By Brendan Clementz

“As a child, I  yearned for the mines.” This is an actual quote from the second, recently released Minecraft movie trailer. As this line demonstrates, the movie has not let up on the odd campiness that the original trailer was criticized for. 

More examples of the off-putting realistic-yet-blocky CGI that was showcased in the first trailer are presented here. Everything, from the landscape to the creatures that inhabit it, attempts to emulate the iconically quadrilateral shapes of Minecraft, but the combination of this with the incredibly detailed “style” creates a serious case of uncanny valley. Dogs don’t look like dogs; they look like a collection of squares with fur. Some elements look better than others, however. The iron golem design is both faithful and fits in with the style that the movie is going for. 

Jack Black, who plays the main character, Steve, feels less like he’s portraying a character and more so that he’s just being himself. His line deliveries and dialogue don’t feel like anything more than an exaggerated version of himself, which adds to the campy feel of the production as evidenced from the two trailers we’ve gotten so far. 

From the framing of the movie, the plot appears to be another story of “real people enter a fantastical world,” which feels like a common trend with films as of late, such as the Jumanji remake. This, along with the weirdness of the art style and characters, make this feel like a generic big-budget movie, not a Minecraft movie.