Title – A Minecraft Movie (2025)

Director – Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite)

Cast – Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks

Plot – A ragtag collection of misfits get transported into the magical realm of the Overworld where they must battle for their lives as they look to escape while protecting the kingdom from those that would seek to destroy it.  

“First we mine, then we craft. LET’S MINECRAFT!”

Review by Eddie on 09/04/2025

If there was ever a living, breathing embodiment of a critic proof movie its Hollywood’s latest high-profile video game adaptation A Minecraft Movie.

I’m man enough to readily admit that despite being a long-term recreational gamer Minecraft has never been a game I’ve delved into and I respect that director Jared Hess and his creative partners have “crafted” a feature here that is not intended for souls like myself which is clearly a good thing judging by the films early box office receipts.

Shattering expectations of financial windfalls by some serious degree to the tune of over $300 million worldwide across its opening weekend of release, Minecraft has arrived as a knight in shining armour to struggling cinemas across the globe as it taps into the passionate fanbase of Minecraft aficionados over a broad age group to become one of 2025’s great success stories.

Arriving at a late screening in my small regional Australian town on a cold and windy Sunday evening I was not expecting to see a line-up for tickets protruding onto the street outside the luxurious 3 screen cinema complex that serves our township and as the screening began I quickly realised that Hess has given the exact type of zany fan service Minecraft diehards were craving as he takes us on a whirlwind escapade into the Overworld where all your wildest imaginations can come to life.

Following familiar beats to any similar film such as the recent Jumanji remakes or The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Minecraft does little to mess with the tried and true formula of a bunch of misfits transported into a foreign world and forced to work together on a cross-country adventure but as was the case with his biggest hits Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, Hess infuses his highest profile undertaking yet with an abundance of kooky sensibilities that at least gives Minecraft an odd and enthusiastic vibrancy that is not going to work for everyone but should work wonders on the films target audience.

Jam-packed with references, throwbacks and fan service that is going to make devotees of the brand go wild, as was the case with my hooting, hollering and clapping fellow audience-members, it really matters little that Minecraft’s plot-line and rag-tag collection of scenes that come and go as fast as day turns to night in the Overworld don’t really stand up to much scrutiny as soon as you begin to put your critically thinking glasses on to see the whole picture.

Managing to get a full-bodied and full wild-eyed performance from a scene chewing Jack Black (the Nacho Libre reunion we never suspect we’d get) as fan favourite Steve, much of Minecraft’s human elements matter little with a shaggy haired Jason Momoa clenching with the best of them as washed up gamer Garrett giving it a good shot while other players Sebastian Hansen as misfit teen Henry, Emma Myers as his caring older sister Natalie and Danielle Brooks as their real estate agent Dawn merely along for the ride that is truly all about pig warriors, long-nosed villagers and an excuse for Jennifer Coolidge to steal the show as a completely unneeded school principal.

There’s a lot of cringe to be found in Hess’s film and a lot of delivery that is the type of cinematic offering that is sure to cause Martin Scorsese’s love for “pure cinema” to keep him up at night but in a current state of affairs where audiences have been shying away from the cinemagoing experience, even a completely nonsensical and sugar-rush of an offering like Minecraft is a good thing for the industry and all things considered there’s reason enough to admit that Minecraft is far more tolerable than it had any right to be on paper.

Final Say –

Giving the people exactly what they want for better and worse, A Minecraft Movie isn’t going to stand up to any form of critical or non-biased analysis but it’s clear it’s a film that has struck a chord with general audiences and brand-name diehards, a good thing for the film industry as a whole in an otherwise ominous and uncertain time.

2 Grand Jeep Cherokees out of 5