Shouting matches and food fights greeted the theatrical release of βA Minecraft Movie.β
When it hits the home market, parents, hopefully, can keep it down to a dull roar.
Here, in a blocky kind of world, Jack Black and Jason Momoa must help friends survive multiple threats before enemies try to end their fun.
From left, Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Sebastian Hansen appear in a scene from "A Minecraft Movie."
There are probably deep stories behind all the activity, but the film simply spits out favorite lines, hops around familiar territory and lets its two stars act like theyβre in an over-long television skit.
Momoa plays the owner of a video game store in Chuglass, Idaho. He once held an β80s gamer title but now the world is hardly clamoring for arcades and VHS tapes. Before he closes the place, he winds up in Minecraft where heβs guided to the mines by a quiet kid (Sebastian Hansen), whoβs tracked by his sister, Natalie (Emma Myers) and a real estate agent (Danielle Brooks) who runs a traveling zoo atop her car.
Theyβre caught in the Cubist world where piglin warriors try to end their journey. To help them maneuver, Black appears and shows them the ropesΒ β particularly how to make rounded objects out of squares. Heβs a master builder, you might say, and just as creeped by the piglin folks as his new friends.
Both Momoa and Black donβt worry how silly they look. They approach this like an extra-curricular activity and agree to some of Director Jared Hessβs more outrageous stunts, just to get laughs. Those donβt always come but some lines do encourage audience participation. Black, for example, gets a rousing βSteeeeeve!β welcome when he comes on screen. He also gets plenty of butt jokes and a line about βminingβ or βcraftingβ that apparently registers among those who play.
"A Minecraft Movie"
While βA Minecraft Movieβ involves treasure, outrageous forms of transportation and a cavalier approach to death, it doesnβt contain satanic messages or answers to the great questions of life. Instead, it lets outsiders just see what goes on in this world and, maybe, why fans would want to mess around in it for an hour or so.
Black has the right demeanor for such a venture, but heβs not exactly the hero most are seeking. He just is.
Momoa risks a bit more artistically but itβs not like his resume is filled with art films.
The real adventurer is Hess, who made a mark with βNapoleon Dynamiteβ and could, given the box office returns, score here, too. He includes tater tots on the menu and welcomes comparisons every time the Minecraft world seems a little too limiting.
Explosions and skeletons aside, watching the film doesnβt necessarily lead to thirsting for a sequel. This gets the job done and moves on. Thatβs as much as anyone could ask.
