Bad draw for Minecraft, the film (critic)

The long-awaited live-action adaptation of Minecraft by Jared Hess falls flat because of a badly constructed scenario and too uncompromising characters.

After the unexpected success of Super Mario Bros, the filmWarner logically jumped at the opportunity to make a live-action adaptation of the best known and sold game in the world … Minecraft ! The studio entrusted the care to Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) To immerse ourselves in the cubic universe of the surface, dimension in the azure blue sky in which each player begins his adventure and where creativity is limitless: each can build everything he imagines.

A brother and a sister (Sebastian Eugene Hansen and Emma Myers), a real estate agent (Danielle Brooks) and an old fallen gamer (Jason Momoa) will be propelled into this fantastic world threatened by the terrible Malgosha, Queen Pigling of Nether, sort of world upside down. Along Steve (Jack Black), turquoise polo, they will do everything to make light triumph …

So much for the frame. What is obvious is the success of digital visual effects, totally loyal to video games. We find there the famous zombies and the Creepers, which pursue you at dusk (fast) of the night, the sheep or the villagers on the long nose during. But that is not enough to prevent the disappointment of points: despite a promising cast with his black-momoa duo, the characters never really touch us, because locked in a caricature without nuances.

Which is a shame for a Garrett – the Looser of the band – built against the tide of virile men that Jason Momoa usually embodies. Once the voluntarily ridiculous look of the pink fringe jacket has been established, its appearances on the screen full of heaviness leaves us only a bitter smile … and the feeling of a missed opportunity to go out of the beaten track.

All these faults are explained by one thing: the weakness of the scenario, a big black point of this adaptation. The game invented by Markus Persson is characterized by an absence of narration which is also found in the film. From the start, we are exposed in a few seconds, by absurd elements, the way in which Steve passes through the magic portal of Minecraft. And from there, the adventures follow each other and follow one another by going nowhere. Everything is going too fast and nothing takes the time to exist: the brother and sister relationship – orphans, moreover – is barely exploited, ditto for the friendships who bind.

Special mention for Malgosha – character who gives us the pleasure of hearing the voice of Laura Felpin in the VF – whose wickedness is explained … by a competition at the America’s Got Talent failed! Even if we can justify these scriptwriting choices by Jared Hess’s affection for a fairly absurd and offbeat humor, we must admit that for Minecraft, the filmit doesn’t always work. The message on creativity, which nevertheless makes the identity of this game, then falls flat. A symbol …

By Jared Hess. With Jason Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks… Duration: 1h41. Released April 2, 2025