Look, I’ll be honest—I went into A Minecraft Movie with rock-bottom expectations. Those trailers were… a choice. The uncanny valley aesthetic of live-action actors wandering through a hyper-realistic Minecraft world had me genuinely concerned. Jack Black as Steve seemed like the kind of casting that could either be brilliant or catastrophic with no middle ground. And don’t even get me started on Jason Momoa’s pink leather jacket. But you know what? Sometimes the universe surprises you, and A Minecraft Movie is proof that a film can be simultaneously ridiculous, chaotic, kind of a mess, and also exactly what it needs to be.

This movie knows what it is. Director Jared Hess (the man who gave us Napoleon Dynamite) leans fully into the absurdity of adapting a game with literally no plot into a feature-length film. The result is something that feels less like a traditional narrative and more like someone’s fever dream after a 12-hour Minecraft session. And honestly? For a certain audience (read: the millions of kids and teens who have spent countless hours mining, crafting, and building), that’s perfect.

The story, such as it is, follows a group of misfits who get sucked into the Minecraft world through a mysterious portal. There’s Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), a washed-up former gamer; Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), a teenage outcast who’s our nominal protagonist; Natalie (Emma Myers),Henry’s passionate and protective guardian, and Dawn (Danielle Brooks), the overachieving student council type

Once in the blocky world, they encounter Steve (Jack Black), a seasoned crafter who’s been surviving in this dimension for who knows how long. Steve needs to get them home before the Ender Dragon and the Piglins destroy everything. That’s… pretty much it. There’s a MacGuffin about a beacon, some light commentary about creativity and problem-solving, and a whole lot of crafting montages.

Let’s talk about what works. Jack Black is having the time of his life as Steve, and it shows. He fully commits to the bit—the slightly manic energy, the craftsman pride, the genuine enthusiasm for even the most mundane Minecraft mechanics. When Steve lovingly describes his mining techniques or gets excited about finding diamonds, Black sells it completely. He’s not winking at the camera or playing it ironic; he’s playing Steve as a real person who loves his craft (literally), and that sincerity is what makes the performance land. In a film that could have easily drowned in self-aware irony, Black’s earnestness is a lifeline.

Jason Momoa is also clearly having fun, even if the script doesn’t quite know what to do with him. Garrett is supposed to be this fish-out-of-water tough guy learning lessons about teamwork and creativity, and Momoa commits to the physical comedy with gusto. There’s a running gag about him being attacked by various Minecraft mobs that gets funnier each time, mainly because Momoa’s reaction faces are genuinely hilarious. The pink leather jacket becomes less offensive and more endearing as the film progresses, mainly because Momoa wears it with such inexplicable confidence.

Emma Myers (fresh off Wednesday) is clearly talented and does her best with Natalie, but the character is underwritten. She’s smart, she’s capable, she figures out the crafting system quickly—and that’s about all we get. There are hints of something more interesting (a brief mention of parental pressure, a moment where she admits she’s tired of always being “the responsible one”), but the film never explores any of it. Myers has natural charisma and good comic timing; I just wish the script had given her more to work with.

Sebastian Eugene Hansen as Henry is… fine. He’s our POV character, the kid who doesn’t fit in at school and finds confidence in the Minecraft world, and Hansen is earnest and likable. But Henry as written is pretty generic “misfit kid learns to believe in himself” stuff, and while Hansen tries his best to add dimension, there’s only so much he can do.

Now, here’s where I need to talk about the elephant in the room—the visuals. This movie looks weird. The decision to blend live-action actors with hyper-realistic Minecraft environments creates this uncanny valley effect that never quite goes away. The blocky landscape is rendered with such detail and texture that it almost looks real, but then a perfectly square sheep wanders by and your brain short-circuits. The actors are clearly on greenscreen for most of the film, and while the compositing is technically competent, there’s a flatness to many of the shots that constantly reminds you you’re watching a special effect.

That said—and I cannot believe I’m saying this—you kind of get used to it? By the second act, my brain had adjusted to the aesthetic, and I found myself just accepting that this is what this world looks like. The crafting sequences are genuinely cool to watch, with items and blocks materializing in satisfying ways. The Nether looks appropriately hellish and dangerous. It’s not beautiful, exactly, but it’s definitely… something.

The humor is incredibly hit-or-miss, skewing heavily toward the kind of jokes that will make 10-year-olds howl with laughter while adults check their watches. There are Minecraft game mechanics turned into gags (Steve’s inventory somehow holds infinite items, characters reference “respawning,”), and your mileage will vary depending on how familiar you are with the game. I’ll admit, as someone who has played Minecraft, some of the references did make me chuckle. But there are also plenty of jokes that land with a thud, especially the attempts at pop culture references and the occasional “funny” music cue that feels focus-grouped to death.

The pacing is weird. The film is only about 100 minutes, which should feel brisk, but somehow it drags in the middle. There’s a sequence in a village where the gang is trying to gather supplies that feels like it goes on forever. Then suddenly we’re racing toward the climax, and everything feels rushed. The final battle with Malgosha should be this epic, triumphant moment, but it’s over so quickly that it barely registers.

Speaking of the climax—without spoiling too much—the resolution involves the characters using their respective skills and personalities to defeat Malgosha in ways that reflect what they’ve learned. It’s fine. It’s functional. It hits all the expected beats. Henry believes in himself, Garrett learns teamwork, they all realize they’re stronger together, etc. The message about creativity and problem-solving is perfectly nice, if not particularly deep. Kids will probably feel good about it. Adults will have seen this arc a thousand times before.

What frustrates me most about A Minecraft Movie is that there are glimpses of something more interesting lurking beneath the surface. The relationship between Natalie and Henry could have been the emotional heart of the film—a story about found family and belonging that would resonate beyond the Minecraft IP. The game itself is about creation and survival, about building something from nothing, about community and cooperation. There’s rich thematic material there! But the film is so busy crambling from one action sequence to the next, so committed to hitting all the expected video game movie beats, that it never slows down to explore anything with real depth.

And yet—here’s the thing—this movie made an absolute fortune at the box office. $162 million opening weekend. $940 million worldwide. Kids went multiple times. The memes were everywhere. For the target audience, this is clearly working. My son saw it three times in theaters and can quote entire scenes. His friends all have favorite moments (“Chicken Jockey!” for the win). They’re doing Minecraft builds inspired by the movie. For them, it’s a celebration of something they love.

So where does that leave me? I can’t say I loved A Minecraft Movie. I can’t even say I liked it, exactly. But I also can’t say it failed at what it set out to do. This is a movie made for kids who love Minecraft, and by that metric, it’s a success. Jack Black commits fully, Jason Momoa is having fun, Danielle Brooks brings heart, and the technical team clearly worked hard to bring this blocky world to life, even if the results are aesthetically questionable.

If you have kids who love Minecraft, take them—they’ll have a blast. If you’re a die-hard Minecraft fan yourself, there’s enough fan service here to keep you entertained, even if you’re cringing at the execution. If you’re looking for the next great family film or a video game adaptation that truly transcends its source material, this ain’t it.

But you know what? Not every movie has to be great. Sometimes a movie can just be a thing that exists, that gives millions of kids joy, that makes them excited about creativity and building and problem-solving. Sometimes Jack Black enthusiastically explaining how to craft a pickaxe is enough. Sometimes Jason Momoa getting chased by a creeper while wearing a pink leather jacket is cinema.

A Minecraft Movie is messy, weird, occasionally delightful, often tedious, and absolutely going to spawn several sequels because money talks and this made ALL the money. It’s not the disaster the trailers suggested, but it’s also not secretly great. It’s just… aggressively fine. And in 2025, when everything feels like it’s either trying too hard or not trying at all, maybe aggressively fine is okay.

Just don’t expect me to watch it again. Once was enough. Though I’ll admit, that Jack Black performance is going to live rent-free in my head for a while. “We craft! We mine! We build!” Yeah, Steve. You sure do.