Hear me out.I too rolled my eyes when was announced.We're all tired of seeing Jack Black in video game movies — he was fine in , but good god was a disaster.
And the Minecraft film's trailers did it no favors, another soulless movie produced on a virtual set about a game that's completely open-ended and plotless.But it turns out is actually good.Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are.isn't exactly groundbreaking, to be clear.
It certainly never reaches the heights of .But it's surprisingly funny for a children's movie, and it delivers a decent message about championing creativity in a world that wants to beat down free-thinking non-conformists.And if you were around for the inexplicable craze of the mid-2000's, you'll notice plenty of that film's quirky sensibility from director Jared Hess.From the beginning, seems well aware of the ridiculousness of its own existence.
The story starts off with Jack Black's Steve (dressed just like the game's default skin) retelling his obsession with "the mines," and his inability to go digging while he was a kid.He later grows up, gets a boring office job and remembers his erstwhile calling to make holes in the earth.Once he makes his way into a cave, he stumbles into a portal that brings him to the blocky "Overworld" of the universe.
It's classic isekai stuff — the genre of anime where the main character is transported to another (often digital) world.ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisementAnd yes, I know all of this sounds incredibly contrived as I write this, but Black's zaniness really sells the absurdity of the film.It's as if he's saying out loud, "Yes, I know the idea of a movie is beyond dumb, but at least you get to spend time with me in classic Jack Black mode!" Now if you're tired of his schtick, that may be a major knock against the film.But for me, it was a nice reminder of his Tenacious D days.The film eventually focuses on two siblings, Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers), who are moving to a small Midwestern town after the death of their mother.
Natalie is gearing up for a social media producer role at a local business, while Henry is forced to adapt to a new school.Coincidentally, a former gaming superstar lives in their town, Jason Mamoa's Garret "The Garbageman" Garrison, who befriends Henry as another outcast.Danielle Brooks' Dawn, a struggling local realtor/mobile zookeeper, ends up taking Natalie under her wing after seeing how much she's sacrificing for her brother.Inevitably, thanks to a glowing MacGuffin, those four characters also stumble into the same portal that sent Steve to the Overworld.
They quickly run into Steve, break their glowing MacGuffin and then head off to find a way to fix it and return home.If any of this sounds boring, don't worry, it's not really important.What works best in is the humor and personality Hess stuffs in between the trappings of a big budget Hollywood game adaptation.The majority of the film hinges on Jack Black's persona, but I also enjoyed seeing Jason Mamoa play an egotistical manchild who's in love with video games.
He's decked out in an absurd wig and hot pink jacket, and Mamoa hams it up just as well as he did .He's a jerk at times, but he's also kind to Henry and clearly doesn't care what anyone thinks of his personal style.The rest of the cast mostly plays it straight against the force of Black and Mamoa's personalities, but they each get a few moments to shine.ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisementWhenever the core story starts to fall flat, veers into more interesting territory, like a hapless villager who stumbles into the real world.
For those who don't play the game, villagers are simple NPC who can't speak, and often find themselves in danger.I got a kick out of seeing him navigate traffic and have a meet-cute with Jennifer Coolidge's Vice Principal Marlene, a relationship that gets weirder than you'd think.(Again, it's like something straight out of .)I’m no devotee, but I wish the film’s interpretation of the game’s blocky graphics were a bit more pixelated.
While the characters and animals we see resemble their game counterparts, their over-designed look clashes with the beautiful simplicity of aesthetics.I’m sure it’s tough to unite the low-poly look with live action, while also delivering polished CG that audiences expect, but the path took just feels over-cooked.That being said, the film’s game world seems more alive than the empty virtual sets in There are tons of characters milling about, and the environments all feel distinctly .The kids in my press screening didn’t seem to mind the shift in visual language.
They loved seeing the game’s creatures in any form — a family of pandas got a theater-wide “awww.” And they also loved seeing in-game tricks represented on the big screen, like using a water block to cushion a fall.My daughter Sophia’s verdict? “I liked it, but I don’t think I’d want to see it again,” she said.But I know she’s lying.We’ll likely end up seeing this thing hundreds of times at home, and even more so once her brother jumps aboard the bandwagon.
I won’t mind, though.As far as kid’s movies go, it’s a world I wouldn’t mind revisiting.
