A Minecraft Movie Review
It’s been 13 years since it was first hinted that we’ll get a feature length Minecraft movie, and now that we finally have it, it’s time to give it an honest review.
5 minute read
As a person born in the late 90s, I am what one might call “an OG Minecraft gamer”— which might be the most virginity-laden title any person could lay claim to.
Back in the early 2010s, when I was about 13 or 14 years old, a couple of my friends urged me to try out this cool new game called “Minecraft.” Which was a sandbox style game where you could express your own creativity in numerous ways; Explore, Create, Build, Fight, etc.
I remember all the way back in 2013 that rumours about a “Minecraft movie” were starting to surface, and I kept hearing about it again and again as the years went by. But eventually, as I grew older and the hype started to dwindle, I kind of forgot about it.
That is, until mid 2024, a teaser for the movie suddenly dropped, and not having kept up with the game for several years, it caught me a bit off guard.
But I immediately knew that once it released, I’d have to check it out.
A Minecraft (Movie) Review
Starring Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers, and Sebastian Hansen.
The movie starts out with the main protagonist of the game itself that we all know and love: Steve, played by Jack Black, as he tells his story in a monologue that feels very similar to the beginning of Disney’s Wreck-it-Ralph, although a bit less depressing. All through a series of flashbacks.
A little bit later, we start to get introduced to the rest of the supporting cast: Jason Momoa as a washed-up financially struggling former professional retro gamer, Sebastian Hansen and Emma Myers as a sibling duo just moving into town, and Danielle Brooks as a part-time real estate agent and zoologist.
Together, they all have to save the Overworld (and by extension, the REAL world) from the evil ruler of The Nether: Malgosha – who hates all forms of creativity and wants to destroy it at all cost.
The film’s plot starts out very similar to Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with all the main characters accidentally stumbling upon a magical portal to a video game world where they’re immediately thrust into a conflict between the natives of the world and an evil kingdom ruled by an evil leader.
One aspect that feels somewhat lacking throughout the movie is proper character development.
The main problem is that the movie was simply too short to give all 5 characters the development they deserve.
At just over 100 minutes of runtime, it had enough time to give a little bit of introduction to the two most prominent characters; Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Garret (Jason Momoa), as well as a tiny bit of relationship building between the two sometime later in the film. But the latter is so fast that if you ran to the bathroom for 1 minute at some point during the movie, you probably missed it completely.
Even Steve (Jack Black) isn’t really given any further development beyond the flashback monologue at the very beginning, and his role felt much like it was just to guide the characters through the world and to provide some exposition here and there.
After that, the movie seems to mostly just propell the plot forward as fast as it can without diving much deeper into each character’s motivation and personality.
The acting on the other hand is surprisingly solid, with the cast delivering their performances with a great deal of sincerity. Not a single one of them feels phoned in. They do of course feel pretty silly most of the time, but that’s sort of the point in a movie of this nature.
Jack Black just being Jack Black can’t ever really fail, no matter what. And Jason Momoa I’m pretty sure could reread the entire Bee Movie script in front of a live audience and receive a standing ovation. It doesn’t matter how silly the concept is, he’ll give it his best every time.
The soundtrack is an aspect where I also feel the movie could, at the very least, have tried to be a bit more faithful. While it did include some hints of the classic melodies we know from the game, that’s also kind of where it ends.
For a movie that wants to pander to Minecraft fans, I think they completely dropped the ball on not bringing in some of the iconic fan-created music that the players grew up with. It would have been awesome if they had included a remixed version of TryHardNinja’s “Take Back the Night” in the credits. A song that is great, original, but not least would have fit incredibly well considering what the third act of the movie was about.
The movie did still include some brief cameos like Jens Bergensten (or “Jeb”), one of the lead designers for the game, as well as a few well known content creators from the space.
Conclusion
Overall, A Minecraft Movie is a fun, albeit flawed, ride that taps into the nostalgia of long-time fans while also trying to appeal to newer audiences. The performances are solid, especially from the likes of Jack Black and Jason Momoa, who bring a playful energy to the film.
The plot, while entertaining, struggles to give its characters the depth they deserve, and the soundtrack feels like it missed an opportunity to connect more deeply with the Minecraft community.
Nevertheless, the film succeeds in delivering a visually vibrant adventure that’s full of heart, even if it doesn’t quite live up to the potential that such a beloved franchise offers.
For fans of the game, it’s certainly worth checking out, but don’t expect the kind of epic storytelling or character development that you might find in other animated blockbusters. It’s a movie that’s more about the experience than the depth, and sometimes, that’s just enough.
A Minecraft Movie
6.5
Okay
The Verdict
Reviewed by Sora Alfheim for New Game Now
