A Minecraft Movie, directed by Jared Hess, is the highly anticipated movie adaptation of the most popular video game of all time. A Minecraft Movie beat out The Super Mario Bros. Movie for the highest-grossing video game movie adaptation of all time. The film grossed $163 million domestically compared to The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s $146 million.
The movie was rumored to be in development for more than a decade, when finally an official trailer was released and the film was announced to come out on April 4, 2025. More trailers followed and drummed up tons of excitement amongst Minecraft players around the world.
The story starts with Steve (Jack Black), who has longed to be a miner since he was a young boy. After quitting his day job and going to fulfill his dream, he finds two relics that are the entrance to the Overworld.
The Overworld is a new world made up of cubes, which can be easily manipulated to build anything, limited only by your imagination. There are many diverse and peaceful animals to see, but at night, hordes of hostile creatures appear, stalk and attack whoever they see.
Shortly after Steve finds the Overworld, four individuals from various walks of life are introduced. Garret “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa) is a retro video game store owner and a legendary gamer, but is in a rough patch in his life. Natalie and Henry (Emma Myers and Sebastian Hansen) are siblings who have just recently lost their mother and are learning how to survive on their own. Dawn (Danielle Brooks) is a real estate agent who wants to open her own petting zoo. The misfit group all end up in the Overworld after being sucked in through a portal. They are trapped and need Steve’s help to escape.
The main antagonist is a greedy piglin named Malgosha (Rachel House), who rules over all piglins in the Nether, a hellish dimension accessed via a Nether portal. She tries to destroy the Overworld to eradicate creativity as revenge for being bullied for her poor dancing skills.
The star of the movie is Jack Black as Steve. I did not expect his over-the-top nature to work in the character of Steve, who never speaks in the game, but he managed to pull it off spectacularly. The star supporting actor in this film is Jason Momoa as Garrett Garrison. Momoa delivered a standout performance as the down-and-out ‘80s tough guy. Momoa and Jack Black’s on-screen chemistry makes movie magic.
The rest of the actors had solid performances, but the script does not lend them a chance to truly shine. I did not connect with the other characters as much as Steve or Garrison, and there was little growth in them, so their stories felt incomplete in the end.
The visual experience was great, with the movie featuring practical and special effects to create a realistic and authentic Minecraft world. Blending the real world with CGI in this movie makes for a bright and enchanting visual experience. The addition of physical props gives the viewer a more genuine experience.
The visuals shine in the movie climax, where there is a massive battle against the piglins, and the true scale of the world is emphasized. This scene is full of action with all the characters putting aside their differences in the end, and teaming up with each other using their skills learned from their time in the Overworld.
I was entertained by the movie, not because of the story or character development, but mostly by Jack Black and his iconic quotes, such as “flint and steel” or “chicken jockey.” The humor was simple, but there were many moments where I laughed out loud, which was unexpected.
If you plan to see the movie in theaters, be aware that there is a trend of audiences going wild and throwing popcorn all over the theater when Steve says “chicken jockey.” Unfortunately, some people push it too far, and bring various outside items like water buckets, fireworks and even live chickens to the theater. Please do not participate in this trend, as the movie theater employees are the ones who have to clean up the mess.
As a long-time fan of Minecraft, I thought there was a lot of missed potential in this movie. The end credits scene left the door open for a new storyline, hinting at a sequel.
A Minecraft Movie is a wacky, fun movie meant to be enjoyed with family and friends. I would recommend watching it for a good time, even if you know little about Minecraft.
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