'A Minecraft Movie' sparks nostalgia
In the internationally renowned 2011 sandbox video game “Minecraft,” players of all ages can click that “Create New World” button and hop on their own uniquely generated world, or join one with others, known as a server or realm. What is truly enigmatic about such a game is that there is no way to “beat” it: You can potentially play on the same world forever and still find new details.
Having played “Minecraft” since I was a child, I’ve seen it through many phases — the most recent being a film.
Released on April 4, “A Minecraft Movie” casts well-known stars such as Jack Black, playing the role of Steve, the video game’s main character, alongside Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge.
The plot differs from the game’s free-play storyline of building creations and exploring biomes — it consists of Steve “yearn[ing] for the mines,” as said in the movie, and finding an enchanted cube that transports him into the game of “Minecraft.” Here, he finds solace and chooses to escape the real world.
Peace comes at a cost, and Steve upsets the equilibrium of the video game’s universe, causing conflict with the movie villain and Piglin queen, Malgosha. The film focuses on a group of children from Steve’s original universe who unearthed the same cube, were transported to the same place, and helped to battle the Piglin enchantress.
Overall, I found the storyline to be incongruent with the game — the characters incorrectly used crafting tables to make unrecognizable weapons and items, well-known biomes were given drastic makeovers, and mobs seemed far more difficult to defeat — but I enjoyed the inclusion of nostalgic details, like the “Minecraft” loading screen as the introduction, and cameos of YouTubers, like DanTDM and LDShadowLady, who have given so much to the fandom.
As for the score, it was nothing noteworthy — fight scenes were accompanied by immediate, rapid electric music or somewhat current pop songs. I would have rather had the ambient music actually used in the video game. These classic, soothing songs made by German musician C418 were only used three times throughout the movie, alongside Jungle’s “Back on 74” and “Lil Boo Thang” by Paul Russell — likely to pique the interest of younger audience members.
Seeing “A Minecraft Movie” in theaters on opening night truly was an experience, but not necessarily a good one. The audience defines the experience. In this case, audiences nationwide have been interrupting the movie with real-time reactions.
My experience at the west Sioux Falls Century theater didn’t seem much different from the videos on social media of teenagers shouting, cheering and applauding over every clip that had already become a meme. During some moments, the moviegoers were so loud that the film’s dialogue couldn’t even be heard. As a long-time player of the game, I would suggest this exemplifies the generational divide — aside from a handful of individuals, including myself, we were outnumbered by prepubescent teens who surely had no idea what “Pocket Edition” means.
Another qualm of mine is the role women played in the movie. Being raised on playing video games with my siblings, I knew at an early age that the hobby was considered atypical for my gender. Seeing the game on the big screen as an adult, I was saddened that the two female main characters were extremely one-dimensional. Furthermore, Minecraft’s female main character option, Alex, was only seen in the film for mere seconds — I always chose her when I played the game.
All in all, it was refreshing to see one of my most special memories become relevant again. I don’t believe the movie was created to accurately portray the video game; instead, its purpose was to resurface what has now become a buried treasure for many.
Overall, I suggest you see “A Minecraft Movie” if you believe it’ll be a nostalgic experience for you — just be prepared to yell “chicken jockey” alongside your audience members.
