A MINECRAFT MOVIE

It’s much more than just one and a half hours of Jack Black yelling terminology relating to Minecraft.

Firstly, congratulations are in order - this is how you market a movie! A Minecraft Movie was able to overcome early controversy and release with millions more on its side than when it was first announced. This was due to love and attention to the source material, a clear sense of direction and heaps of memes! Take note, Disney’s Snow White.

In the beginning, there were some fundamental questions about this movie - why, why and why again. Why was it not just called Minecraft: Movie Edition or something? Why was Jack Black playing the lead character? Why get the roundest man to play the squarest boy? Through some imaginative, borderline innovative marketing from Warner Bros, the team behind A Minecraft Movie were able to legitimately craft support behind the movie - they didn’t want to take over the ‘Minecraft’ name completely. They understood that this is one of a million stories that could be told in the world of Minecraft. They knew that the possibilities were endless, so they chose some wild and wacky ideas and just ran at full speed, and I have absolute respect for that.

Source material, source material, source material. Some could be turned off by how ‘entry-level’ the movie is, but it boils down to Warner Bros just playing it safe. As hard as it is to admit, this isn’t JUST a movie for die-hard fans, the appeal is as wide as it can be. Not only is the original game respected, but we have the honour of seeing it presented to us in a large variety of physical setpieces. On this scale, it’s a surprising rarity in this day and age.

Everything a fan could ask for is here, but that’s just the problem. It’s Minecraft, but it’s on the screen this time. Even something as simple as hearing the sound effects and music from the game can elicit so much joy. There are mines, there’s crafting, there are Creepers, there are pickaxes. What more is there to say? Don’t go into the movie looking for depth, but quite frankly, who’s doing that anyway?

The movie follows a small group of people from different backgrounds who are transported to a land known as the Overworld - each have their own motivations to return home, and each have distinctive strengths they’ll have to tap into in order to get back. They’re joined by master craftsman Steve, played by Jack Black, who shows them the ropes in this new, mysterious, block-filled land.

Although the simple premise of ‘finding your way back home from an alien world’ - done previously in The Super Mario Bros Movie and soon to be done by Smurfs - could have people rolling their eyes, it’s pretty much the safest bet with a movie like this. Don’t be dissuaded, there is a laugh in every scene, even if the laughs come from quick and easy meme quotes you’d heard in the trailers a million times before, like I had.

Jack Black brings boundless energy to the role, as many have come to expect from him. There was the strange revelation just before release that Jack was originally cast as a mere talking pig in a vastly reduced role, but one way or another they pushed their way to the topand ended up taking the lead role. I don't think we're ever gonna know how that happened.

At times, his energy is a little excessive, but it transcends the screen and reaches the audience. He’s put his into this, and it shows.  Jason Momoa, who I still can't believe is attached to this project, surprised me. I hadn't seen any movies he'd been a part of before, so this could have gone a million ways. Turns out, he's actually a strong point. Say what you want about what they've got him wearing, he has a clear motivation, he's developed well over the course of the movie, he's clearly a big player and he does the role proud. A little cringe at times, but anyone could've seen that from a mile away.

Catherine and Sebastian are still all new names in the industry, and for 99% of the audience it'll be the first exposure they have to these actors. They're okay, I just think this is an awkward movie for them to gain a lot of leverage from. No doubt it'll help out their careers, but I didn't get much from them. There are one too many characters in the main cast, and if I wanted to give time to breath, it’s Catherine who’d be heading to the chopping block

Despite finding recent fame in Netflix’s Wednesday series, Emma Myer’s character was almost absent from Minecraft promotional material other than one or two lines in the trailers.  This weirdly doesn't translate poorly for her on-screen. She adds a lot of emotional depth, and it makes me wonder why she was almost hidden until now.

 I was a little worried about the number of characters, and character development falters a little. It’s plain and simple who the most attention is drawn to, and I feel like one or two characters could have been dropped. This is Jason Momoa and Jack Black’s flick, they carry the film, and at some times, it feels like they’re the only one that’s trying. Every time I feel like the movie takes a break from juggling almost half a dozen characters, it starts back up again. People get lost, it can get a little messy.

Jennifer Coolidge is also in the movie. She has a weird subplot dating one of the Villager characters who managed to escape to the real world from the Overworld. Some people have found the most enjoyment from these scenes, but it made me feel a little uncomfortable.

Some lines from the movie’s trailers were actually re-recorded for the movie, which could be eyebrow-raising for some, especially when it seemed a little unnecessary. Ultimately, a fraction of people could be irked a little by this and it won’t amount to much. The movie is fast, there’s no doubt about that. Clocking in at only 100 minutes, it’s both very impressive how much the movie achieves, but it has such a break-neck pace that switching your brain off entirely is probably the best way to enjoy this movie. It’s easy to do, the movie is insane. I loved it.

Whether you only know the basics of building, or you’re a crafting connoisseur, you can get a massive amount of enjoyment from this movie. The latter just have to relive some fundamental explanations of game mechanics first. You will cringe, but that’s part of the fun.Jack Black continues his trend of singing in every single movie he’s in. Animated or not, no film is safe from his voice. He actually sounds alright, and the original tracks are relatively well put together and quirky. Nothing more to say. 

I wanted to find a little space to mention that not all the changes in marketing led directly to A Minecraft Movie being poised for success. Some seem a little… odd. Desperate, perhaps. In the beginning, it was plain and simple that Warner Bros was super proud of casting Jack Black as Steve. After the initial backlash, it was Jason Momoa’s name that went first in the trailers, and Jason Momoa who took centre stage when the posters began coming out until people warmed to Steve again. It’s almost as though the movie was swayed towards Momoa, who fair enough is just a bigger name in the acting world, until it was convenient to switch back to Jack Black. Whatever it took for them to nurture support before the movie was released, it worked out.

It’s pretty much the perfect family film right now, and it deserves to run against virtually no competition this month. Not only that, but they have the satisfaction of potentially overcoming Disney’s crown jewel film which was released only a month prior.

It's taken so many delays, but it's finally here. It's a knife-edge scenario - some are still unconvinced that A Minecraft Movie can be a success. Some have seen the memes, let the ridiculousness of it set in, and been turned away. With a budget that stands almost shoulder to shoulder with some Marvel productions, any hope for high returns, or any returns in general, is a tall order.

Adapting the best selling video game of all time is no easy task, and I truly believe this can be a success. If anything but success comes in the near future for this movie, it’ll be undeserved. Even if it ends up falling off the edge, it’ll be my little special stupid movie, and I’m okay with that.