A Minecraft Movie

Directed by Jared Hess, A Minecraft Movie details the larger-than-life happenings that transpire after several human characters find themselves within the eponymous video game. It’s clear, ultimately, that A Minecraft Movie fares best within its briskly-paced and surprisingly fun opening stretch, as Hess, armed with a script by Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta, delivers an agreeably off-kilter endeavor that boasts (and benefits from) the quirky narrative and larger-than-life performances – with, in terms of the latter, Hess eliciting engaging (and very funny) work from stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa. There’s little doubt, then, that the picture’s slow-but-steady descent into irrelevance and tedium is triggered by a frenetic, exhausting midsection and second half, with the growing emphasis on larger-than-life (and excessively computer-generated) special effects ensuring that viewing the film is akin to watching someone play a video game. (A hopelessly juvenile video game, at that.) By the time the interminable third act rolls around, A Minecraft Movie has confirmed its place as a bona fide failure that could only appeal to either hardcore fans of the source material or very young, very undiscriminating children.

*1/2 out of ****