The video game “Minecraft” has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. Whether I was watching people play it on YouTube, or getting my Avengers tower blown up by one of my friends while playing the game itself (you know who you are), it was always a game I would keep going back to.

If you  love Minecraft as much as I do, you know about, “A Minecraft Movie”, which came out April 4th starring Jack Black as the one and only Steve. Now, you may be wondering, how does someone make a “Minecraft” movie? Don’t worry, I was wondering the same thing. Even after watching the movie, it is quite difficult to describe.

However, the basis of the movie surrounds a young boy, Henry and his newfound friends, plus his sister, as they get transported to a new world via a magical orb. They all have to work together to try and get back to Earth with the help of a craftsman named Steve.

Overall, A “Minecraft” Movie was exactly how I predicted it to be. Very unserious, very funny, and very entertaining. Was it maybe because I was exhausted from the 3 hour rehearsal beforehand? Maybe. Even so, my friends and I had a blast!

The main cast  did exactly what they were supposed to do. Right off the bat, you can tell that this movie was not meant to be serious in any way, shape, or form. This is especially shown in the acting styles of Jack Black.

Black stole the camera with his rendition of Steve. All of his lines from the trailer were heard resounding throughout the theater by many children before they were even said on the screen:

“I am Steve.”

“Flint and steel.”

“Chicken jockey.”

“Release.”

That theater experience sure was  something, but we’ll get to that later.

What really surprised me in the movie, though, was when Steve started singing.. I don’t know why Steve would sing, but he did. Steve was showing the Earth crew around a village and taught them how to cook chicken with his song entitled  “Lava Chicken.” I didn’t think I would be graced with the presence of Black’s vocal talent in a movie about a world of blocks.

Fittingly, the huge theme of this movie was creativity. I mean: Black sang, Henry made a jetpack in the beginning — which, of course, got ruined by the kids in his class who hate creativity— AND the villain of the story was a Piglin woman, Malgosha, who only became the villain because everyone told her she would never succeed in her performing dreams.

Malgosha was voiced by Rachel House, best known as “Mama Tala” from “Moana”, and I thought she did a pretty great job. When I looked at the Piglins in “Minecraft,” I felt that they would have that exact gravely voice that she performed perfectly.

I’m aware this is my first time mentioning the villains dubbed  the “Piglins.” That is because these villains didn’t really do a good job of villaining. They were pretty easily defeated via sword, bucket, and flight fights. In addition, they weren’t that intimidating, but what do you expect from cubed pigs with glowing eyes?

The characters of Garrett Garrison( Jason Momoa), Henry, played by Sebastian Eugene Hansen, Natalie, played by Emma Myers, and Dawn, played by Danielle Brooks, were all very different in their own ways. Henry was the creative, Garret was the dumb headed jock, Natalie was the worried older sister, and Dawn was a frightened lady who loved animals. A very interesting group, might I say.

I feel that all of these actors acted with what they had in the script. At least from the known actors’, like Momoa and Myers, previous works, you know that they can act better than they did in this movie. I just feel that with the vibe and words written down on the pages to actually act out, everything was just so silly and goofy. It’s hard to critique a movie that I believe isn’t supposed to be taken seriously.

One thing I loved were the random appearances by people from Jennifer Coolidge, best known in “Legally Blonde”, who played the principal of Henry’s school who ends up going out on a date with a “Minecraft” villager (don’t ask, just watch the movie to understand), to appearances of famous “Minecraft” YouTubers like DanTDM and LDShadowlady. 

Being more in depth, I really liked the CGI of the characters and animals. I thought that, even though they were more realistic than the game (obviously), they were really funny to look at which I feel was the point. Was it the best CGI in the history of cinematic special effects?? Of course not, but we’re talking about the “Minecraft” movie here. Let’s be realistic.

I also enjoyed the settings of the worlds. I felt like the designers tried their best to figure out a mix of realism and the “Minecraft” style that we all know and love.

“A Minecraft Movie” was quite the experience. I loved getting to go out with my friends and reliving our childhoods for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Now, the theatre was filled with children (which is what you’d expect), but they weren’t the issue. While watching the movie, all you could hear were the pre-teen boys behind us giving their little comments about the movie. And, honestly,  I didn’t completely care about them at the time because some of their comments were funny (unfortunately).

Everything was fine until the end of the movie, when those same pre-teen boys decided to pour their unfinished popcorn bucket all over my friend’s head. It definitely made the theater experience unforgettable, but for all the wrong reasons. It seems that, with the coming of a new generation, also comes the disappearance of theater etiquette. The yelling, interjections, and throwing of food can make the experience a little less enjoyable. 

However, despite having to deal with rude teenage boys, “A Minecraft Movie”  was such a fun experience! It very much brought me back to the times when I spent all my days binge watching Minecraft YouTube playlists of “Stampy’s Lovely World” or random BedWars videos. Though I may not ever rewatch the movie, unless I’m very bored at a sleepover, it was very entertaining.