“Minecraft” saw large popularity immediately after its first versions were released in 2009 followed by its full release in 2011. It quickly became a best selling video game. After over a decade of development and teasing, “A Minecraft Movie” was released April 4, 2025.
With one of the most successful opening weekends for a video game adaptation movie, “A Minecraft Movie” grossed $301 million at the box office.
However, was it developed well after so many years?
Online, the answer is overwhelmingly no with an overall rating of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, which averages critic and viewer ratings. Personally, I mostly enjoyed the movie for the nostalgia of the game but was not thrilled with the overall viewing experience.
On a positive note, Jack Black played his role well and his humor added to the experience and plot. The movie was light-hearted with many references to the actual game such as playing original “Minecraft” music from the game and a square loading screen to open the movie, similar to the one seen when loading a new world in the game.
One of the most notable and heartwarming references was to Technoblade: a popular “Minecraft” YouTuber who passed from cancer in 2022. The YouTuber was known to use an in-game avatar of a pig wearing a crown. Within the movie the main characters come across a pig wearing a golden crown in which Steve then refers to him as a “legend” as a tribute.
On the other hand, the overall plot and script were basic. Nothing notable happens during the entire movie and it feels like anyone could have written the movie.
The animation of the film was a bit shocking, and not in a good way. The main characters were played by regular humans accompanied by the very block-y ”Minecraft” mob characters. Although the animation resembles the in-game mobs, it was inconsistent with the main characters all being humans.
Overall, “A Minecraft Movie” was bland in plot and nothing notable happened. Although “Minecraft” is considered a sandbox game where the player chooses their destiny and how they want to play, the plot felt very cliche with a villain from the Nether —who does not exist in the real game— threatening to take over the Overworld. I felt as though the movie should have played more off the game, having the characters take down the Ender Dragon instead, a large achievement in the real game. However, the movie was nostalgic of a game I grew up playing. I give it a 7/10.
Upgrading from pixels to the big screen, “A Minecraft Movie” takes over movie theaters. Just in opening weekend, the movie amassed $301 million in box office sales. (Photo/TMDB)
