I wasn’t expecting “A Minecraft Movie” to be a cinematic masterpiece, or even be a particularly good film. I was expecting it to be an entertaining and silly movie that didn’t take itself too seriously and had some of that Minecraft charm. Instead, I saw a disappointingly bad movie with little-to-no plot, forgettable characters and a few mildly funny jokes. In other words, “A Minecraft Movie” is not worth your time.
This article is spoiler-free.
I do love a good goofy movie or TV show. Everything shouldn’t be so serious all the time, and sometimes, we all just need a good laugh, so I was very excited to learn that this was the type of movie that Minecraft and Warner Brothers was going for. With an incredible cast including Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa and Jack Black, this movie was one that I, as a long-time Minecraft fan, was personally excited for. I’ve been a passionate enjoyer of all things Minecraft since sixth grade, when I first bought the game. I think I’ve at least dipped my toe into most aspects of the game, whether that be traditional survival mode, player versus player games or even redstone, and I’ve met many friends through it that I wouldn’t have otherwise met.
But this movie did not do any of that justice. It didn’t even do justice to the whimsical memes it has spawned online. The main thing that is holding the movie back is the script and overall plotline. One example of this subpar writing is related to the kids in the movie, Natalie and Henry, who are some of the movie’s main protagonists. In the movie, Natalie and Henry’s mom has died recently, leaving Natalie to take care of Henry. At the beginning of the movie, this is referenced multiple times and is set up as an important plot point. Throughout the film though, they just seem to forget about their dead mom. The movie shouldn’t have focused on this plot point if there was going to be no payoff whatsoever.
While the writing was flat and underdeveloped, the visuals of the movie were simply amazing. The incorporation of live-action actors in a mixed CGI world was one of the best I’ve seen in a while. The Minecraft world really feels alive in a way that I was definitely not expecting out of this movie. Everything is uniquely blocky, and you can tell that these sorts of elements were definitely created with a lot of care and love for the franchise. The same thing goes for how the characters move and interact with the Minecraft world, as well as the amazing sound design that cleverly mixes sound effects already in Minecraft with new sounds that feel right at home. As someone who’s done a good bit of video editing and audio production, this especially impressed me.
The plot of this movie was flat at best, and missing at worst. If there was any character development whatsoever it must have been so small, unimportant or uninteresting that I can’t remember what it was.
I think that if this movie had been made the exact same way, with the same actors, CGI and sound effects, but had an overall more thought-out script with more dynamic characters, this could’ve been a really good movie. Maybe the most disappointing part of this movie is that I really see its potential, but it’s as if they have built a beautiful house on a flimsy, unstable foundation that collapses before anyone’s even able to live in it. If I had watched this movie on streaming, I think I may have stopped watching halfway through. When I left the movie theater after “A Minecraft Movie,” I felt bad that I had wasted a Saturday night on it.
