From A Minecraft Movie to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Black has found a new niche with these video game movies. And it’s no surprise that he’s taken to the world of game adaptations, because he’s famously a big-time gamer. His band Tenacious D has a whole song about being addicted to gaming as a grown adult, appropriately titled “Video Games,” and he has a gaming channel on YouTube called JablinskiGames.
Black starred in the rock-themed action-adventure game Brütal Legend alongside fellow rockers like Lemmy and Ozzy Osbourne, and the recent Jumanji movies have cast him in the role of a video game avatar embodied by various different players. So, Black’s recent career turn to starring in popular video game adaptations has been a natural next step. He’s put his own spin on iconic characters like Bowser and imbued a boatload of personality into characters like Minecraft’s Steve, who didn’t have much characterization to begin with. But which of Black’s video game movies is the best of the bunch?
3 Borderlands
Will Claptrap's Charm Carry This Adaptation?
Borderlands is Black’s worst video game movie by far. It doesn’t even have a so-bad-it’s-good quality that makes it enjoyable on an ironic level. It’s just bad; it’s an action comedy with uninspired action and tired gags. What makes the Borderlands games so much fun is their graphic violence and edgy humor, which the movie completely eschewed by going for a PG-13 rating. It flattens all the shock value and just ends up being bland and lifeless. Borderlands is Eli Roth’s worst movie, and he doesn’t exactly have a spotless track record, so that’s saying a lot.
Black does a fine job as the voice of Claptrap, but Kevin Hart was woefully miscast as a stoic gunslinger and Cate Blanchett is massively underutilized as a generic action hero
It went through a lot of behind-the-scenes turmoil — it went into production during the pandemic, it required extensive reshoots, and it switched hands between two different directors with two very different styles — but even at its very best, this is just a Guardians of the Galaxy rip-off. Black does a fine job as the voice of Claptrap, but Kevin Hart was woefully miscast as a stoic gunslinger and Cate Blanchett is massively underutilized as a generic action hero. Borderlands has a 10% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and even that seems generous.
2 A Minecraft Movie
Can Jack Black Bring Blocky Humor to the Big Screen?
Black’s most recent video game adaptation, A Minecraft Movie, has become an unexpected cultural phenomenon. A lot of moments from A Minecraft Movie have gone viral and the audience reactions have gotten so intense that police have been called to some screenings of the film. It’s hard to describe A Minecraft Movie as a good movie. It does the bare minimum in of storytelling and character development and its plot is totally predictable. But it is undeniably a very entertaining movie with a lot of laughs.
In the game, Steve is just a generic avatar. But in the movie, Black imbues him with a ton of personality. Black and his co-star Jason Momoa are having a ton of fun in A Minecraft Movie, and that fun is contagious. Even people who have never played Minecraft in their lives (like me) will find something to enjoy in A Minecraft Movie, because Black and Momoa are an absolute delight. The sight gag of Jack Black riding a flying Jason Momoa is worth the price of ission on its own.
1 The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Bowser's Roaring Performance Steals the Show
None of Black’s video game adaptations have been Oscar-worthy masterpieces, but the one that holds together the best as a movie is The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It’s a solid family-friendly adventure movie about a plumber being sucked into a colorful fantasy kingdom and ing the fight against evil. It moves at a nice, zippy pace, it hits all the right beats to tell a satisfying three-act story, and Black’s Bowser is a great villain. He’s undeniably the bad guy, but thanks to Black’s portrayal of his hilarious naivety, he’s also oddly lovable.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a genuine crowd-pleaser, and not a crowd-pleaser in the sense that it causes video game fans to throw popcorn and ruin every theater employee’s day. It’s the kind of movie that parents can take their kids to and everyone will have a good time. It has big laughs, funny characters, eye-popping animation, and a bunch of recognizable needle-drops on the soundtrack. Of all Jack Black’s video game movies, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is easily the best.
