Jason Momoa is known for blockbuster hits and action movies like Aquaman, Dune, and Fast X. But just because he does action a lot, doesn’t mean he doesn’t love a good comedy. That’s where A Minecraft Movie comes in. The high-concept comedy is based on the popular video game Minecraft, which officially debuted in 2011, and has been a decade in the making. Now, with its long-awaited release finally here, Remezcla sat down with Jason Momoa to talk about his character, Garret Garrison, and whether he’s as bad at Spanish as his on-screen counterpart.
After watching the film, we quickly realized Garret “Garbage Man” Garrison, once a video game champion in 1989, was stuck in the past and couldn’t let go of his glory days. But what stood out most was his hilarious overconfidence in speaking Spanish, throwing around phrases like “Vaya con Dios” without fully understanding their meaning. When asked if his real-life Spanish skills were just as questionable, Momoa admitted, “Unfortunately, I’m pretty bad, but I’m learning.” His partner, Puerto Rican-Guatemalan actress Adria Arjona, might have a lot to do with his interest in the language. “It was just an idea I had because my partner [Arjona] obviously speaks Spanish, and I fumble things up. And I think he [Garret] is just a fumbling idiot that he just confidently says the things that don’t mean those things.”
He also clarified how he wasn’t trying to make fun of the Spanish language in this film, he just thinks his character is clueless. Naturally, this made us curious to know what Spanish words or phrases he has actually learned from dating Arjona. Momoa, however, wasn’t about to spill the tea, making it subtly clear how he prioritizes keeping his private life under wraps. “Definitely not telling you and definitely not saying it on this show.” The couple has been officially together since May 2024.
One Minecraft co-star who does have solid Spanish skills is Jack Black, who plays Steve, a guy who was prevented from entering the mines his whole life until he finally did as an adult, accidentally discovering The Overworld. When we mentioned Black’s Spanish fluency, Momoa didn’t hesitate to give props: “He’s great!” Maybe next time, Steve can give Garret a few Spanish lessons. “It’s great seeing Jack be the action star, and I can’t do sh*t, it’s funny,” Momoa said praising Jack’s performance.
With summer just around the corner, we couldn’t resist asking him to “build” his perfect summer, Minecraft style. His answer? “I would be building big old mountains and probably like a big castle. I’d like to wander the world.” Seems like Nature is the place to be for him. “For this summer I’m just gonna get on my hog and blast around Minecraft.” One thing about Jason Momoa, he’s still going to be booked and busy. On Monday (March 31st), he confirmed on The Today Show that he is reprising his role as Duncan Idaho in the third Dune film, set to be released in 2026. Momoa is also returning to the Fast Saga with Fast X: Part 2, which is expected to also be released sometime in 2026 and also stars Puerto Rican-Dominican actress Michelle Rodriguez and Dominican-Saint Lucian-English actress Nathalie Emmanuel. He’s also starring in The Wrecking Crew alongside Brazilian-Italian actress Morena Baccarin and The Hand of Dante with Guatemalan actor Oscar Isaac. A Minecraft Movie hits theaters on April 4th.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Good Things Utah) - What’s more exciting than an interview with Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, and Director Jared Hess about the upcoming Minecraft Movie? ABC4’s Patrick Beatty had the opportunity to talk with these amazing celebrities and hear their takes. The Minecraft Movie will be releasing next week, featuring a mix of live-action and CGI to capture the game’s distinctive blocky aesthetic. The story follows a group of characters who embark on an adventure in the Minecraft universe, dealing with familiar elements like building, crafting, and survival. The film is anticipated to appeal to both long-time fans and newcomers, emphasizing creativity and teamwork.
So, what do the actors think about it? Patrick asked a series of questions from Utah’s kids: “When it comes to mobs and tools, is all of it CGI?” “Those are our stuntmen,” Jason Momoa (who plays Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison) answered. “They would have a polka dot suit on with helmets.” “We had to imagine what they were actually looking like,” Jack Black (Steve) jumped in, “but we had pictures and drawings. BUT when it comes to my wolf, Denis, there was a dude, an actor, in a Dennis suit with a Dennis head, who I would actually interact with.”
If there was anything you want audiences or kids to take away from this film, what should they? What are the benefits? Danielle Brooks (‘Dawn’ in the Minecraft Movie) responded, “We need to escape sometimes. We need to get away to create our own world. Kids are going through a lot. It’s okay to let your child go play a game, it’s a lot better than having them do other stuff.” Talk more about Steve. Jack Black doesn’t seem like he’d be the initial choice of a character who doesn’t show any emotions. “Jack being Steve was the number 1 choice,” Director Jared Hess (Director of Napoleon Dynamite) clarified. “Jack was such a big fan of the game, a big gamer, but he’s also a big kid. A child at heart. There’s an energy and passion he has for everything he does. It only made sense for someone like him. As a child, he yearned for the mines. Jack might be one of the greatest athletes of our time.”
What is your favorite Minecraft monster? “Enderman,” Jason Momoa answered immediately, then added, “and a fuzzy bee.” Jack Black (Steve), however, argued a Bee was not a monster, though he agreed with the Enderman. “BUT, BUT Malgosha (a creation specifically for the movie),” Jack Black added for his answer. “She’s queen of the Piglins, an evil witch who’s terrifying. Her goal is to destroy all creativity in the overworld.” Will you be playing Herobrine for the sequel? … (silence) “We don’t know,” Jack claimed reluctantly, while blinking in rapid succession. With a talented cast and a focus on the game’s core themes, excitement builds as fans look forward to seeing how this beloved game is adapted into a cinematic experience.
For a film that constantly insists its world is one of boundless creative potential and pure imagination, it's almost impressive how painfully uninspired A Minecraft Movie is. It may yearn for the mines, but you'll merely wish for death to end its misery. Sure, it makes references galore to the video game and the many in-jokes that have been made over the years since it released (the "yearn for the mines" bit being one of the funniest, yet it still lands awkwardly right out of the gate here). However, the movie about Minecraft never captures the creative spirit the game represents.
Yes, making a narrative out of a sandbox game means you can't just roam about and make stuff, but the clunky one we get saddled with here leaves no room for any genuine fun. Despite all the times we're told that characters can do basically anything in the blocky worlds of Minecraft, the movie not only never follows through on this, it also overexplains everything else to such a degree it grows exhausting. It's an unimaginative "adaptation" and an unfunny cash grab that feels obligatory. It strives to be an adventure comedy though its hollow references supplant actual clever gags or a sense of play. This is a shame as director Jared Hess, who made his feature debut with the 2004 independent comedy Napoleon Dynamite, is a distinct voice who gets completely smothered under a stiff screenplay that oddly seems to tangentially call back to his earliest work.
The basics of this involve the sad man Steve (the game's initial player character, played here by Hess' Nacho Libre collaborator Jack Black) who discovers the realm known as the Overworld and leaves the mundanity of his life in Idaho (where Napoleon Dynamite was also set) behind to craft to his heart's content. However, when a vaguely sketched evildoer and her army of pigs capture him, a new group of adventurers in the former gamer Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison (Jason Momoa), orphaned siblings Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers), and the small town's kindly real estate agent/mobile zoo operator Dawn (Danielle Brooks) get sucked into the world with him after discovering a magical MacGuffin he sent back to Earth.
There's something initially broadly quirky about these opening scenes and a throughline where White Lotus' Jennifer Coolidge plays a vice principal looking for love that offer small slivers of absurdity. Unfortunately, everything else in the cubed world is a drag. Not only does it never once feel visually dynamic, with the overreliance on all-consuming visual effects making it mostly feel like we're watching the actors roam around a lifeless world of green screens, but none of the cast can give it any spark. Black, though great in films like School of Rock where he's been able to strike a balance between sincerity and silliness, is entirely one-note here as he largely just delivers explanations of the world in a slightly goofy voice or sings songs that feel less written than slapped together in the moment. Momoa, who was a gas in the otherwise turgid recent Fast X, is entirely obnoxious here as he keeps repeatedly screaming and shouting in the hopes this will wear us down to make his comprehensively unfunny schtick work.
The longer we are stuck with these characters, with Dawn and the two kids fading almost entirely into the background, the more it is A Minecraft Movie starts to fall completely apart. This is less a movie as much as it is a rote recitation of what it thinks an adventure romp like this should be like. There's a tension-free chase sequence, a deception without any stakes, and a big final battle where a laser shoots into the sky, though never once does it build anything truly fun. It's a perplexing, entirely perfunctory affair from start to finish that may prove amusing on a base level for younger audiences who enjoyed the game and will recognize some of its elements, but they too deserve better. There have been similarly bad video game movies before, but few that keep telling us they could be doing so many exciting things only to not do them as consistently as A Minecraft Movie does. That it keeps going on and on about how critical imagination is only makes all the ways that it doesn't offer anything imaginative of its own that much more baffling. Even as the bar was low, all A Minecraft Movie succeeds at is digging down lower and lower beneath it at every turn. Whatever treasures it repeatedly assures us are there, are never found.
