A Minecraft Movie underwhelms critics in first reviews

A Minecraft Movie has left reviewers underwhelmed, with film critics complaining that the video game adaptation lacks storyline.

Starring Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge, it's set to delight young fans with an unlikely tale of humans stepping into the pixelated, blocky world of Minecraft through a hidden portal – but reviewers so far have proved a little more difficult to impress.

While some were surprised that it was better than expected, the majority of reviews called out the movie for being too shallow and silly, with some even claiming it goes against the premise of the Minecraft game.

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'All the subtlety of a Creeper'

Some reviewers were pretty damning in their criticism of the movie, as The Telegraph's Robbie Collin wrote: "Based on the 300-million-selling video game, it doesn’t come even remotely close to working out how to turn its source material into the stuff of, or even backdrop for, an engaging feature-length plot...Still, with a monetisable fanbase that big, who cares about storytelling? Just show these chumps the blocks they paid to see!"

Clarisse Loughrey at The Independent was equally unimpressed: "There’s a through line, buried in here somewhere, about how it’s harder to be creative, easier to destroy. Unfortunately, A Minecraft Movie proves its own point. Creativity took too much effort. Easier to destroy the spirit of the video game instead."

ComingSoon's Jonathan Sim felt that it lacked substance: "How do you turn a sandbox video game with no real narrative into a movie? I have no idea, and clearly, Hollywood didn’t either. In the grand tradition of video game adaptations that barely try, A Minecraft Movie crashes onto the big screen with all the subtlety of a Creeper sneaking up behind you. It’s loud, it’s bright, it’s dumb, and it knows it.

"But while the film might be a colorful, action-packed spectacle for young kids and die-hard Minecraft fans, anyone hoping for a well-crafted adventure will be left digging for something—anything—of substance."

A Minecraft Movie proves 'challenging'

Other critics were a little more forgiving – they admitted that there was plenty that didn't work and that the whole concept was a challenge to make work, but did enjoy parts of it.

Variety's Owen Gleiberman said that "the challenge of making a movie out of Minecraft is: How do you create a story we have a stake in if the whole point of the world is simply to hang out in it?"

He added that "the story is something that’s been grafted onto the world, and that we don’t have much of a dramatic stake in it — that it’s just the film’s way of cobbling together something that 'works'. (Which, in its way, is very Minecraft.)".

Gleiberman also said that director Jared Hess (best known for Napoleon Dynamite) is "a genial camp satirist who knows how to invest not taking anything seriously with a flaked-out conviction. A Minecraft Movie never stops goofing on itself, and that’s appealing."

Meanwhile, The Guardian's Catherine Bray praised the cast as she wrote: "It’s a shame the film as a whole doesn’t work quite as well as its standout performances, with a tendency to ping pong along from scrape to scrape with little sense that it would matter much if you rearranged the various monster attacks or obstacles to be overcome in a different order. A little more craft on the storytelling side could have elevated this to something special a la Dungeons and Dragons from 2023, but it’s an enjoyable if hectic experience nonetheless."

'Better than expected'

Others had some backhanded compliments for A Minecraft Movie as they admitted to liking it more than they had expected to.

Ian Sandwell wrote for Digital Spy: "Will it satisfy every fan complaint if it's not their ideal version of Minecraft? Probably not. But Hess and his impressive cast have built an entertaining and often silly family outing that's better than you expected."

He added: "There are nits to be picked and you could have a horrible time with it, or you could just let its silliness wash over you and have a fun time."

Devindra Hardawar at Engadget wrote: "It turns out A Minecraft Movie is actually good. Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are."

A Minecraft Movie is released in cinemas on 4 April.