number of successful jokes sprinkled throughout that worked to remind me that the film has some genuine comedic talent behind it.
Jason Momoa, who plays Garrett Garrison, is clearly having a blast, and he and the rest of the cast — especially Black — work quite well with one another.
The negative aspects of the film certainly shine brighter than the positives in many respects. The derivative script and half-baked characterizations for most of the main cast are not forgiven simply because of a successful marketing ploy that convinced college students to visit the theater in droves. However, I would be lying if I said that part of the movie’s charm was not due to these cliches.
The last thing I want to do is make excuses for a poorly made massive studio film’s rampant consumerism, but this film won me over, as bizarre as it feels to say. Never before has a movie with so many red flags fooled me into enjoying it to such a point that I feel the need to defend it, but it was only a matter of time, I suppose.
Every bone in my body is telling me that this film is the villain of its industry. I should be against movies like “A Minecraft Movie” and against all that it represents. However, in questionable times such as these, especially regarding the uncertainty of the film industry, I have found myself asking: “Can something that sparks this much joy truly be that bad?”
The answer is probably yes, but I will ignore that answer and continue to bask in the fact that I watched a truly insane film with an equally insane packed crowd.
Years from now, I will likely regret giving this film praise, but for now, much like Steve, “I yearn for the mines.”
“A Minecraft Movie” is now playing in theaters.
