On April 4, 2025, the long-awaited Minecraft movie finally released in theaters worldwide. This movie has been in the works for almost a decade now, being announced all the way back in 2015. Fans of the popular game Minecraft have flocked to theaters in anticipation of how the film will represent the franchise. Before the film’s release, opinions towards the film were very mixed, based on the trailers that were released. The main reason for the film’s discourse is due to how the film chose to be a live-action adaptation while its source material is cartoonish and animated. Now, with the film’s release, audience opinions and tones have shifted towards something that is more or less unanimously positive. So, how does A Minecraft Movie hold up? In my opinion, it’s so dumb it’s actually kind of fun. 

Now, if you are looking for a movie that aims to tell a serious, compelling story with an impactful message that will leave you marinating on what you just watched, this isn’t the movie for you. A Minecraft Movie is a film whose sole purpose is to entertain you with laughs and spectacle. The marketing for this movie initially left a lot to interpretation, with general audiences and fans of the franchise unsure about what to make of the movie. With not much to go on except a few glimpses of the designs of some of the creatures from the game, the cast, and the now iconic “I am Steve” line delivered by Jack Black , the majority opinion was largely negative at first. To be blunt, the movie looked very unpromising and dedicated fans were disappointed that the movie they had waited years for was seemingly nothing but more CGI Live-action hybrid slop with its only purpose being to make money. 

However, as more footage was released closer to the movie’s release date, audience opinion began to shift towards optimism. Many started to embrace the silliness and campiness that the movie revealed itself to contain. People even started to like Jack Black’s casting as Steve, an aspect that was initially heavily disliked. The film generated excitement, with most of it being ironic love and some genuine affection. On social media, the movie became something of a joke that everyone could laugh at – I mean that in the best way possible. People were having a good time poking fun at the movie’s ridiculousness in the days leading up to release day, which I think added to audience enjoyment when the film would release. In fact, audiences’ ironic love and enjoyment of the film skyrocketed with the opportunity to enjoy the movie in theaters. 

The movie follows a cast of four characters from our world as they find themselves in the world of Minecraft after traveling through a mysterious portal. There, they encounter a world that is virtually entirely made up of cubes, including the various monsters they have to face off against. They meet with Jack Black’s character Steve as he introduces them to the world and the main conflict of the film, the inhabitants of the Nether. Steve explains to the group that the world they’re in allows for boundless creativity and construction of whatever one can imagine. Still, the piglins from the Nether (another aspect of this world) wish to take this aspect away. Together, they work to stop the piglins and find a way back home. 

The plot of the movie unfolds messily, but it works, as it is clear that the movie’s main priority is to have fun. It doesn’t take itself seriously at all and is unapologetically ridiculous. Jack Black and Jason Momoa (Garrett the Garbage Man Garrison) deliver hilarious performances that make the movie as enjoyable as it can be. The majority of audiences didn’t seem to take issue with this, as they knew what they were walking into. 

I got to see the movie a little after its release date, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had. The showing I attended was packed with people, families, and groups of friends, both young and old. I knew from the internet that there had been a trend of audiences cheering and shouting in the theater at the silly one-liners that Jack Black delivered almost every other scene, especially the ones that had been featured in trailers. I didn’t expect to get that type of audience in my showing of the movie, though, but fortunately I did. During the movie’s dumbest, silliest scenes, people were cheering and reciting the lines in unison, which I found super funny.

I did feel like the movie started to drag on near the end, but for the most part, I can say I had a good time with it. Would I watch it again? No, but I was able to enjoy it for what it was. I feel that the only way to derive something positive from watching this movie is to take it for what it is: a silly movie that incorporates elements of Minecraft. There are several issues with this movie, the main one being that it doesn’t do a good job of representing what Minecraft is. It’s understandable why some still view this movie as a missed opportunity to tell a truly meaningful story that can illustrate to general audiences the essence of the game and why it means so much to millions of people, but unfortunately, nothing can be done about it. There is an upcoming fully animated Minecraft show that is releasing on Netflix, and hopefully, this can deliver on some opportunities that the movie fell short on and fulfill disappointed fans. For now, though, audiences and fans of the game can enjoy A Minecraft Movie for the ridiculous, campy film that it is.