A Minecraft Movie - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

A Minecraft Movie



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
How does one of the worst films of the year make itself one of the most financially successful films of the year? AND become one of the 2nd highest-grossing video game movies of all time? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but here we are with A Minecraft Movie. Originally put into pre-development almost a decade ago, the film’s concept languished in production purgatory and was long since thought dead and buried. Minecraft has faded from the mass market a good bit, leaving only the hardcore still playing, so it would seem natural to shelve the project now that the craze is over. Yet somehow, A Minecraft Movie got greenlit 10 years after it was pitched in a dying video game film market, and managed to rake in $954 million on a $150 million budget.

Yes, A Minecraft Movie somehow pulled off the impossible. It managed to be worse than Borderlands, yet pull in Super Mario Bros money at the same time (I feel like I’m taking crazy pills). The moment the first trailer dropped last year, the entire internet thought it was a prank due to how bad the teaser was. But Warner Bros. went ahead and made it anyway, and I guess their Hail Mary paid off for them. The film introduces us to Minecraft Steve, but instead of being a Minecraft block character like he is in the game, it’s just a bearded Jack Black playing Jack Black in the real world. You see, Steve always wanted to be a miner, but was hindered by the pain and suffering that is life. However, years later, he decides to go into the mines and fulfill his dreams, only to find a magic orb (in cube shape) that acts as a gateway between the real world and the overworld (the main world of Minecraft). There he lives as a king and builds an entire world that serves him and him alone.

That is, until he opens ANOTHER portal that leads to the netherworld. A world run by an evil pig witch named Malgosha (Rachel House) who runs the dark netherworld with an iron fist, using her pig minions to mine the world to death in search of gold. Realizing what he’s done, Steven sends his dog Dennis up to the real world with the cube so that Malgosha can’t use the portal to get to the overworld and mine it to death as well.

Jump ahead several years, and we meet our protagonists. Young Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and his sister Natalie (Emma Myers) are moving back to their mother’s hometown after her unfortunate death. While there, brilliant yet troubled, Henry meets up with the town’s resident has been Garrett (Jason Momoa), who is still living on his high school glory days of being gamer of the year in 1989. Garrett has somehow gotten hold of Steve’s orb of power, and before you know it, Henry and Garrett have opened up a portal into the overworld and dragged his sister Natalie with them. There, they have to team up with Steve and lock Malgosha out of the overworld once and for all. And maybe build a few cool things along the way to do so.

A Minecraft Movie suffers the fate of most animated films that have live live-action supporting cast. The live-action characters are mostly insufferable, taking away from the fun of the world of Minecraft, and pasting their own problems and idiosyncrasies front and center. Sadly, this cast is downright painful, with Jack Black playing Jack Black (the man has long since stopped acting, and just goofs around on screen and calls it a day), and for some reason adding in the annoying daughter of Amanda Waller from Peacekeeper as if that’s supposed to be a draw. Natalie and Henry are largely forgettable cut-and-paste characters, but weirdly enough, most of the fun comes from Jason Momoa in his hammed-up role of Garrett. Kind of like Fast X, Momoa absolutely overacts to the point of absurdity, and yet he’s the most memorable person on screen. He’s silly, goofy, WAY over the top, and it somehow works as the burnout type persona he’s mocking. Most of the movie is just various Minecraft references and locations, with Jack Black screaming out commands and Momoa just having a ball. Otherwise, this is one of the most forgettable movies in recent memory.




Rating:

Rated PG for violence/action, language, suggestive/rude humor, and some scary images.




4K Video: Video

The native 4K digital film (well, for the most part digital) looks pretty stinking amazing in 2160p. The real world is very digitally crisp and clean, with sharp contrast, great colors, and plenty of fine details on clothing and up-close facial shots alike. The world of Minecraft looks a bit different, with a digitally glossy “fake” world with our live-action heroes thrown in. Fine details are generally really good, but the animation style used for this isn’t super revealing, except in the netherworld where Malgosha resides (for some reason, the pigs themselves look fantastic). Colors in the Minecraft world are amplified 10-fold, with rich blues, greens, reds, and various stone colors. The HDR/DV application adds some much-needed depth to the netherworld, rendering silky black shadows and dirty folds of Malgosha’s robe. There are still some soft spots where CGI meets the real world, but overall, this is a nearly perfect-looking encode.







Audio:

Much like the video encode, the Dolby Atmos track is pretty amazing, falling just short of perfection with a few quirks. The track is largely impressive, with great dynamic range and a fairly nuanced mix. The track remains largely front-focused in the world and in the overworld, but once the action picks up, there is some pants flapping bass response and well-done surrounds and overheads. The final battle with Malgosha utilizes the overheads and surrounds to the max, as piggy hot air balloons roar overhead, and massive sonic blasts from the iron defenders beating up piggy minions. However, there is the fact that the track is recorded about 2-3 DB’s below my normal listening volume, and much like Disney audio mixes, needs a receiver boost to get it sounding its best. But once level matched the track does quite well for itself.






Extras:

• Building the World of Minecraft: Block Party – featurette (14:19) - Grant Major's team brings Minecraft's Overworld to life with blocky textures, vibrant biomes, and square props. Through practical effects and digital art, they craft a cinematic Minecraft world!
• Creepers, Zombies, and Endermen Oh My! – featurette (13:14) - Explore the unique mobs in A Minecraft Movie, including Creepers, Piglins, and Zombies. The featurette features live action looks and onscreen performances, with expert designers and artists contributing.
• A Minecraft Movie: Block Beats – featurette (9:01) - Music brings A Minecraft Movie to life! Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Danielle Brooks created fun tunes like "I Feel Alive." Fans will love behind-the-scenes clips and insights into the film's music.
• A Minecraft Movie: Pixel Pals – featurette (14:02) - Jack Black and Jason Momoa pour boundless energy into A Minecraft Movie, from Jack's gaming breaks to Jason's wardrobe design. Their chemistry and behind-the-scenes fun bring joy to this film!
• Marlene + Nitwit – featurette (5:07) - Marlene and Nitwit's quirky bond shines in this film! In this piece, Nitwit, voiced by Matt Berry, narrates their wild journey, parodying My Name Is Earl, with hilarious moments from Jennifer Coolidge.

Final Score: ​

A Minecraft Movie is one of those bizarro world situations where it was so bad it made Borderlands look like Citizen Kane, but also one of the most financially successful movies of the year, and the 2nd most successful video game movie of all time. So while I may not like it, there certainly seems to be enough of an audience that my opinion may not be the majority. The 4K UHD disc looks and sounds technically amazing, with rather middling extras. So, fans of the movie will be quite pleased with the home video release, but this is not a movie I would recommend blind buying.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge,
Directed by: Jared Hess
Written by: Chris Bowman, Hubbel Palmer, Neil Widener
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English, Spanish, French DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Studio: Warner Bros
Rated: NR
Runtime: 101 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: June 24th, 2025

Recommendation: For the Fans

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I am on the fence for this one. Will think about it.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I've been avoiding this one... and it looks like I'll continue to avoid it. Great review Mike!

 

[Asere]

My son saw this with friends and liked it but at the same time he was a fan when he was smaller. I may check it out eventually. Thanks for the review!