The Minecraft Movie has released a fresh teaser trailer and I decided to get my 13-year-old son's thoughts on it as he adores the bestselling video game it's based on.
Heading to movie theaters on April 4, the live-action film follows "four misfits" (played by Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen) who get whisked away from the real world into the Overworld, basically the Minecraft land. There, they have to learn how to survive by using all of its new rules and use these to fend off evil creatures and complete a quest with someone living in the land. Playing Steve, the avatar of the main player in the video game, is Jack Black.
As my son puts it, fans are generally very excited about the movie although some are concerned it will be "terrible" and aren't keen on the idea. Reacting to the latest trailer, he comments: "Lots of people don't like the style of it saying the villagers look weird and there's weird furry effects have been put on stuff. I don’t understand why the creeper is furry. I do agree with others that the villagers look weird as well."
However, he reckons it will be a ridiculously fun movie. "I really like the panoramic scenes, they look really nice. I think fans will enjoy it. It's going to be absurd and fun and I definitely want to watch it. Jack Black looks funny and I loved it when he said: 'I am Steve’ in a previous clip. That made us all laugh."
Cinema has a notably chequered past with adapting beloved video games with Tekken (2010), Double Dragon (1994) and more recently Borderlands (2024) among those performing badly. However, the Sonic the Hedgehog movies have been hugely successful at the box office, illustrating that games can work on the big screen.
Teasing The Minecraft movie, the makers say: "To get back home, they'll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like piglins and zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve. Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each other them uniquely creative…the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world."
We will just have to wait and see how The Minecraft Movie works out when it’s released in April.
