A Minecraft Movie (2025)

From what I remember, it was a mix of the kids at my church, my little brother Jackson, and (mainly) my cousin Cooper that introduced me to the world of Minecraft.

There was something about the game that just made digging and building so refreshing. Had I stuck with it, I am sure I would have made many a great thing. Then, of course, Cooper poured lava over the movie theater I constructed in the sky that took me an hour and a half. Sigh.

Fast forward to the present, and it was basically written that my two nephews would become fans of Minecraft. It was only fitting that I went with them to see A Minecraft Movie…well, at least they had fun (my brother mentioned he left the theater 45 times).

I admit I had hopes after the opening scene, where we meet Steve (Jack Black), who spent his whole life yearning for one goal: to work in the mine. He eventually fines two cubes that, when connected, transport him to the Minecraft universe (the Overworld). He is eventually trapped there, with only his faithful wolf Dennis managing to bring assistance.

Some time later, our protagonists come in the form of Garrett Garrison (Jason Mamoa), owner of a washed up game store he owns after being a former gamer champion nicknamed “The Garbage Man”.

He is joined by a young high schooler (side note: I do give the film credit for casting teenagers that look like they are in High School and not college or older) named Henry (Sebastian Hansen), who is unsurprisingly a a bit of an outcast at his new school, despite being very creative. He is joined by his older sister Natalie (Emma Meyers), his legal guardian. Last of all is Dawn (Danielle Brooks, fresh off an Oscar nomination for The Color Purple), a real estate agent who also runs a mobile petting zoo.

The basic idea is that these characters need to help Steve fight against Malgosha (voiced by Rachel House). She is a pig like creature who conquers the Nether (an underworld type of thing in the Minecraft Universe) and wishes to use it to destroy all of Overworld. Of course, the human characters may grow a little bit on the way as well.

Of the laughter that came from this film, no less than 95 percent of it came from the youth in the audience (and it was packed with youths). It is obviously a film aimed at the generation below me, and I accept that.

As for the other 5 percent, the writers of the film (which, according to wiki, are too many for me to write here) do aim a subplot at us older folk. A villager from the overworld stumbles into the real world, and is accidently hit by the local High School Vice Principal (“Why does this always happen?!?!”). She is instantly smitten by him, and they go on a date at a restaurant. Credit does go to Jennifer Coolidge in this role that only she could get away with. It is the one scene in the movie that actually got me to laugh out loud.

Parents, your kids have probably seen this movie by now, so they are fine.

I am as much a fan as any of lines like “Hey Captain Buttcrack”, but even the kid in me was feeling that was a little too much of a novice bit of humor. The humor aimed here at the kids in the audience seems rather lackadaisical at times, even for a kids movie (although that is over shadowed by more pratt falls than you can shake a redstone stick at). 

Mamoa has been good in certain films, but the zaniness needed here is something he falls short of. Jack Black is doing said zaniness with ease since he has been a pro at it for decades. I talked to Cooper after the movie (he has yet to see it), and he said it best when he said this was a film that seemed right for someone like Chris Pratt (who instead starred in The Electric State on Netflix….we don’t need to discuss that film).

In the end, it is the writing that makes A Minecraft Movie far from a block of obsidian or netherite (someone can correct me which is stronger if they please) and much more like a block of wood.

Overall: