It goes without saying that Minecraft has become a pop culture staple. It’s the best-selling video game of all time and is now a household name. It was only a matter of time before a Minecraft movie was made.
The first teaser trailer for A Minecraft Movie dropped, giving the world a glimpse as to what a movie based on the hit video game could look like… and there were certainly some interesting choices made. Let’s take a look at what details this teaser has to offer, as well as soak in this… unique visual style.
The Visuals
Okay…wow… The entirety of the film appears to be CGI except for the handful of human actors. If this was the route they were taking, why not just make an animated film? Minecraft’s artstyle is nothing short of iconic at this point; it would have been great to animate an entire movie in that style. It also would have been instantly recognizable, which would have helped market the movie.
In addition to the choice to have the movie be CGI-heavy live action, the CGI doesn’t look great. The backgrounds are headache-inducing. The designs of the creatures just feel “off.” The attempt to make the blocky textures look real is truly unsettling. The green screen effect is rough as well; the live action characters don’t look like they’re actually there.
Humor
There are several attempts at humor throughout the trailer. None of them are very funny. Seeing something strange and saying “what the hell?” and sighing and whispering “this guy is such a toolbag” feel just as cliché as “they’re right behind me, aren’t they” and “well THAT just happened.” They’re not very funny or creative. The shot of the stampede of baddies charging past the llama at the end of the teaser is a little funny, so hopefully this could mean that there will be some solid visual gags throughout.
Crafting
We get the first look at how crafting is handled in the movie. Objects are placed onto a crafting table, and with one hit, they combine into something completely new. This is actually a pretty clever way to adapt how the crafting is done in the game. It might be fun to see what sort of things Jason Mamoa and the rest craft on their adventure.
Other Gameplay Mechanics
There are a slew of gameplay mechanics represented in this teaser. Outside of the crafting, we also see characters collecting blocks, trees floating in midair despite not being connected to anything, and arrows being fired. The actual mechanics is what makes a video game what it is, so it’s important that they feel present in an adaptation and are represented well. It seems like this will feel true to the world that Minecraft fans are familiar with.
Animals and Creatures
There are plenty of animals and creatures that appear throughout this quick teaser trailer. Sheep, wolves, and llamas are seen munching on grass and living their best, blocky lives. Various monsters like Creepers, Ghasts, and Piglin. This is likely just a small taste at the threats the main heroes will face on their adventure. Again, though, they don’t look fantastic… If anything, they look like something from those old “what if Minecraft was real” memes and YouTube videos.
The Nether
It appears that Jason Mamoa and company will venture into the Nether. In the game, the Nether is essentially a Hell dimension filled with lava and all kinds of terrifying monsters. This will likely be the most dangerous place the adventurers will explore in the movie. Who knows what threats await them there?
Steve
Jack Black is playing Steve, the default player skin in the video game. He’s intended to be customizable using alternate skins, but it makes sense for the default Steve to be a major character in the film. He lacks any sort of backstory in the game, but he’s the closest thing to a protagonist the game has. That being said, it’s quite surprising that Steve is not the main character here. What’s interesting, though, is that it seems like Steve will be someone who has been trapped in this Minecraftian world for some time when the others show up.
The Plot
It’s still hard to tell what the plot of the movie will actually be other than a group of humans will be crossing from the real world into the Minecraft one. What they need to actually do is still a mystery. That being said, Jason Mamoa is seen holding a strange, glowing cube at one point in the trailer. Perhaps that will be the film’s MacGuffin. It looks as though the Piglin are after it as well. Only time will tell what their true intentions are if that’s the case.
Nonstop Nerd 