Directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite (2004); Gentlemen Broncos (2009); Masterminds (2015)) and starring Jack Black (School of Rock (2003); High Fidelity (2000); King Kong (2005)), Jason Momoa (Aquaman (2018); Fast X (2023); Dune: Part One (2021)), Sebastian Hansen (Just Mercy (2019); Mozart in the Jungle (tv series, 2018)), Emma Myers (Wednesday (tv series, 2022-25); A Good Girl's Guide To Murder (tv series, 2024)), Danielle Brooks (The Colour Purple (2023); Orange Is The New Black (tv series, 2013-19); Peacemaker (tv series, 2022-25)) and Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie (1999); A Cinderella Story (2004); The White Lotus (tv series (2021-22)).
Action adventure; 101 mins; 6+
A live-action adaptation of the hugely popular video game, this great family film has been released just in time for the Easter holidays.
While the opening sequences are cringeworthily put together to set up the premise of the main plot, i.e. an adventure within the Minecraft universe, it is perhaps useful to review this quickly to explain who the characters are and how they come to join together for the adventure...
Steve (Jack Black) dreams of working in the mine; when he is old enough, he explores an abandoned mine and unearths two parts of a magical cube. When the pieces are put together, they open a portal to a magical world where everything appears to be made out of cubes - even living things - and the only limit appears to be one's imagination. Steve gets trapped there in the hellish Nether land, ruled by a vicious pig queen who is out to destroy creativity; when he does not return, his house contents are put into storage...
Fast forward a number of years and flamboyantly-dressed "Gamer of the Year 1989" Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison (Jason Momoa) runs a failing record store. At the same time, siblings Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers) roll into town following the death of their mother, and Henry enrols into school where he encounters School Vice Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge); meanwhile, Natalie is helped to settle in by real estate agent Dawn (Danielle Brooks).
When Garret bids for the contents of Steve's storage, he unwittingly put the two parts of the magical cube on display, only for Henry to stumble upon them. Yes, you guessed it, he puts the two parts together and he, Natalie, Garrett and Dawn are transported into the magical world.
However, all is not as it first seems as, while some characters appear to be nice, others definitely are not. When faced with an attack, Henry works out how to build a defensive fort, and soon they are introduced to Steve who - by now - understands the universe, and together they try to plan their escape by undertaking a quest, using graft and imagination to survive.
Now the real storyline starts, the adventure akin to the popular Minecraft computer game... audiences are brought on a rollercoaster ride of absurdity in which they can sit back and absorb the on-screen action. But why it flips back to the real world and the sub-plot involving School Vice Principal Marlene is simply a distraction...
Currently on general release in Luxembourg at Kinepolis and CiNextDoor.
ED
