A Minecraft Movie Review

“A Minecraft Movie” is an adaptation of the very popular video game called “Minecraft”. In the past, few movies based on video games have become known for quality and extended box office success. Now, this attempt gets some high-profile actors and a quirky Director to ‘craft’ a nugget of Gold. Or is this only Fool’s Gold?

This gets started off with an extended prologue that explains how a young child named Steve wants to explore in an old mine shaft. When he is much older, Steve (played by Jack Black) gets his dream.

He finds a portal to a very strange place, called the ‘Under World’. Everything he can think of, he can instantly create. All the objects and creatures here are cube-shaped. That includes his new best friend, a loyal Cube-Wolf he names Dennis.

However, there are some enemies down in Steve’s new home. At night, scary cube-shaped skeletons and zombies come to attack. And then there are the nasty ‘Piglins’. Steve has fought the leader of the Piglins, a nasty character named Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House). Steve has found a magical cube-shaped ‘orb’ that would allow the let Malgosha take control of the ‘Over World’. Ya know — where we all live.

Back in the Over World, I mean — in the real world, there are some things going on. A young woman named Natalie (played by Emma Myers) has moved to Chuglas, Idaho. She moved there with her younger brother Henry (played by Sebastian Hansen). She will have a new job at the potato factory, and Henry will attend the Chuglas high school.

The nice real estate agent who got them the house is named Dawn (played by Danielle Brooks). She also has a bunch of side gigs, like running a petting zoo from a trailer in back of her car. There is also a middle-aged guy who never, ever grew up.

His name is Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (played by Jason Momoa). He was a video game champ back in 1989, and will not let anyone forget his talent. He runs a decrepit video game store called ‘Game Over World’.

The Cube-Wolf Dennis had escaped from the Piglens when they captured Steve. Dennis hid the magical cube-shaped ‘orb’ in Steve’s old house. The ‘orb’ ends up in the store run by Garrett. Henry stops at the shop with Natalie and Dawn.

The ‘orb’ gets activated and they are brought from the Over World down into the Under World. During all that commotion, a lone ‘villager’ from the Under World makes his way to the Over World.

The four travelers — Garrett, Dawn, Natalie and Henry — are confronted with a unique environment of cube-shaped everything. Henry, who is quite intelligent and creative, takes to the new place in a snap. He is able to create new structures and buildings. That becomes very helpful when the zombies and skeletons begin attacking.

Garrett talks a big game, but he is mostly a big scaredy-cat on the inside. The group is about to get killed by the creatures when Steve comes into action. He was able to escape from the Piglin prison.

Mostly by sweet-talking his guard, a dim-witted Piglin named Daryl (voiced by Jemaine Clement). A big part of the ‘orb’ cube gets broken. Only taking a new quest over the mountains to the Woodland Mansion can they reactivate the ‘orb’ cube.

The evil Malgosha has her Piglin minions chasing down the group and trying to capture them. Steve finds that his Cube-Wolf Dennis has survived the Piglin assault and they are reunited. Steve shows the group all about ‘crafting’ — how to take blocks of objects and change them into tools and weapons. Henry has the most skill at this, because he is the most creative.

Nobody has noticed that one of the ‘villagers’ has gone missing. The guy had come up to the Over World, and happened to run into the high school Vice-Principal. Actually, VP Marlene (played by Jennifer Coolidge) ran into the ‘villager’.

Like, really ran him down with her car. VP Marlene is just out of a bad marriage. She really enjoys the company of her tall block-headed friend who doesn’t talk much.

But the Under World crew is ready for a battle against the evil Piglin army, led by Malgosha. Getting the ‘orb’ cube back up and working will get all of the ‘Over World’ people get back home. Steve has spent so much time in the Under World that he thinks he might stay right where he is. He has always had a good friend in Dennis. But now also has some new pals from the Over World.

But to get it all to work, they need to be smart and cunning. They need to use the skills they have developed. They need to score a victory over the evil Malgosha. Steve has the crafting power. Garrett has the muscle, and Henry has the brains. Dawn and Natalie are both ready to use the powers they have found to fight the Piglins.

Will they be successful in stopping the Piglins? Will they get the chance to get back to the Over World and use all the creativity that they perfected in the Under World? Will Vice-Principal Marlene ever find out that her new ‘villager’ boyfriend is not even human? Does she even care?

“A Minecraft Movie” gets a major boost in fun by not taking any of it too seriously. The characters are all off-the-wall, and the wondrous landscapes are beautifully rendered. There is a lot going on, and all the time. The Director — Jared Hess — has done much smaller indie comedies before this. Movies like “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre”.

Jared Hess directs this movie like a ‘Wes Anderson director for blue-collar workers’. The joyful and enthusiastic chaos on the screen is rarely toned down. Jack Black (as Steve) is at his most unhinged high level of insanity. He expresses as much with his googly eyes and his wiggly fingers as he does with his voice. Jason Momoa is the perfect man-boy, talking up a macho game, but always crying like a baby.

There is not much in the way of ‘character development’, or ‘third-act reveals’. That would make this too much like an actual movie. The other roles are played very well for what they need to be. But this is front-and-center the “Jack and Jason Cut-Loose Comedy Show”. All other aspects are there to build up on the existing ‘Minecraft’ world, with these two as your goofy guides.

Are there distractions to be found? Of course — Jack Black ‘turned up to 11’ can be fun. But too much of that can considered torture. Does he really need to come up with a musical interlude more than once? Can the ‘sandbox’ world of ‘Minecraft’ allow you to create your own adventure? Yes, but there should be just a little better structure around the hollow shell of a story…

“A Minecraft Movie” takes a well-known video game and makes it into an entertaining world of creativity and craziness. With all of the emphasis on the craziness…