By Joseph Hammann, Staff Writer
After a production that lasted more than a decade, “A Minecraft Movie” has finally arrived on the big screen.
The movie was already spawning a lot of talk due to the criticisms about mixing live action actors with an animated landscape.
Going into it, I was very unsure of what to expect since I heard very mixed reactions, but after traversing this world, I too found it mixed overall.
Without a doubt, I can say that it succeeds at looking like Minecraft if it was a realistic looking resource packs. I really have to give praise to the designers for giving all of the different blocks a texture that pops out. Admittingly, it does seem a little bit odd for them to look more realistic, but for a live-action movie, I understood they had to do that.
Minecraft was released in 2011 and was an integral part of many Zoomer childhoods.
When it came to the cast of characters the movie focuses on, I do appreciate the variety of backgrounds and personalities presented.
My favorite character was definitely Dawn, but I feel like that was only because of her snarky personality as the person in the group who does not understand anything going on. I also really liked the portrayal of Steve, even if it’s just Jack Black being himself. When it comes to Black playing characters in movies based on video games, I would say that it is not as good as his portrayal of Bowser in “The Super Mario Bros.” movie but definitely better than Claptrap in “Borderlands.” I also really like the villain of the film, Malgosha, even if she was not very threatening to the heroes.
Another relief I had was how the pacing remains consistent and does not go at breakneck speed for no reason, nor does it slow down to the point that it makes watching the movie feel like a chore.
While I do like the textures put on the different blocks in the Minecraft world, I did find some of the changes a little questionable. Notably, the creeper textures being more fluffy just did not seem like the best design decision to me.
When it came to the characters, although I liked characters like Dawn and Malgosha, as well as Natalie, they do not really contribute that much to the plot and are just kinda… there.
Another issue I had with the characters was how I felt Steve and Garrett felt too similar it often seemed like Jack Black and Jason Momoa were just trying to steal the other’s thunder any time they had scenes together.
Although I do not think it is the fault of Sebastian Hansen, he just came off as a jerk too many times, ruining the movie’s tone.
When it came to the acting of the film, in my opinion, most of the cast either underacts or overacts. Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Jared Hess overact. Emma Myers and Sebastian Hansen underact. Danielle Brooks is the only main cast member in the middle.
Finally, the story — It’s biggest flaw is that it the opening backstory came off too slow and sluggish and the opening scenes about Henry getting in trouble at school and Garrett getting scammed really seem too far removed from a movie about Minecraft. They were executed poorly, but the story picks up the more the film goes on. All in all, “A Minecraft Movie” has its moments where it shines like diamonds, but also has various points where it completely starts to wither away.