Anybody who grew up in the early 2010s undoubtedly played the infamous video game Minecraft, a virtual sensation that created countless memories for all of its players across all age groups. However, like many other recent pieces of media, the film industry saw its success in the video game industry and decided to take advantage of that popularity by bringing it to the big screen. On April 4th, 2025, A Minecraft Movie released in theaters across the country, generating almost $163 million in its first weekend alone, far surpassing the expectations of many.

One of the factors that undoubtedly propelled the success of this movie was the online humor on popular social media, such as TikTok and Instagram. The release of the initial trailers had many speculating about the quality of this movie, but those fears were quickly overtaken by those on the Internet creating comedic videos by taking advantage of the many quotable lines, the vast majority from the undoubtable star of the show, Jack Black. It was these videos that helped to push people to see the movie, if only to see those quotes live in the theater.

However, does such great success in both the box office and the Internet signal a masterpiece of a movie? In the case of A Minecraft Movie, the answer is no. As enjoyable as the movie is, it is nowhere near being a groundbreaking sensation that should be used as a future blueprint. In fact, many could argue that it is a poorly-made movie that has been carried to success by the Internet and the desire for nostalgia.

One of the movie’s most glaring flaws is its characters, all of which go the entire movie with little to no character development. The main female lead, Nataline (Nat), is treated as a villain for wanting her younger brother to succeed, and her efforts to help him are quickly disregarded by the plot and its characters. As for the younger brother, Henry, there is a scene halfway through the movie where he experiences a hallucination that is supposed to make him think everyone secretly despises him. While this could have been a great opportunity for the movie to generate tension between characters, neither the plot nor Henry is affected by these illusions at all, making many wonder what the goal of the scene was. Despite being siblings, Nat and Henry act like the farthest thing from after the movie’s first twenty minutes.

The only true chemistry between the characters comes from Steve and Garrett, who share a significantly more amount of screen time than the other characters. The movie tries to put a strain on their relationship by having Garrett use Steve for his own goals, but, just like many other plot points, it ultimately has no effect on the relationship.

As far as the plot as a whole goes, the movie has a tendency to do a lot more showing than telling. Despite this, however, once the movie sets up the path for the characters to take, it largely sticks to it. Despite the shenanigans the characters go through, the plot moves at a reasonable pace. Although, just like many other aspects of the movie, the choices some characters make, especially the main villain, Malgosha, are questionable. She makes several decisions throughout the movie that create a few plot holes, which doesn’t help the already weak story. For the most part, however, the movie tries its best to commit to the plot it set up.

As a whole, A Minecraft Movie is a far cry from a good movie, and the sensation surrounding it is largely supported by the excitement it generated on the Internet. This isn’t always a bad thing, though, as many enjoyed the movie despite its many downsides. While it would have made the movie much more enjoyable, the lack of a concrete story isn’t necessary for a movie that doesn’t take itself seriously. The movie is aware of its audience and doesn’t try to be something it’s not, and, instead, embraces its comedic nature.

For all of its flaws, A Minecraft Movie is still an enjoyable film, so long as the person watching doesn’t look too hard at it. This film is one of those movies that can be turned on whenever for whomever and rarely will there be a complaint. Putting together everything the movie has to offer, my personal rating stands at a 3.5/5 stars.