A Film Adaptation Without the Characters

“A Minecraft Movie” Review

Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash

“A Minecraft Movie” was released worldwide on April 4, exclusively in theaters. The movie is based on Minecraft, a popular block-building game with over 200 million monthly active players. The film adaptation stars Jason Momoa as “Garrett” and Jack Black as “Steve” and has generated a record-breaking $820 million so far, with just a budget of $150 million. The storyline is interesting and complex, and its expensive visual and special effects made it come to life, but its similarity to Minecraft regarding actors is questionable.

The movie follows five main characters–Steve, Garrett, Henry, Natalie and Dawn–as they try to find a way back to earth after becoming stuck in the Minecraft world. During their journey, they go through different obstacles and setbacks before making it back to earth. The most famous obstacle in the movie is a boxing ring fight between Steve and a Minecraft zombie riding on a chicken, a popular meme known as “chicken jockey.” This is one of the ways the Minecraft movie producers show creativity. Another interesting thing to note is its parallel storylines. At one point in the movie, the group of five is split up, with three of the main characters traveling together, while the other two and a dog try to reunite with the others. The movie also shows the story of a villager, who accidentally enters a portal to earth. The movie cuts between various storylines, making the plot more dynamic.

The special and visual effects of the minecraft movie exceeded expectations. Its computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other effects brings the Minecraft world to life, making it seem as if the characters are fighting in the world. It captures the cubic style of the game well using custom props, immersing the audience into the world of Minecraft. Using green screens, it makes the character look like they’re flying with their elytras around the Minecraft world, while in reality, the world is added in using CGI. One interesting effect appears at two points in the movie, and the screen becomes pitch black, adding an element of surprise.

One main criticism of the Minecraft movie is how it relates to the game. Black was not the best choice to play Steve in the minecraft movie. He did not look the part; his hair and beard were nothing like how the Minecraft game’s Steve is. The rest of the cast, like Momoa, who played Garett, and Emma Myers, who played Natalie, played characters that do not appear in the Minecraft game. There are about nine models for players to choose from in the Minecraft world; the producers should have made the five main stars be characters from the game.

The different storylines and obstacles the characters went through made the movie more entertaining, and the special and visual effects, especially the CGI, made the movie more dynamic and lively. But, unfortunately, the choice of characters was not up to standard.

<Star Ratings>

Plot: ★★★★★

Character development: ★★★★★

Acting: ★★★★★

Visual effects: ★★★★★

Humor: ★★★★★

Cinematography: ★★★★★