There are some movies that are so bad that they’re good; the Minecraft Movie was not one of those. It was just bad, period.

The film, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, has gained major traction on social media platforms for its memeability and iconic one-liners. Theaters have been erupting in shouts, cheers and popcorn throwing during certain lines like “Chicken Jockey!” or “First we mine, then we craft. Let’s Mine Craft!” I think this newfound engagement with theater showings is fun, but it does not save the film from its shortcomings. And there are many, many shortcomings.

First, the film fails to understand its audience, which is essential for good storytelling. From my understanding, the demographics of people going to see the Minecraft movie are 10-year-olds who play Minecraft and understand the game, 20-year-olds who play Minecraft and understand the game or unfortunate parents of 10-year-olds. The film did not seem to understand this — clear game rules were continuously and nonsensically violated. In a movie based on a game with strict rules, you can’t go around ignoring them. 

The movie was inconsistent with their mob conventions. (“Mob” is a gaming term shortening “mobile entity” — a non-playable character) All Minecraft mobs die the same way — in a dramatic puff of smoke, leaving behind a dropped item or two. The movie randomly chose which mobs died this way, without any plot-driven reasoning. Certain mobs, like Endermen, became much less threatening than they are in-game, and other mobs, like Skeletons, were terrifying. Some mobs, like the Pigmen, had speaking lines, but the rest did not. There were also several instances of crafting items that do not actually exist in-game, and no mention of key game aspects like inventory, health or experience points (XP). The lack of rule-following took away any meaningful sense of gameplay having stakes or consequences. 

Violations of game conventions were meant to serve as support for the already weak plotline of the film, and the audiences are able to see right through it. There was conflict created that was not actually in the game, and conflict that was in the game was nonsensically ignored.

This attitude brings me to my next point — Minecraft is a sandbox game, and it already has very complex lore. For one thing, it’s difficult to make a plot-driven movie about a sandbox game, but for another, Minecraft already has a set game progression and storyline that you can follow. The player is supposed to build up their XP and items, and venture into caves and go on mining expeditions to ultimately go into the Nether, a fiery realm with fortresses that contain crucial items that allow you to make a journey to another realm, The End, where you slay a dragon and beat the game. This journey was completely disregarded. The main villains in the film are the Pigmen of the Nether who, in game, are only hostile if you strike them first, and there was no mention of The End or any game progression at all (even though Jack Black’s character Steve did somehow have Elytra wings, which are flying devices that are only found in The End). 

One could argue that the Minecraft Movie is supposed to be fun and doesn’t need to keep game conventions. Even if we accept that game conventions can be ignored for the sake of the film, the plot was boring and underdeveloped. There was very minimal conflict and the motivation for the main Pigmen villains was underbaked and unconvincing. The characters were not likable and gave me no reason to root for their success. Character development was minimal at best. Watching “A Minecraft Movie” felt like sitting through an hour and 41 minutes of watching Jack Black do whatever he wanted. For instance, he inexplicably broke into song multiple times for no reason. He and Momoa fed off of each other’s energy very well, but the rest of the cast was far too relaxed and normal in comparison. To balance the film, Jack Black’s crazed energy either needed to be toned down, or the rest of the cast needed to match it. 

The movie did have some good moments — the acknowledgement of the late Minecraft streamer Technoblade was a meaningful note, and the Jennifer Coolidge/Villager subplot was entertaining. I appreciate the film for its humor and iconic lines. But I think, overall, it was not a good film. It was so bad that it was, well, bad.