‘A Minecraft Movie’ Review: Jason Momoa and Jack Black Bro It Up in a Genially Weightless Video-Game Quest

variety.com:

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic The age of clunky, amped up, zoned out, overly literal movies adapted from video games lasted a long time ­— from the very first one, “Super Mario Bros.,” in 1993, stretching on through such duds as “Mortal Kombat” and “BloodRayne” and “Max Payne” and (sorry, fans) the “Resident Evil” series and the grandiose liquid sludge of “Assassin’s Creed” and, just last year, “Borderlands.” So in a way that era didn’t end; the potential to turn a video game into a bad movie never goes away.

Why would it? Video games are the anti-movies. They have characters and worlds and narratives and action and fantasy and spectacle, but they’re ultimately a post-psychological form for a post-psychological age.

They lack the heartbeat that (good) movies have. Over the years, though, lessons have been learned. Overtly pandering strategies have been abandoned.

Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” while not based on a video game, had the visual wizardry to put you right in the gamer’s seat.