This article contains spoilers for the film "A Minecraft Movie.”
Picture this: you step foot into a whole new world filled with sharp angles and inviting landscapes. Everything is bright and peaceful in this world of blocks. You know that you can shape the world around you in any way (so long as it is blocky) if you have the creativity to make it happen. It’s a land of opportunity free of the judgment people often face when trying to express their creative thinking in the real world.
“A Minecraft Movie,” directed by Jared Hess tackles this exact situation through the lens of the best-selling video game Minecraft. Whether you’ve played it, watched it, or simply existed in modern society in the past decade, you are likely somewhat familiar with the concept of Minecraft. I saw the movie with a mixed group of people including miners, crafters and people who simply didn’t care about the sandbox game. No matter their background, every single person had a blast. Thoughts ranged from “A Minecraft Movie” being, “the best video game movie for sure” to “a pretty dumb movie, but I enjoyed it.”
“Every scene was perfect, from the breathtaking visuals to the captivating sound design. Sorry Leonardo DiCaprio, next to the acting performances in this film, you’d think ‘Titanic’ was a high school production with a budget of 20 bucks. ‘Shawshank Redemption?’ ‘The Godfather?’ They pale in comparison to ‘A Minecraft movie.’ Absolute cinema. Ten out of ten,” one friend said.
Testimonials like these are just a small tribute to the absolutely electric atmosphere in the theater. I highly recommend seeing the show late at night because everyone who was present was as excited as a herd of cows when you show them wheat. Being more familiar with the Minecraft community is ideal considering how most references in the movie were directed more at the fanbase than at the game itself. If you like water buckets, flint and steel or slime cubes, then you belong in the mineshaft.
You can expect to see a myriad of notable faces, including but not limited to Jack Black and Jason Momoa. Jennifer Coolidge stole the show in every single scene she appeared in. She ends up hitting a villager from Minecraft’s world with her Jeep Grand Cherokee, and, in classic meetcute fashion, the two fall madly in love. In my opinion, this plot could have been a greater part of the movie, but it may have been for the best to not overdo the steamy romance. Whoever divorced that goddess of a woman was a fool.
“A Minecraft Movie” is by no means a good movie. It’s a fun movie. The dialogue is a stranger to subtlety and the plot is a vehicle for Jack Black to say the names of various Minecraft objects. The film does not take itself seriously, and neither should the audience. Much like “Twilight” or “Velocipastor,” walking in expecting the movie to be a trashy comedy will bring the most enjoyment out of the experience.
The next time you’re just sitting around eating tater tot pizza or crushin’ loaf, consider watching “A Minecraft Movie” to take the edge off of your hectic student life. Remember to foster your creativity and bring it out into a hostile real world. Escapism can be fun, but if you keep your values in mine, you can craft a better world full of love, peace and chicken jockeys.
