A Minecraft Movie (2025)

Jack Black was born to be in this film. I don't mean that as faint praise, I mean it completely literally. There is not a single other human being on earth who could have played Steve, and the moment he appears on screen you feel it in your bones. That casting is perfect, and it's probably the best thing A Minecraft Movie has going for it.

My son had seen it in the cinema and loved it, so when we ordered it to watch at home I was braced for the usual parental experience: sitting through something loud and colourful while quietly checking my phone. What I didn't expect was that he'd lose interest before we did. About an hour in, he wandered off. And honestly? I couldn't blame him.

Because the film starts well. The intro is genuinely great, the kind of opening that makes you sit up and think "right, maybe this is going to be something." The early story has energy and charm and you can feel it finding its feet. There's fun to be had in the way this world is established, and the blocky visual logic of Minecraft is translated onto screen with more wit than I'd anticipated.

Then it runs out of steam. And not gradually, either. It's more like someone pulled a plug. The second half becomes a slog, and I think I know why: there are too many characters, and the film doesn't have the confidence to properly sort out what to do with all of them.

The two female characters are the main casualties of this. They're both there throughout, but the film keeps sidelining them in favour of Henry, Steve and Garrett whenever anything genuinely exciting happens. The cool set pieces, the big moments, the stuff that actually drives the story forward, it all orbits those three. The female characters are left feeling like they were added to a character list and then never really written into the actual plot. That's a shame, because with a bit more care and a clearer sense of their purpose, the ensemble could have worked. Instead they feel tacked on, passengers in their own adventure.

I went in with lowered expectations, which is usually a sensible strategy with video game adaptations. After all the hype though, I came away mildly deflated. I kept thinking about all the things the film could have done with the material, the characters it could have built, the story it could have told, and the gap between that potential and what's actually on screen is wider than I'd hoped.

That said, I should be honest about something: I am not the target audience. My son is. And he loved it in the cinema, which counts for something. Films like this are designed to hit a specific kind of excitement in kids who know and love the game, and in that environment, surrounded by other kids on a big screen, I'm sure it delivers exactly what it promises. At home on the sofa, the cracks show faster.

Two and a half stars. Jack Black is magnificent. The rest of it needed another pass at the script.

Rating: ★★½  | Year: 2025  | Watched: 2025-06-01

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · Sky Go · Now TV Cinema · HBO Max
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · HBO Max
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Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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