Some of the best game movies — Jumanji, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves — have the same things in common: they’ve got a good amount of adventure sprinkled with heart, humor, and genuinely good characters. I wish I could say A Minecraft Movie

had any of these things besides the adventure part. This is a film that is clearly aimed at kids, but even they weren’t laughing at the jokes or any of the character interactions.

The Minecraft video game doesn’t exactly have a sprawling story or anything, so there was certainly an opportunity to play around in the world of the game while giving it some narrative depth and lovable characters. Unfortunately, director Jared Hess and the screenwriters — Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener, Gavin James, and Chris Galletta — offer a shallow story that underwhelms on almost every front.

There’s a lot of exposition in the film, which largely comes from Jack Black’s Steve, who wanted to be a miner so badly that he left his ᴅᴇᴀᴅ-end corporate job. In the mines, he finds an orb that leads him to the Overworld, a cubic world that allows him to create whatever he can imagine. When the piglin villain Malgosha (Rachel House), who rules over the Nether dimension, tries to destroy the Overworld, Steve unites with Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), realtor Dawn (Danielle Brooks), and orphaned siblings Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers) to stop her.

A Minecraft Movie’s Characters Are Paper-Thin

A Minecraft Movie tries to give us a buddy friendship between Momoa’s Garbage Man and Black’s Steve, but it never lands. I can forgive the focus on silliness if the film had bothered to care about any of its character relationships, but some of their moments are either cringeworthy or hollow. That speaks to the film’s lack of character depth. The four main characters are thinly written and, when the film pauses from its swashbuckling adventure through the Overworld to focus on them, their story beats prove too flat to invest in.

The adaptation does have something to say about creativity and it being stifled by the real world, but it’s a barely there theme. When it does make an appearance, the dialogue is too on the nose. There are occasionally fun moments, but what the film ultimately lacks is heart. None of the character dynamics are given enough time to flourish and their arcs are so underbaked they’re practically neglected. There’s very little care or effort put into these characters, which makes all the heartfelt moments feel tacked on rather than a natural progression of their stories.

Even the comedy is missing. There wasn’t a single good joke in the entire film, and I usually enjoy Jack Black’s humor. It all felt so forced, an amalgamation of Hollywood’s worst adaptation tendencies. Had there been an emotional throughline and genuine humor, A Minecraft Movie might have worked; at the very least, it might have been fun. It’s not like the expectations for this film were high, but it doesn’t even do the bare minimum of entertaining. It was more of a chore to get through than it was actually enjoyable.

The Overworld & Malgosha Are The Strongest Parts Of The Film

The film is at its best when it’s exploring the Overworld, its wonder and inhabitants. Its bright energy and endless creativity contrasts greatly with the Nether’s darker aspects. Malgosha’s backstory is touched upon; it’s actually funny and yet it’s the saddest aspect of the film, which ties back into its themes about creativity. Rachel House is having a great time as the villain. The actress really leans into the nonsensical aspects of her character and gives the film some much-needed vitality. The film is occasionally engaging when Malgosha is onscreen and her final interaction with Black’s character is a highlight.

If only the rest of the film had that same vigor, but it’s just one empty adventure after another until the credits roll. Jennifer Coolidge’s Vice Principal Marlene even has a weird subplot, and for all that I’d watch the actress do anything and still be entertained, her story was too disjointed from the rest of the film. And while A Minecraft Movie is aimed at kids, it could’ve treated its audience with a bit more respect. As it stands, the film is far too empty to be given a second thought, which is unfortunate considering it had some potential.