On Friday, April 4, “A Minecraft Movie” hit the theaters, and despite its mediocre reviews from critics, it did surprisingly well in the box office, earning an impressive $300 million during its opening weekend. That being said, what’s the deal with the reviews of A Minecraft Movie?

A Minecraft Movie is based on the wildly popular sandbox game Minecraft, originally created by Mojang and later developed for various platforms by 4J Studios and Xbox Game Studios, originally released on May 17, 2009. Since then, more editions have been released. The cast includes notable actors such as Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge, and Emma Myers. The main characters, Steve (Jack Black), Garret Garrison or Gar Gar (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) go on an adventure into a new world known as the Overworld, as well as the Nether.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Relevance

In terms of relevance to the actual game, the writers did a mediocre job  overall. Most references to the game were accurate, except a few things, most notably how they go about describing the Nether, another world in Minecraft. While the Nether is accurately depicted as a hostile, hellish landscape, the behavior of its inhabitants strays from canon.
In the game, Zombified Piglins are neutral unless provoked by the player and the Piglins are only neutral while the player is wearing a piece of Golden Armor. When Steve enters the Nether through a portal for the first time his welcome is very hostile. With the Piglins imprisoning him and chasing after his dog because their malicious leader, Malgosha seeks a crystal that Steve possesses. While Steve is being captured, he throws the crystal to his dog, Dennis who runs back through the portal with Piglins hot in pursuit.
However, inaccuracy comes when the Piglins follow Dennis through the portal and back into the Overworld, given that in the game they were never able to do so without the player actively helping them through. Understandably, though, they had to sacrifice accuracy for plot development. A different place where the movie strays from being accurate is when a group of Zombies can be seen mauling a pink sheep. In the game mobs or monsters that are hostile by nature only ever attack the player (with a few exceptions).

Chicken Jockey, Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

References or Homages

Given that Minecraft is such a well-known game and a huge cultural touchpoint of the 21st century, it’s no surprise that the directors were generous with the amount of references they included. A touching homage is paid to late YouTuber Technoblade, whose crowned pig avatar makes a brief cameo—recognized on-screen by Steve as a “legend.”
In a separate thoughtful nod, the filmmakers include Jens Bergensten, one of the lead designers for Minecraft. He can be seen serving Vice Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge) and a villager who had crossed into the real world.
An extra homage to a Minecraft myth is the appearance of Herobrine. Some players reported seeing a figure who resembled Steve but with one major difference: glowing white eyes, and he received the name Herobrine. In a nightmare that Henry experiences, all of the characters are berating him with their eyes glowing purple, apart from Steve, who’s eyes are glowing white.
An additional homage to the game occurs at the very beginning: when the movie starts, the screen features a square filling up with color and words that say, “building terrain,” which is the exact screen seen when creating a new world in Minecraft. There are also references to other characters or aspects from other movies, most notably the references to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. One of the protagonists, Henry, is referred to as Frodo a few times in the movie, most likely because he is short and has black, curly hair – similar to the look Elijah Wood sported during his role as Frodo.
Fans of Jared Hess might also catch two subtle callbacks to his earlier work. Multiple scenes (like a tater tot launcher and a chicken jockey boxing match) hint at director Hess’s previous works, “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Nacho Libre.”

Overall Review

With the accuracy, references, and homages, A Minecraft movie has been quite a pleasant surprise; however I still have some critiques.
For starters, the plot could have been set up better. While the plot was not outright bad, in Minecraft there are bosses that the player can beat to “finish the game” so to speak, which could have set up a really well written plot that the movie didn’t utilize. Because the game Minecraft has that plot. Additionally, if the writers didn’t want to draw inspiration from the original game, they could have turned to a different plot from the series, specifically Minecraft Story Mode. The result feels more like a cash-in than a creative exploration of Minecraft’s core themes.
Another slight issue is that they didn’t address the foundations of . The foundational spirit of Minecraft—building, exploring, and creating—gets only a surface-level mention. The final sequence nods to these ideas, but it doesn’t feel fully earned. games, ex. Sonic the Hedgehog, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Criticisms withstanding, A Minecraft Movie did an amazing job in terms of being a kid’s movie with the onslaught of jokes and  constant engagement that it brought. Granted, I don’t have kids, but parents may be able to find some interest amidst all the young humor their children will delight in. In summary, the kids will love it, the critics dislike it.