“A Minecraft Movie,” the Hollywood blockbuster of 2025, has grossed roughly $700
million at the box office to date. The film had the biggest video game box office opening,
earning about $157 million and surpassing all previous video game film adaptations.
Despite its commercial success, critics gave the movie a 48% score on Rotten
Tomatoes, deeming it “rotten.” Audiences, however, rated the film 87%, describing it as
“amazing.” Directed by Jared Hess, the film reunites him with Jack Black, with whom he
worked on the 2006 movie “Nacho Libre.”

Throughout the month, the film sparked continuous discussion—chaotic yet
entertaining. Despite its flaws, the movie resonated with its target audience, who largely
overlooked its imperfections and appreciated it. The excitement for the film was beyond
ordinary, with videos of disruption inside and outside screenings. One viral video
captured a rowdy crowd of young adults and teenagers turning a theater into a frenzy,
throwing popcorn across the auditorium in response to the line “Chicken Jockey” during
the film.

The film follows a group of four—Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison, Henry, Natalie,
and Dawn—who find themselves in a cubic reality known as The Overworld, filled with
imagination that feels like a fever-dream. Struggling with their own challenges from their
original world, the group encounters Steve, an expert crafter. Together, they embark on
an adventure to craft, survive, battle evil, and harness the creative skills they struggle
with.

The film is not intended to be a masterfully written literary piece—it is far from
Shakespeare. For those expecting otherwise, don’t. A more straightforward comparison
would be that it feels like watching "The Lego Movie," but a subpar version of it.

How was this incredibly flawed movie able to turn into something special for its
audience? It’s simple, the film succeeds through intentional choices. Its wonky story,
poor dialogue, overused tropes, and ensuing chaos are deliberate, designed for viewers
to primarily enjoy the experience rather than overanalyze it for what it ought to achieve.

The film adapts one of the best-selling video games, incorporating humor and self-
referential moments closely tied to the game's image and fanbase. These references
resonate with fans, allowing them to easily connect with the story. While remaining
faithful to the game's worldbuilding, the film expands on it by introducing new elements
not present in the game. These additions enhance the narrative and further develop the
world and story within the film.

In a movie that is clearly meant for its grown-up audience, it features numerous
overdone tropes that bring humor and entertainment to Hollywood movies. The film is
enjoyable for at least the first 30 minutes before we finally transition to the Overworld, to
which this shift feels saddening, as you feel like you’re watching a completely different

film. It feels like a much different story is unfolding compared to when it begins to
unravel its entire plot and story further on during the film.

Though the film is filled with joyous and iconic moments, it struggles to remain true to
the building and exploration elements for which the game is famously known. A majority
of the film focuses on the characters, story, plot, and action. You would see the
characters, of course, building in Minecraft fashion, but those moments are only brief
and lacking for a film that is focused on a game meant for creativity, even when its
themes are centered around it.

But because of its consistent themes, the film manages to make up for the lack of
building and exploration by emphasizing the internal complexity the characters have
with creativity. Though as the film slowly reaches its finale, it loses its appeal. The
ending just isn’t satisfactory, but it felt like a more classic and quick “The End,” with not
much to go around.

With scenes and moments that can be turned into memes, the film creates an
entertaining story with a very [again] subpar plot that isn’t engaging. After watching the
film, I found myself wishing that I had opted to watch an early screening of Ryan
Coogler’s “Sinners.”

“A Minecraft Movie” is currently showing in theaters nationwide. Recent reports suggest
that a sequel is already in development. If you’re not as pumped to see this Minecraft
project, the next project to anticipate will be Netflix’s upcoming animated series based
on the game. The series is not expected to serve as a follow-up—either a sequel or
prequel—to the film.