Written by Ky Tanella. Graphics By Laura Garcia.
After much anticipation (and skepticism), “A Minecraft Movie” was officially released April 4 and yielded $300 million on its opening weekend. The release of its first trailer quickly sparked mass meme-ification, and people flocked to critique the questionable CGI approach and the cringey dialogue. The film drew even more online attention when hordes of people began causing chaos at the theater during the infamous “Chicken Jockey” scene. While I don’t condone the chaos, I must admit it was some of the most fun I’ve had in a theater in years.
Now, I might get a little personal in this essay — maybe even a little opinionated. I first have to issue a disclaimer because I’m a dramatic writing major, so I might be overly critical. I know this movie is primarily made for children, so I will give it the tiniest bit of grace. Just this once.
“Minecraft” is very special to me. As a 21-year-old, I might feel a little stupid saying that out loud, but I’m sure it’s special to many people my age, as we grew up during its conception and growth.
My journey with the game started around the age of 7, when I begged my father to spend $27 on me so I could play it on his work laptop. I found myself engaging with several Minecraft YouTubers who were slowly gaining popularity then, and I yearned to be as cool as them (names redacted, as they’re all problematic now — oops). Eventually, on my iPod Touch, I downloaded Pocket Edition — back when Creative Mode didn’t have a nighttime setting and there were barely any animals in the game. In middle school, my friends and I bonded over our conjoined Minecraft servers — but sometimes those friendships would be severed due to bloodlust and betrayal. I remember crying real tears when my friend destroyed my house. To be fair, I was talking smack about her behind her back, so I certainly learned my lesson.
Essentially, I’ve been playing “Minecraft” for almost 15 years, so you could say I was pretty excited.
And … I didn’t hate it! I had fun — and so did Jack Black and Jason Momoa! I giggled and groaned with my friends. I expected to cry, to feel a rush of nostalgia hit me as my inner child finally feasted her eyes on a real “Minecraft” movie. But … something just felt off.
It could be the seemingly lifeless CGI world, the flat script (that had nearly seven writers), the terrible child actors, the fact that the movie miserably failed the Bechdel test or the motion sickness I felt throughout the entire runtime. Perhaps it’s all of the above! I’m sure children really enjoyed it, and that’s great. Honestly, it was a little selfish of me to think a movie like this might be curated for me in the first place. But with such a broad secondary audience of 20-somethings, why not make the quality good enough for them too? Is this the state of Hollywood now? Are fun movies going to inherently lack substance?
Don’t get me wrong — I would imagine it’s hard to create an original story with a game as narrative-less as “Minecraft.” Especially since multiple Minecraft YouTubers have written their own stories via roleplay, with quite an audience behind them. Video game adaptations like “The Last of Us” are so successful primarily because they already have a solid story to build off of. So yeah, originality is hard. But there’s so much emotion attached to the game itself — hello, Minecraft end poem!
Maybe they should’ve made it years ago. Way back before the Dream SMP caught on and brought attention back to Minecraft in a … not-so-savory way. Or maybe before all the additions and changes to the game were made, making it even more overwhelming to explore. When this happens and the game makers start to oversaturate their market, players might yearn for a time when the game was simpler. I know part of me still craves the simple days of playing, but part of me is happy that they’ve created something so popular, expansive and accessible.
Let me be even clearer: The movie’s message is great. I’m not a hater in that aspect. Yes, creativity should be nurtured in the digital, oversaturated age. Yes, maybe the reward is the friends we made along the way. But we shouldn’t be accepting cash-grabby Hollywood slop from filmmakers. I yearn for the depth!
All in all, I had a good time watching the movie in the theater, enjoyed laughing with friends and cringing at the painful moments. But thinking back on it, I just wish it were better. I was expecting too much from a movie about “Minecraft” — but is it too much to ask for creativity and originality anymore?
