A Minecraft Movie
After the popcorn dust settled following its explosive opening weekend, analysts were shocked at the $313 million worldwide haul brought in A MINECRAFT MOVIE.
For parents of children who have grown up playing the insanely popular video game on which the film was based, however, its dominance came as no surprise. It is an entity that has enthralled a generation and when paired with the social media blitz that followed, an entirely new cinematic experience was born.
It is difficult to review A MINECRAFT MOVIE in a traditional sense. Had I watched it privately, I’d likely have an entirely different opinion. Instead, I watched alongside my 12-year-old and his buddy in a sold-out theater. They had excitedly shared quotes and watched videos all the way there, plotting out when they would bust out their phones to yell along with the dialogue and record. There were already thousands of videos of theaters where audiences shouted along with dialogue and were going absolutely bananas at pivotal moments. The traditionalist in me cringed at the thought. The movie-lover who had been to multiple midnight showings of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW was excited to see how everything would unfold.
Though there were countless clips of audiences across the globe reaching a fever-pitch of insanity (the audience member who brought a live chicken was particularly wild), the show we went to was more respectful. There were no fireworks, no live animals, and no throwing of popcorn. Instead, they cheered, they clapped, they laughed, they sang, and, when the time came, they all pressed “record” on their phones and screamed “CHICKEN JOCKEY!” at the top of their lungs. Everyone was beaming, and it undoubtedly had that ROCKY HORROR vibe. The incredible thing is, ROCKY HORROR developed its following and its cues over the course of decades. MINECRAFT made it happen within HOURS of its release. 
MINECRAFT was directed by Jared Hess, and he definitely brought back his NAPOLEON DYNAMITE and NACHO LIBRE vibes. The aesthetic that made those two films modern classics is on full display early on, and it was in these moments that the film was far more engaging than I had expected. Heck, there were even references to wrestling, alpacas, and tots! It was in these moments, as Natalie (Emma Myers) and her younger Henry (Sebastian Hansen) move to the small town of Chuglass, Idaho that Hess’s film seemed like it might evolve into something wholly different than we were lead to believe by the early trailers. Once they, alongside former video game champion Garret “The Garbageman” Garrison (Jason Mimoa in full 1990’s WWE cosplay) and real estate agent/petting zoo operator Dawn (Danielle Brooks) enter the world of Minecraft, silliness and absurdity takes center stage.
The real reason A MINECRAFT MOVIE works is because of the full-fledged commitment of the incomparable Jack Black. It’s difficult to convey just how perfect his casting was. As the realm’s one human inhabitant, he has grown accustomed to the land, its inhabitants, and its rules. He is also so completely and utterly over-the-top that his humor is infectious. He tackles the role with such earnest exaggeration that it’s impossible to watch with a straight face. And, thankfully, there isn’t a second in MINECRAFT that requires that type of grounded intensity. As an enormous fan of Black’s antics with Tenacious D, I was perfectly game to laugh along with the absurdity of it all. I may not have been yelling “chicken jockey” but you better believe I’ve been singing about Steve’s chicken since that moment that I walked out of that theater. 
A MINECRAFT MOVIE- B-
(Now playing in theaters)
