“A Minecraft Movie.” This fever dream of a movie was nostalgic and heartwarming, yet simultaneously embarrassing and headache-inducing. Growing up, I’ve always loved playing Minecraft, but this movie was so horrible that I can not say it was even remotely worth watching. Jumbling together scattered references to the game, a questionable plot, and randomly situated musical numbers, the chaotic nature of the film left me cheering very few times and cringing many times.
Before the movie began, I was buzzing with anticipation, and everyone else in the theatre seemed to be hype as well. Many brought costumes and props such as foam diamond swords, and I could hear chatters of excitement around me. Going into the screening, I had high hopes from the clips I had watched on social media and the many viral memes that blossomed from the movie. In other theatres, I had seen on social media that people were throwing popcorn and excessively screaming throughout the film (apparently someone in Utah even brought a live chicken). Minecraft, being as popular as it is, brought its massive fan base, built up over many years, into the theatre.
However, as the movie played, the energy in the theatre noticeably died down, dampened by the awful scenes playing before the audience. When the infamous Woodland Mansion scene played, I stood up and even yelled “chicken jockey!” in reference to the viral meme, but nobody else cheered. It was pretty clear that everyone was bored and sick of the movie by then.
So what went wrong during the 1 hour and 41 minute duration?
Firstly, viewers were left confused due to the discontinuous, and bland plot. The movie does not focus on its main plot, and rather focuses on several subplots. The entire screening kind of feels like a compilation of one-liners, puns, references, and lots of TNT explosions. To top it off, the movie contradicts its own headlining message of pioneering creativity. The trope of social outcasts are overused, with Henry, Garret, and Steve all being social outcasts who find solace in each other. Meanwhile, Natalie and Dawn, the two main female characters, do not have much of a narrative at all, and are mostly doing things off-screen for the benefit of others in the main cast. The inconsistency of screen time across characters and uneven focus left me losing interest in the progression of the real plot and more entertained by the random side stories, such as the romance between the villager and Henry’s vice-principal.
Now the songs. Where do I begin? In typical Jack Black fashion, we see him singing quite often throughout the film—maybe a little too much. Jack Black has a great voice and sings beautifully, but the songs were placed oddly. They occasionally cut off dialogue randomly, and made scenes cringier than they would be without it.
Now, a couple things that the movie did pretty well. “A Minecraft Movie” was packed with references, and longtime fans could recognize popular players, developers, and even songs. With the likes of DanTDM, Jeb, CaptainSparklez’s “Revenge,” and even late legend Technoblade getting their own short cameos, the sprinkle of details brought back memories from my childhood that were long untouched. In this aspect, the nostalgia wave that came back to me from watching this was quite enjoyable.
Furthermore, the movie did a great job of blending elements from the game into the real world. It was not just a guide on how to play Minecraft in cinematic form—it was its own story that took inspiration from the game’s features. Inventions like the tot launcher and bucket nunchucks made zero-sense from the perspective of the game, but nonetheless created a refreshing spin on something familiar. The Piglins using the Ghasts as a helicopter was another creative interpretation of the game which, despite being wild, was fun to watch.
However, sometimes, these creative liberties went from fun nonsense to downright ignorance of the game’s fundamental rules. For example, Steve whipping out not one, but two elytras broke the game’s core progression. It was as if someone skipped immediately from farming iron to reaching netherite—viewers were left confused watching Steve own endgame equipment without ever reaching that part of the game. Though the movie took some creative liberties that paid off, there were moments that, for some hardcore minecraft fans, came off as a disservice to the game’s core mechanics.
At the end of the day, the hype clearly paid off for the studio, as the film became the highest grossing video game film ever. As a longtime player of the game myself, I caught myself smiling and laughing along occasionally. But the nostalgia behind the actual game of Minecraft did not salvage the movie overall, no matter how many diamond swords they waved around in my face. Watching this film was like mining straight down in the game—you could find the occasional rare diamond ore, but most of the time, it was disorienting, boring, and ultimately, a bad idea. Final verdict? If you are thinking about seeing the movie, maybe just sleep in bed and skip the night.
