Laughter raises our intake of oxygen-rich air. It stimulates our heart and lungs. Finally, it increases the endorphins that are released from the brain.

Only a cinephilia cares if a movie has a serious message or not. Most people watch movies for entertainment. Hong Kong is right now experiencing an economic downturn. People want to find a reason to laugh. Laughter triggers feelings of pleasure. It reduces anxiety and enhances positive emotions.

Comic relief means a releasing of emotional or tension resulting from a comic word, conversation or action interposed in the midst of a serious drama. Comic relief actions may include a bumbling or wisecracking sidekick of a villain in a movie. Sometimes, comic relief may refer to a character whose funniness can diffuse the tension for heavy scenes such as being in a hospital or funeral.

Young audience, in particular, love stupid characters in movies. These funny characters often become the eye-catching parts of the drama. The foolish or naive characters inject laughter into the story. Their stupidity or clumsy actions provide levity in the serious narratives.

For example, Marvel’s movie Ant-Man (蟻俠) is a hero turning into a complete comedy. After discovering a chemical substance, which the male lead called Pym Particles, that would allow him to alter his size, he started to arm himself with a helmet that could control ants.

Some lambast the film as “anti-hero”: Ant-Man lacks the conventional heroic attributes. At the cutting edge of the present rebellious era, youngsters however admire anti-heroes as heroes. Though these anti-heroes toe the line between good and evil, they are at the end more hero than villain.

A Minecraft Movie (我的世界大電影) is a 2025 American fantasy adventure comedy film based on a 2011 video game Minecraft. In the film, 4 misfits are pulled through a portal into a cubic world, and must embark on a quest back to the real world.

The actor Jason Momoa is known for his male-chauvinistic presence and physicality. But, in the movie of A Minecraft Movie, Momoa plays the role of a former video game champion whose best days are behind him. He becomes the anti-hero comic relief of the film and this comes as an interesting surprise to the audience who used to think of Momoa as a muscle hero.

Life is full of surprises. Nowadays, we also want films to be full of surprises, delightful and funny ones. No prior expectancy that something will happen and yet takes place is what the film audience expect these days. This perhaps explains why anti-heroes and comic reliefs are the popular movie tricks used by the film makers!

Please enjoy the film trailer of A Minecraft Movie at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBw9pzVEmlA

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