Product Info

Studio

Warner Bros. Pictures

Director

Jared Hess

Genre

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy

Rated

PG

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Apr 4, 2025

Film Length

1hr 41min

Purchase From

A Minecraft Movie is based off of the popular video game, Minecraft. It’s good for a few laughs and focuses on the off-the-wall moments rather than a consistent story.

The World of Minecraft

One of the best-selling video games ever, Minecraft is based on an open-world sandbox where players can create a world in any way they want. Its design is based on cubes and players can build with them like Lego blocks. The blocks are flat with pixelated textures, making them look simplistic but detailed enough to understand what type of block they are.

In the movie, the concept of the cubes still remains but with computer-generated imagery (CGI) textures expanding on the cube rather than flattening. For example, the fur on a wolf looks realistic with refined hair texture on a cube. It’s a different approach that will turn hardcore Minecraft fans off due to the film not catering towards the original look of the video game. At the same time, it gives more definition and is easier to look at than spending two hours staring at flat blocks.

Some creatures that live in the world of Minecraft do look quite weird and scary, such as the pink sheep. The environments themselves look pleasantly appealing with the vibrant colors of the Overworld and the dark, eerie Netherworld where the antagonists, the Piglins, live. The Minecraft world itself is vast, and the movie only scratches the surface.

His Name is Steve

Outside of Minecraft is the modern world where humans live. The story takes place in a small town in Idaho. We’re introduced to a child named Steve who’s looking to go mining. After an unusual encounter with an older miner, Steve runs away. The movie fast forwards to a grown-up Steve, a player character in the Minecraft video game, played by Jack Black (School of Rock, Nacho Libre). The film goes through a hilarious montage of off-the-wall scenes of grown-up Steve remembering he wants to go back to the mines. Steve comes across the Orb of Dominance and is then transported to the Overworld of Minecraft.

The film goes through various scenes of Steve’s time and experience of creation in Minecraft. He later confronts Malgosha, voiced by Rachel House (Moana, Thor: Ragnarok), and her minions who are trying to steal the Orb of Dominance in order to take over the Overworld and turn it into a dreary, non-creative world. Steve is captured but hands the Orb to his trusty pet, Dennis, who leaves the Overworld for the modern world where Steve once lived. About a year later, the audience is introduced to four human characters who are unexpectedly drawn into the world of Minecraft. None of these characters nor anyone in the movie know about Minecraft the game.

Garrett, played by Jason Momoa (Aquaman, Fast X), is a middle-aged gamer who owns his own small video game business and still holds onto the past success of his video game championship. He’s quite hilarious with his self-centered personality, and he and Jack Black together on screen make a dynamic duo. Henry, played by Sebastian Hansen (Just Mercy, Lisey’s Story), is a high schooler who moved to the small town in Idaho with his sister and loves creating and science. One would think that Henry, with his love of creation, would play a significant role in the film, but he is overshadowed by Garrett and Steve. Natalie, played by Emma Myers (Wednesday, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder), is Henry’s older sister and guardian. She plays a supporting role as an anxious guardian for Henry and not much else. Finally, Dawn, played by Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black, Peacemaker) is just an acquaintance of Henry and Natalie, and she sticks around Natalie for the majority of the movie. However, her comedic moments in the film are amusing.

Out of all these characters traveling through the Overworld, Garrett and Steve carry the weight of amusement, but Steve himself is doing most of the lifting with comedic dialogue and singing. With director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre), who worked with Jack Black before, it’s another movie that provides ready-made pop-culture moments with Jack Black’s over-the-top scenes and singing.

Jennifer Coolidge (American Pie, A Cinderella Story), who plays Vice Principal Marlene in the movie, appears in pieces throughout and is comical through and through. From bringing up her divorce to her interaction with the Villager who escaped from the Overworld, she’ll give the adults some laughs.

Underneath the offbeat moments and comedic dialogue is a story with a few issues. With how much backstory the audience is given about Henry and how he has a hard time fitting into society, he should play a larger role in the story. However, compared to Garrett, who’s just looking to earn money in the Overworld to save his small business, he doesn’t. Pacing is another issue. When the five characters travel, there are too many stops occurring to fend off enemies and the like that slow down the story too much, even if it was aiming for character building. Later, the film speeds things up to make up for lost time. As for the previously mentioned quirky dialogue and scenes, they work for the most part but at times feel choppy.

The Final Block

With plenty of laughs and quirky moments, A Minecraft Movie is an entertaining film that kids will enjoy more than hardcore Minecraft fans. However, the overemphasis on humor does hinder the story somewhat. Sometimes the audience member will care about that; sometimes they will not; sometimes they will dream they were playing the game instead. You are the audience member. Watch it or not.

An early screening provided for A Minecraft Movie. A Minecraft Movie hits theaters on April 4, 2025. Fans can visit the official website for theater tickets.