A Minecraft Movie Review: Blockbuster Brilliance Shatters Records and Wins Hearts
No one could have thought that a movie teaser that gained such a negative response in the first place
No one could have thought that a movie teaser that gained such a negative response in the first place would be such a huge success at the box office as soon as it hit the theatres. Yes, it’s A Minecraft Movie we’re talking about.
Here is our version of A Minecraft Movie review that will help you decide whether you should give it a miss or head to theatres instantly and watch for yourself why we say so.
A Minecraft Movie plot
In our previous article, we gave an overview of the film’s plot. Still, for revisiting purposes, four misfits- Steve (played by Jack Black), Natalie (played by Emma Meyer), Garrett (played by Jason Momoa), and Henry (played by Sebastian Eugene Hansen)- find themselves in the world of Minecraft. This game is not only for playing but they need it for their survival.
They get the help of the Minecraft universe expert, Steve (Jack Black), to get out of the mysterious world and protect themselves from evil things like Piglins and Zombies. They have to face the Overworld and take this adventure as a challenge.
Together, five of these make use of their individual strengths, coming out as a team, reconnecting, and hunting their way back to the real world. Watch the trailer here for a recap:
Director’s vision for the film
While talking to the Big Issue, Jared Hess told that it was great pressure on him to transform the blockbuster game into a box office hit. He said,
“Oh my gosh. Huge pressure! Better not screw this up. I mean, especially for my kids.”
The game which has sold more than 300 million copies since its launch in 2011 had no storyline and no fixed objectives for the film adaptation when it first came to Hess. It gave him an open field to play on.
Since the Minecraft game is all about crafting anything you like, the idea resonated with Hess, and he had to make the same thing work with the audience, especially the young ones who love this game, which includes his own kids, too.
Hess explained that what he had in mind for this film was that he just needed to tell an engaging story with some compelling characters that would attract the viewers and “make them care about these people”.
Even Emma Myers, who is also in the feature, agreed that the game is all about creativity. Since there is no fixed set of rules, a person has all the “diversity” to play on as they desire.
Danielle Brooks, who is also in the movie, highlighted that it is quite early to be taught that survival is the only way to live through life, which is the main lesson taught in the game as well as the movie. For that, imagination is a major ingredient apparently.
It is the same creativity that Hess instilled in the film’s concept that the four misfits are required to survive the mysterious portal opened in Minecraft. He added that it is only with creativity that they pave their way for survival by working and defeating the insane odds.
Jack Black and Jason Momoa’s performances in A Minecraft Movie
Jack Black is Steve, a mining expert who has dreamed of becoming a miner since his childhood days. When he finally makes two artifacts, he is sent to another dimension. He has created a world of his own, which could be considered a utopia of sharp objects, as per Vulture.
He is full of enthusiasm as he lives what he does, mining and crafting. When he says, “First we mine! Then we craft!”, it is full of passion which seems an inseparable part of his personality. It means the character was portrayed quite well, the much-needed spark for the film.
Jason Momoa is Garrett, whose role is quite opposite to that of Steve. He is delusional and does not have the same level of confidence and charisma as Steve. He winds up in the dead-end town of Chuglass, Idaho, covered in dust and ruins. Perhaps he secretly knows he’s worthless, which again, appeared to be a worthy portrayal of Garrett.
A Minecraft Movie box office earnings
Based on The Numbers, the domestic box office earnings of A Minecraft Movie are $162,753,000, and the international box office is $150,700,000. It made a total of $313,453,003 at the worldwide box office at the time of writing.
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What do critics add to A Minecraft Movie review?
The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes gave a positive review of the film. It said,
“Ostensibly a film about celebrating creativity, A Minecraft Movie provides a colorful sandbox for Jack Black and Jason Momoa to amusingly romp around in a story curiously constructed from conventional building blocks”.
Critics were a little harsh on the movie, since that is their job. Some of the other reviews include:
- “Jack Black mines new depths in a blockheaded corporate cash-in”- Telegraph
- “Jack Black and Jason Momoa star in seriously cobbled-together live-action spin-off”- The Guardian
- “It has definitely overperformed all industry projections,” said Steve Buck, chief strategy officer at EntTelligence, via BBC .“It hit with all audiences”.
Fans reactions
Fans are over the moon since they are genuine Minecraft fans. One of them mentioned that he “loved this movie” and the other remarked that he loved watching it with friends in the theatre as it was “absolute entertainment”. Undoubtedly, it has grabbed a great deal of attention from the fans who cannot stop drooling over the cubic world of amazement.
Is it worth watching?
Warner Bros. global distribution chief Jeff Goldstein said,
“It’s a real hit in the center of the bullseye…This is something the industry needed like air.” [Source]
One of the biggest reasons the movie made its place right from the start is the grand fan base around the world who have been eagerly anticipating the film since the launch of its teaser. Despite the teaser infuriating them to an unacceptable level, the fans still wanted to see for themselves how it would turn out. Maybe it was a clever way of creating the demand and the hype, both at the same time.
Second, Warner Bros. worked with 45 global brands to make this work, per Variety. Third, social media played a significant role in making it a success. It cannot be a prominent reason though, I know, since several other movies were the talk of the town before they were released, such as The Woman in the Yard, but didn’t meet the box office expectations.
Basically, it is a silly and fun movie. If you want entertainment for one and a half hours without any high expectations, it’s worth a shot.
The limitless possibilities of creating possibilities within the games are super-intelligent. It is quite close to what the game is actually about and shows what the ideas are capable of doing in reality.
If you are a true Minecraft fan, you would certainly want to give it a try, and that is why the Popcornmeter ratings are quite higher than the actual critics’ ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. No wonder it became an easy box office hit within no time.
Our rating: 6/10
Is A Minecraft Movie available for streaming?
According to Variety, a leaked version of A Minecraft Movie was released online, but it did not harm the actual success at the box office. A Minecraft Movie is giving tough competition to another game-turned-movie, The Super Mario Bros. movie, which earned $147.3 million after its debut.
A Minecraft Movie (rated PG) is currently showing in theatres only.
Genre: Kids & family, adventure, action, fantasy
IMDb rating: 6.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 48 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 88 percent on Popcornmeter
Cast: Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, Jemaine Clement, Matt Berry
Director: Jared Hess
Writers: Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener
Producers: Roy Lee, Jon Berg, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Jason Momoa, Jill Sobel Messick, Torfi Frans Ólafsson, Vu Bui
Release date: April 4, 2025
Movie runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
Have you watched A Minecraft Movie? What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.
