Title: A Minecraft Movie
Describe This Movie In One Peanuts Quote:
LUCY: You’re such a blockhead, Charlie Brown.
Brief Plot Synopsis: Adults finally learn what “chicken jockey” means.
Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: 2.5 po-ta-toes out of 5.
Tagline: “Be There and Be Square.”
Better Tagline: “Make Mullets Great Again.”
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: Mine-obsessed Steve (Jack Black) discovers the Overworld, where one can “mine” materials and “craft” structures and items out of them. After he’s imprisoned by Nether ruler Malgosha (Rachel House), he sends the key to the Overworld back home, where it’s discovered by former video game champion Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa). Garrett, along with siblings Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers) and their unsuspecting real estate agent Dawn (Danielle Brooks), are drawn into the Overworld, meeting Steve and setting out to foil Malgosha once and for all.
“Critical” Analysis: If you’ve heard the name of A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess before, it’s probably because of Napoleon Dynamite, his 2004 movie that rode Sundance Film Festival buzz into impressive box office success ($45 million on a $400,000 budget).
Hess’s subsequent efforts offered diminishing returns, both critically (Nacho Libre, Masterminds), and financially (Gentlemen Broncos). His path to taking over the movie based on the hit Minecraft video game is a convoluted one, involving nearly a dozen potential screenwriters as well as multiple directors, Shawn Levy (Deadpool & Wolverine) and Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) among them.
But this particular film ending up in Hess’s hands feels less like an accident of timing and, at times, something like fate. Because the parts of A Minecraft Movie that land hardest are those comfortably within his wheelhouse of rural weirdos.
Yes, there’s Minecraft here. A lot of it. Steve’s pre-credits intro highlights his entry into Overworld and sending the Orb of Dominance back home with his faithful wolf Dennis. And the bulk of the movie takes place in Overworld or the Nether. For a good chunk of the first act, however, we abandon that in favor of introducing Steve’s soon-to-be fellow adventurers.
And that portion is actually … pretty good? Deprived of Black’s manic dungeon master energy for 20 minutes, the movie fleshes out Henry and Natalie, introduces their real estate agent Dawn (Danielle Brooks) — whose side hustle is mobile zoo experiences — and the vice principal of Henry’s school, (Jennifer Coolidge), a self-described “open book,” and boy howdy is she.
Maybe it’s the Gen-X talking, but Momoa’s ’80s has-been is the real gift here. He exhibits serious Billy Mitchell energy as the former champion at a Street Fighter variant, while also introducing some needed humanity amid all the Jack Black-ness.
Because yeah, perhaps beyond even Tenacious D, this is the role Jack Black was born to play. His physical antics rival anything else he’s done, and his explanation of game mechanics — while a drag on the story itself — are so ludicrously enthusiastic that it’s literally impossible to visualize anyone else performing them. And his frequent exhortations (“Sneak attack!”) provide some of A Minecraft Movie’s biggest laughs.
I wish I could say the rest of the cast fares as well. Hansen brings some early Stranger Things Finn Wolfhard energy, Coolidge is predictably game for anything, and supporting turns by Jemaine Clement and House delight, but Myers and Brooks are essentially side-quested out of the main narrative.
A Minecraft Movie is really A Minecraft Movie + A Movie About Weird Flyover Country Residents. Garrett, who zooms about Chuglass, Idaho in a Trans Am, is a better Napoleon Dynamite character than anyone actually in that movie, and Henry matter-of-factly using his nerd powers to prove his bullies wrong has nothing whatsoever to do with piglins, creepers, or orbs that are actually cubes.
It’s hard to imagine this appealing to non-gamers (it’s the most popular video game of all time, so don’t fret about audience reach), especially considering the pure kids’ movie vibe of the actual Minecraft elements. I’d say Hess might want to consider a more equal blend of lore and human oddballs for any subsequent efforts, but let’s not kid ourselves: A Minecraft Movie is already — in its second week of release — the ninth most successful video game adaptation of all time (and stands a real chance of reaching a billion dollars at the box office). He doesn’t need my tater tots.
A Minecraft Movie is in theaters today.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
