Who knew that Mojang’s classic 2009 video game would become a hot new film starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black? As of April 4, 2025, “A Minecraft Movie,” directed by Jared Hess was released by Warner Bros. Pictures across the United States. This satirical take on the original game proved to be hilarious, shocking and a little bit disturbing at the same time.
The movie begins with the backstory of how the blockish world of Minecraft came to be, all beginning with a broke, unsuccessful, miserable man named Steve (Jack Black) who had a wild and creative mind. Being the first human to accidentally stumble upon the Overworld — a universe completely made of cubes — Steve quickly finds a way to live his dream life, which to him, was building his own sanctuary block by block. However, when he unintentionally uncovers a way to build a portal to the Nether with the use of flint and steel, Steve finds himself face to face with a society of humanoid, pig-like creatures. Known as Piglin, these creatures are governed by a corrupt sorceress known as Malgosha (Rachel House).
After Steve is held captive by Malgosha and her army of Piglin, led by General Chungus, all hell breaks loose. The Orb of Dominance, a bright blue cube that, when paired with a transparent Earth Crystal, allows humans to travel between the Overworld and reality, is something Malgosha finds incredibly valuable. Steve, who knows the power the orb possesses, takes it upon his dog to jump through the portal to the real world and hide the Orb of Dominance so that Malgosha will never find it, allowing himself to be a permanent prisoner of Malgosha and her Piglin army.
It isn’t until another desperate man comes along that there is finally some hope for the Overworld and Steve’s unfortunate situation. Garrett Garrison (Jason Momoa), a world champion gamer from the 1980s dubbed “The Garbage Man” stumbles across the Orb of Dominance at an auction. He, along with three other misfits from Earth are fatefully pulled into the Overworld. After a struggle in literal survival mode for one night, they stumble across Steve, who managed to escape his imprisonment. They team up, all sharing the ultimate goal of saving the Overworld from Malgosha and her Piglins, as well as returning home.
This strange movie was a surprising box office hit. In the opening weekend from Friday, April 4 to Sunday, April 6, 2025, “A Minecraft Movie” grossed over $157 million in ticket sales in North America, according to the New York Times, which was more than double the projected amount. Though it received just a 48 percent by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, fans rated it 87 percent.
After watching all one hundred minutes of the movie, I didn’t really know what to think. As a dedicated Minecraft player since the age of five, something about the realistic animation of the pixelated world (not to mention the cursed image of a real-life villager) made me deeply uncomfortable, even while knowing the movie was nothing more than a satirical take on what is arguably the world’s most famous game. However, Black and Momoa’s comedic performances seemed to carry the entire movie, as well as their somewhat tense relationship many viewers won’t stop talking about.
Clever references to very niche topics in the game were both shocking and pleasing, causing all Minecraft enthusiasts crowding the theater to cheer. Watching a movie based on such a game was unlike any other in-theater experience I had ever had, likely because jokes that would regularly be considered ridiculous weren’t ridiculous at all, when considered in the context that only comes with playing the game for many years.
As perfectly put by a review on IMDb, “A Minecraft Movie” is a “chaotic, blocky blast that somehow works.” Depending on who is watching it and whether or not they have history with the game or consume “brain rot” on a daily basis, it could easily be considered a work of comedic genius or a blatant reflection of this generation’s broken humor. Either way, the spectacle that is “A Minecraft Movie” is great for families searching for a relatable, short and fun film to enjoy while the school year continues to wane and everyone makes their last push to summer.
