My Minecraft bona fides are limited… I’ve played the base game for maybe an hour, Minecraft Dungeons for a few more, and Minecraft: Story Mode not at all. So safe to say I was missing some references in this big dumb goofball of a movie. But set all that aside. I had a big goofus grin of a time in this very silly, very kid-focused film.
Jack Black plays a master builder (ahem) in the world of Minecraft when a team of randos from the real world stumble through. They have to join forces to defeat an evil queen and return home.
Not that any of the plot matters… this is just a big cartoony movie with a lot of very funny non-sequitur jokes that made me chuckle (my favorite: a joke about Finnish people). There’s also a metric gobton of in-context comedy. My biggest surprise was realizing the whole thing was one big satirical takedown of the fantasy genre.
The film is loud, bright, and pretty dumb but that’s exactly the movie they wanted to make. I should call out things like scenes that barely connect with each other but I think doing so would miss the point. I’m not sure if anyone thought continuity and story flow even mattered. Since the movie is so goofball and hand-waving, I’m ok with that.
It’s obviously not a perfect film with action scenes that go on too long… but the bright sparkly colors will appeal to kids. I was a little less amused but I went with it well enough.
Jack Black is in total hyperactive kid-friendly mode. This isn’t dark metal satire/adult comedy Black, it’s “let him go over the top and make kids laugh” Black. Plus he gets at least three songs because he’s still the heavy metal funny guy… but also because of Mario, surely.
Jason Momoa is also in goofball mode and he plays off Black very well. He can be a funny guy but I was also surprised by a couple emotional scenes. I guess he can do it when he’s not Tough Guy or Funny Guy only. Not that an Oscar Bait clip is in his future.
I suspect a lot of people are gonna hate this flick for different reasons. I think kids will love it and people who appreciate amusing random writing AND/OR takedowns of the fantasy genre (which I love). Oh, and Minecraft fans since there’s probably enough actual Minecrafting going on to win them over. I had a good time with no more excuses.
Score: 81