A Minecraft Movie

4 outta 5

A Minecraft Movie is a fun, rambunctious and extremely loud adaption of the videogame series. For a videogame that is primarily concerned with building things, this leans more into the videogame character hero vs ugly bad guys trope (although that is a bigger part of the Minecraft: Dungeons spin off). It still has the essence of the game, there are Minecraft Creepers and Zombies that behave how they do in the games. Also, the Minecraft look is amusingly grotesque as these simple sprite blocks become “real world” but still Minecraft-y. One’s enjoyment depends on how much one likes zany antics, Jack Black improv singing and high-pitched hollering from all cast members. Minecraft does feel fun and colourful and weird, which makes it engaging. Just don’t expect restraint! Or to understand the various Easter Eggs from Minecraft, but fans should enjoy it.

Steve (Jack Black) loves mining and one day he finds a magic block that will send him to the magical Minecraft Overworld. In there, he can build anything he wants out of basic, pixel blocks, until the sinister leader of the Nether, the Piglin Malgosha (Rachel House) kidnaps him, and he sends the magic block to the human world. In the town of Chuglass, a videogame champion who peaked in the 1980s, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa) is trying to make money by bidding on storage lockers and he finds a bunch of Steve’s stuff, including the magic block. Newcomers to town, Natalie (Emma Myers) and her younger brother Henry (Sebastian Hansen) are settling in as Natalie starts a new job and Henry trying to make friends at a new school with a wacky Vice Principal (Jennifer Coolidge). They also meet a Real Estate Agent, Dawn (Danielle Brooks) and they are all sucked into the Minecraft Overworld. Having to deal with hordes of creatures that can explode at any moment, they run into Steve who needs their help to defeat Malgosha before she destroys the creative heaven of the Minecraft Overworld for good.

Malgosha gets a typical bad guy story where she was rejected for expressing herself creatively which is why she wants to destroy the Overworld. House’s vocal performance is quite hilarious and the final scene that she has with Steve is great as it’s one of those bits that goes on and on. Her Piglin minions are a loud and angry horde with a fun running gag of Malgosha badgering them. There are a lot of different little monsters in here, like a flying squid-like thing that shoots fire, or where a little creature riding a chicken kicks the bejesus out of Garrison. The scene has Steve tied up to a boxing ring as Black screams about what is happening. Black’s performance is lots and lots of yelling, and very goofy songs. But Black is very good at yelling and goofy songs.

Jennifer Coolidge’s Vice Principal is seemingly just there for parents who watched her on White Lotus or remember her as Stiffler’s mom from American Pie. She is oddly in her own romantic comedy movie with a Minecraft person who wandered into the real world. It is definitely the least videogame inspired plot in the film but gets a pass for being so wild. Myers and Hansen get saddled being normal people in a world of craziness, and Hansen’s Henry is the typical Chosen One kid who magically builds, which is a bit odd as Steve already fills that role. Myers has some really funny exaggerated facial reactions to what is going on. The plotline of her as the barely older sister being the sole guardian of her teenage brother is heartfelt, like at the start when she tries to make a fun lunch for him on the first day of school, and she looks so happy at the accomplishment. Brooks has some fun bits, like when Dawn and Nataile are having an emotional conversation, but they keep stopping to smack a zombie that is chasing them.

Definitely not a “normal” character is Momoa as the “Garbage Man”, the guy who was a videogame champion in the 80s and is still trying to get fame and fortune off of it. But his life is kinda crummy, his store is on the verge of closing, and he is reduced to trying to buy junk or sell himself as a life coach. But as pathetic as the character is, Momoa still makes him a rock on metal guy, even saying at one point when it looks like it might be curtains that he wants his life story to be told in metal. Is it a bit redundant to have two metal rock characters in the film? Probably, but it is awesome. Also, Momoa does a lot of pathetic squealing that is pretty great, and Steve and Garrison get tangled up during a madcap escape.

A Minecraft Movie is extremely chaotic which may irritate some viewers. But the action comes at a fast clip, it looks crazy and there are funny twists, like how night comes every 20 minutes and they must fend off hordes of monsters, which is just a part of the weird world logic. This movie is crushing all these Minecraft blocks into a package that often explodes in madness. It is exceptionally noisy but entertaining.