A Minecraft Movie: An Irreverent Romp

Rating: 7.4/10

A Minecraft Movie is a glorious romp of a film, telling a fun and easy-to-follow story with great animation and character from Jack Black.

Highlights: 

• Jack Black! 

• Amazing animation

• Very fun

Lowlights: 

• Not enough animals

• Not enough singing 

• Weak messaging 

  
  

It's simple: A Minecraft Movie is just a good time. I've never played Minecraft, and seeing this film was certainly not at the top of my list. However, I'm so glad I did. A Minecraft Movie was funny, irreverent, imaginative, and had star power, even with an attempt to convey a positive message to kids. There were funny one-liners throughout, and overall the script was only a little stupid, which I appreciated. Jack Black was fantastic in his role as Steve, and he truly added so much to the role and the film. One of my primary gripes is actually that there wasn't enough singing from him -- a complaint I will probably never say again about a film. The animation was great, thoroughly immersing you in the world without being distracting. However, it wasn't all perfect -- the two female characters felt very forced. They disappeared for around thirty minutes, then magically appeared in the perfect location at the right time. Why include these characters if they'll just be strewn to the wayside in favor of the three male leads? It wouldn't have been difficult to include female voices, but unfortunately the female character with the most authentic personality and screen time was the evil pig empress. And though A Minecraft Movie certainly tried to preach the great moral of creative power onto their youth audience, I thought this message was weak overall and should've been better fleshed out. Regardless, I really did have a great time watching this film, though I knew nothing about the game going in. Don't expect too much, but it really is an enjoyable watch. 

Liked A Minecraft Movie? Check out Napoleon Dynamite or Nacho Libre, two of director Jared Hess' earlier films. Both have the same goofy comedic style, and the latter even stars Black.

Watch the trailer!