“First we mine, then we craft… let’s ‘Minecraft!’”
And just like that, screen 14 erupted with cheers. “A Minecraft Movie” was released a week ago, and movie theater workers have been clocking overtime since.
The film boasts almost two hours of middle-aged men running through a CGI world spouting memes and references from the smash hit Mojang game “Minecraft.”
“A Minecraft Movie” is objectively two things: cringey and bad. When you look at it next to serious, motivated films like “Mickey 17” or “Misericordia,” there’s just no competition.
However, if audiences go home with one realization, let it be that comparison is the thief of joy.
The story revolves around a misfit cast of characters who needed to find each other to find themselves. The world’s two fearless leaders, Steve (Jack Black) and Garrett (Jason Momoa), conjure a bromance that transcends dimensions.
Their chemistry is also felt offscreen. During media interviews, Black and Momoa seem to genuinely enjoy their roles and had fun with the movie. Fun is kind of the whole point of “Minecraft,” anyway.
Several beloved “Minecraft” YouTubers can be seen in the background of the film. The decision to cast content creators like DanTDM and LDShadowLady as extras only adds to the nostalgia factor.
Even better, as the gang enters the village, a lone pig donning a crown walks by, and Steve refers to it as a “legend.” If you’ve been in the “Minecraft” space for a while, the swine is instantly recognizable as an homage to massive YouTuber Technoblade, who passed away from cancer in 2022.
This minute, otherwise irrelevant, moment speaks to the older gamers in the audience, washing them in waves of nostalgia.
The movie as a whole caters to the recently adult “Minecraft” demographic, touching on the suckiness of growing up and the uncertainty of the future. Mixing the nostalgia bomb that is the IP with this message contributes heavily to the cultural phenomenon this film has already become.
Even without the hype or IP, fun movies are allowed to just be. Media doesn’t need to be so serious all the time. Commentary is good, but so is getting away from it all.
Speaking of which, there’s nothing more fun than a musical number courtesy of Black. Are musical pieces in movies generally unacceptable? Yes. However, “A Minecraft Movie” isn’t trying to be like the other movies.
Between the memes, CGI and music, it was never going to be a critically acclaimed film, so it might as well be free from the shackles of expectations and do something special.
For many young adults, “A Minecraft Movie” brought them community. Whether that’s in real life, online or by returning to the iconic block game, it doesn’t matter. The movie is something for people to rally around.
Black said it best: “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. There’s so much violence and war and hatred. And that’s what I love about this movie – there’s a lot of love in it, and there’s a lot of creativity.”
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