‘A Minecraft Movie’ - Review & Modern Event Culture in Film

It is hardly surprising that we would eventually witness a video game adaptation of the world’s most well-known and profitable game of this century—Minecraft—on the big screen. A video game that thrives on creativity as a means of survival, Minecraft has no real ending, yet somehow leaves you satisfied at the end of every playthrough.

A Minecraft Movie is far from the chic, peaceful game it’s adapting. Instead, it’s bombarded by heavy-handed exposition that leaves no room for imagination, filled with a large cast of unrelatable characters aimed at kids, and showcases lackluster effects that are passable at best. What is surprising (or maybe it shouldn’t be?) is that this film’s distributor, Warner Bros., might have just hit the IP lottery. The movie is already tracking for a $157 million domestic opening weekend—currently the highest of the year—and has surpassed 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie for best opening weekend of a video game adaptation. Surpassing all financial expectations, A Minecraft Movie seems to be the event film that theaters and audiences have been yearning for. But what does the success of this movie mean for the future of IP-driven adaptations? And what does it say about the theater-going experience today? Let’s play to find out.

Mostly known for his quirky, deadpan comedies such as Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, Jared Hess is tasked with directing this film, working off a screenplay with a whopping six credited writers. Starring Jason Momoa and Jack Black, A Minecraft Movie is more or less your typical post-2020 kids’ adventure film: a brother and sister move to a new town while dealing with a shared trauma; they find a portal to an exciting world; there’s a MacGuffin they must retrieve to return home; and the plot is padded with big set pieces that move us from point A to B, eventually culminating in a finale.

While this outline has been overused, experiencing it through the lens of a Minecraft story was intriguing enough to get me in the seat. However, the novelty wears off quickly—so quickly that by the time the full cast of characters had united, I was already checked out. As mentioned, the movie lacks a compelling story—and it also lacks visual flair. Nearly the entire runtime is set in a fully CGI world, making you wonder why Warner Bros. didn’t just opt for a fully animated approach, especially considering how visually unique the game it’s adapting is. Presumably, they went with live-action to showcase stars like Momoa and Black, but with an IP as huge as Minecraft, is that even necessary?

For those unfamiliar with the game, don’t worry—the film takes pleasure in spoon-feeding its audience every little detail, ensuring no one gets left behind. It’s obvious this movie has been meddled with, re-cut, re-shot, and even features a C-plot with Jennifer Coolidge that has absolutely nothing to do with the main storyline. Normally, this would be the recipe for a trainwreck—but somehow, this is now on track to be one of the highest-grossing movies of the year.

Why? Two things: event culture and, sadly but most importantly, meme culture.

The concept of the “event” movie has existed long before Marvel’s summer blockbusters. I remember my dad recounting his experience watching The Matrix in theaters. He said that the moment Trinity did her iconic 360-degree jump, the crowd erupted in applause. Cheering and reacting to films has always existed—but as someone born in 2001, who’s been going to the movies regularly since the age of eight, I can only recall two times when a movie provoked that level of audience response. If I had to pinpoint when this began to change, I’d look to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Here was a high-stakes, big-budget space opera that also pulled hard on the strings of nostalgia. My opening-night crowd cheered the second the iconic John Williams score began. That transcends your typical movie-going experience—it was an event. This communal enthusiasm of course continued with the likes of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. You’ve probably seen the videos—crowds screaming, doing backflips, cameras out with the flash on, likely ruining the experience for everyone behind them.

Theater etiquette has dissipated. What we’re left with is more or less a concert with a venue that’s not being paid enough to clean the mess that’s left for them. Now, sure, you could argue this is harmless. Movies are meant to evoke emotion—you want to cry and laugh, you’re at the movies! But what happens when this is taken a step further? When audiences try to manufacture that level of excitement for any movie, regardless of quality? Well—pandemonium!

This is where meme culture comes in. Dressing in suits for the Minions movie seems tame compared to what happened during A Minecraft Movie—people throwing popcorn and shouting obscenities are gaining huge traction from TikTok and Instagram. As theater attendance declines, studios and chains have started encouraging this behavior on social media by reposting. Like many things on social media, it’s all relatively performative. People want to show they were part of the moment, so they post clips on Instagram, share videos of cheers, and show off their themed popcorn buckets.

If it’s not clear already—I had a horrible experience watching A Minecraft Movie. Multiple patrons (who must have all been under the age of 15) yelled at moments and things that weren’t even a part of the things I knew beforehand that were supposed to be yelled for! Eventually, a mother—who had likely spent far too much to be there—had to find a likely underpaid AMC employee to remove the kid from the theater. Whichever way you look at it, A Minecraft Movie is a culture-defining moment. It may be remembered as the building blocks for a new era of film, From what I’ve gathered, the consensus that this movie has brought from the people I’ve talked to is that this is just one of those, “so bad, it’s good,” type of things. But damn it, the people deserve good movies! Sadly, this seems to be the future of big-budget studio filmmaking: a novelty. An event. A shared cultural moment meant to be quickly enjoyed, then disposed of.