Four misfits are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world while embarking on a quest with an unexpected, expert crafter. (from IMDB)

Full disclosure: I've never played the game Minecraft. My teenage son, however, has been a longtime fan, and he even got my dad hooked on it a few years ago (he says he "just likes to build!"). So, you can say I have a very passing familiarity with the game. However, when the latest cinematic cashgrab that is A Minecraft Movie was announced and later revealed with a teaser trailer, I can't say I was left with any interest in seeing a movie based on the game. However, with family firmly interested in the title, I knew I'd be seated in a theater on opening night regardless.

So, does A Minecraft Movie work for non-fans? I suppose my wife and I were amused by it, but I did feel like I was on the outside of an inside joke for much of the film -- especially when I'd hear my son and my dad giggle at something that I realized you had to know the game well enough to truly "get." But being helmed by Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre director Jared Hess (such a weird director choice), I was along for the ride with it being more so a movie by Jared Hess than its intended audience. A Minecraft Movie aims for an 80's movie feel, and it never backs down. Same goes for its silliness. Hess goes all-in on the silliness factor with the concept. *This is the same studio that brought us The LEGO Movie eleven years ago, after all.) Everyone who had a hand in making this movie knew exactly how ridiculous the concept was, so it's no surprise that A Minecraft Movie is pretty self-aware. It's a movie based on a pixelated block-building video game. Let's be honest with outselves; it exists for the merchandise, folks.

As-is, A Minecraft Movie is no doubt a fun movie. Jack Black basically plays the main game character "Steve" as a live action Po the Panda (from Kung Fu Panda)... minus the kung fu element. That boyish over-the-top enthusiasm is there. He's aware of how ridiculous all of the proceedings are, and he leans into it. Hess also brings a little of that Napoleon Dynamite weirdness and charm to the characters, too, and seeing Jason Momoa as a wimpy manchild who can't grow past his 1989 video game championship title is a pretty great gag in itself (even if it is a feature-length joke that'll get a bit tired for some viewers). The rest of the central characters are fine, although not particularly memorable. (It's not like Napoleon's team of Pedro and Deb, for example.) Sebastian Hansen plays a nerdy teenage science whiz named Henry alongside his sister and caregiver Natalie, played by Emma Myers. (For some reason, it's made part of the plot that they have been orphaned by the death of their parents, which is also kind of a downer.) They're a cute sibling pairing, but again, they're a bit forgettable. For some reason, their sort-of realtor acquaintance, Dawn, played by Danielle Brooks, also comes along for the ride, and she's fine, but also doesn't do much beyond offering exaggerated reactions (albeit sometimes amusing ones) to the craziness around them. Finally, Jennifer Coolidge plays her usual kind of quirky bit part as a Vice Principal who falls in love with a Minecraft villager when it wanders into the real world (yeah, it's as weird as that sentence sounds).

A Minecraft Movie does have a Jared Hess feel to it, but you can tell efforts were made to give it a much bigger - and a little less quirky - feel than most of his movies have. Overall, it's pretty family friendly, although there are a couple salty words sprinkled in here and there. Most of those are from Jack Black, too, with there being a few uses of "h*ll," one of "*ss," and a couple of "sucks." Also, great effort was taken to use "gosh" instead of "God" by most of the characters, but Coolidge does say "Oh my G-d" several times in one scene. There isn't really any sexual content, but there's a little bit of, maybe, sensuality involving Coolidge being kind of on-the-prowl since becoming newly divorced. And this leads to the gag where she falls for the devoid-of-personality Minecraft villager. Violence is the only other caution for the film, and most of it is pretty benign. However, the scenes that take place in the Minecraft world at night with the zombies, spiders and skeleton people are likely to freak out younger viewers. Most characters have that blocky, Minecraft look to them, but many of the animals (including the big spiders) get a bit of a more realistic brush to their appearance. One fight sequence involving the zombies sees Steve ripping the arm off of one and beating another with it. It isn't gory, per se, but it could still gross a few viewers out. We see some other monsters - like pig men - get stabbed with spears or swords and immediately turn into a steaming slice of cooked steak. And when night suddenly turns to day, we see some of the monsters suddenly catch fire.

This movie seems to be polarizing to audiences, but I think fans of the game are the ones who are going to get the most out of it. Is it a "good" movie? I'd probably say "not really," but it's hardly boring or uninteresting - especially if you enjoy a hearty dose of silliness. If you're a fan of any of the cast and enjoy watching them in most of their roles, you'll probably enjoy A Minecraft Movie. But those looking for a really good story, you're not likely to find that here. It's the kind of movie where you're going to discover a scene where Jason Momoa, dressed in a tassly pink jacket, will be wrestling a baby zombie in a boxing ring. If that sounds like a good time at the movies, you're in for a treat. But if that scene description sent a chill down your spine just reading it, avoid this movie.

Ultimately, I don't think you have to be a blissful fan of the video game to enjoy A Minecraft Movie, but those are the viewers who are going to appreciate this movie the most. It's one feature-length inside joke for those who the Crafters who are. (I personally loved 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and now I can see how that one was probably lost on those unfamiliar with the world of Mario. This movie takes a lot more risks involving new characters and trying to mix live action with animation, however.)

If you're wondering, there is a (silly) mid-credits bonus scene, and then there is one additional scene after the credits that kind of teases the possibility of a new character from the video game being used in the future if a sequel is ever greenlit.