So… whose story is this supposed to be?

It’s the kind of question you blurt out after twenty minutes of popcorn-munching confusion, not because the movie is bad, but because you’re genuinely unsure where to place your emotional investment. A Minecraft Movie throws a dozen ideas at the screen like it’s crafting with Creative Mode turned on — but in the rush to place blocks, it forgets to build a solid foundation.

You’ve got Jack Black, the lovable loner-turned-block-world adventurer who once thrived inside Minecraft but lost the gizmo that lets him jump between worlds. He’s grieving his pixelated pet wolf and, in many ways, feels like the emotional anchor of the story. Until you realize he’s mostly used as a tutorial character.

Then there’s Jason Momoa, the former gaming legend whose pink leather jacket and retro car scream “midlife crisis,” as he navigates business failure and a personal reckoning. His role? Surprisingly soulful. There’s a depth to his performance that the film doesn’t quite deserve — he’s a decent man-child, lovable even when lost.

And then, as if we needed more, we’ve got Emma Myers and Sebastien Eugene Hansen, orphaned siblings trying to start fresh in a new town, and Danielle Brooks, a hustle-hardened real estate agent with a heart of gold who stumbles into this madness. They all get sucked into the world of Minecraft, where piglins roam, the Nether beckons, and teamwork is the only path to survival.

It sounds like a lot, because it is a lot. But here’s the twist: for all its moving parts, A Minecraft Movie somehow still feels like it doesn’t do much. There’s a mismatch between the chaos on screen and the emotional depth the film thinks it’s delivering. At its heart, it’s a “high spirits” movie — energetic, friendly, likable even, but hollow. It’s the cinematic version of an overcaffeinated group project where everyone brought their A-game but forgot to align their visions.

Weirdly enough, A Minecraft Movie doesn’t start with the main story. It zips through what could’ve been an entire standalone film in the first ten minutes — Jack Black’s original Minecraft journey — before crashing into the real plot and the rest of the cast. From there, it sticks tightly to the classic three-act structure. That’s not necessarily bad — it keeps things brisk, keeps the story moving — but it makes the whole thing painfully predictable. If you’ve seen any adventure movie ever, you can probably guess each beat before it lands.

Now, let’s talk tone. The film’s biggest problem isn’t the overstuffed cast or the linear story — it’s the real world it builds outside of Minecraft. It’s bonkers. High schoolers build functional jetpacks in art class. Jennifer Coolidge is the school principal. The local economy revolves around a potato chip factory with a ten-foot tuber mascot. By the time the characters drop into Minecraft, it doesn’t feel like they’ve stepped into a magical world. It’s more like, “Okay, this place also doesn’t make sense. Cool.”

Still, the cast? Pretty great. Jack Black shines even when underused. The kids are solid. Danielle Brooks works magic with what little she’s given. And Jason Momoa? Absolute standout. There’s a gentle warmth and earnest goofiness in his performance that anchors the film emotionally, even when the plot forgets to.

Visually, the film is a mixed bag. There’s a lot of Minecraft — crafting tables, piglins, TNT, villagers (though honestly, the villagers look like something out of a nightmare). Items pop up that’ll make any fan squeal, and the audience I was with gasped at each familiar detail. But the textures — hyperrealistic skins on blocky models — sometimes feel like they’re stuck in an uncanny valley. Landscapes look stunning, but armor and NPCs? Not so much.

Still, what really lingers after the credits roll isn’t the visuals or the voice acting. It’s the strange disconnect between the world of Minecraft as players know it — open, unpredictable, creatively infinite — and the rigid, tightly structured adventure that the movie forces it into. Minecraft, the game, is the ultimate sandbox. You build, you explore, you get lost. A Minecraft Movie, in contrast, is more like a theme park ride. Fun, familiar, and over far too soon.

It’s not a bad film. It’s even likable in places. But it doesn’t quite get Minecraft. It mimics the surface — the mobs, the crafting, the blocky charm — but misses the heart of what makes the game timeless: the freedom to make your own story. That’s 3 out of 5 stars.