‘A Minecraft Movie’ makes an attempt at humor

Henry Sincic | Contributor 

It’s hard to make a movie out of a video game. That’s a bit of guesswork on my part—I’ve never tried to make one—but, if everything that’s come out of Hollywood over the past 30 ish years is any indication, it can’t be easy. Video games are an entirely different beast of a medium to film in that they are inherently interactive and, thus, aren’t necessarily beholden to the same standards of storytelling. It’s easy to see how it might be difficult to craft an engaging plotline around something so inherently plotless.

Enter “A Minecraft Movie,” a film that is exactly as mundane and unfunny as all the bad video game movies that have come before it. There’s a certain kind of kids’ movie that has come to be dreaded by the moviegoing populace, and this movie checks most of the boxes. Celebrity actors? Check. Cringe-worthy jokes? You betcha. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, mind, but it fits a certain lackluster mold that will probably not provide much substance to anyone other than kids or Minecraft superfans. 

Pre-trailer drop, one could’ve been forgiven for thinking this movie had a chance. The director, Jared Hess, has proven himself in the field of quirky comedies, having previously directed “Napoleon Dynamite.” With Jack Black and Jason Momoa on board, the latter in a producing role in addition to starring, one would assume this movie would be a riot. Sadly, save for a few bright spots, it really isn’t.

Part of the problem is that the movie has almost no character. There is an attempt at humor, but it is, for the most part, unbelievably forced. The characters in the movie have practically nothing to do other than to spout their overly exaggerated personality traits until they can force a laugh. This is the sad case of Black as Steve who, aside from the already memetic “I am Steve” and “Chicken Jockey” moments, offers nothing much other than being a wide-eyed goof. Only Jeff Portnoy would otherwise be expected to stoop so low. Momoa’s character, Garrett Garrison, a play on the “world champions” of 80s arcade yore (the disgraced Billy Mitchell and Todd Rogers come to mind), could’ve gotten a few laughs, if for the predictably one-note jokes that were written for him. At least the adults are memorable in some way, something I can’t say for the two lead children of the movie. One is named Henry and likes to invent things. That’s about it. 

So our lamely written caricatures go on a big quest to save the world of Minecraft from Malgosha, the ruler of the Piglins, a race of pig-like creatures who reside in “the nether.” It’s pretty standard fare as far as a big colorful adventure flick goes, and I expect that it will please the kids. For me, though, I just see boring, predictable and unfunny writing set to an admittedly colorful, yet unreal backdrop. 

As CGI animated worlds go, the realm of “A Minecraft Movie” is perfectly serviceable. There is a lot of colorful and creative imagery on display, and while it’s nowhere near as visually pleasing as something like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” one suspects that kids, particularly fans of “Minecraft,” will delight in the way the environments look. More suspect is the way the live actors are superimposed into the CGI worlds, giving it an uncanny “Spy Kids 3D” look.

If you like this movie, that’s fine. It’s been interesting to see how successful it’s become in the short time it’s been out, and I’ve never been one to begrudge another’s success. But, for me, I would have hoped for far, far more.

Comments

comments