"It is, in some ways, an affront to the art form that I hold dear."
The stance assumed by Spencer Hachtel, a sophomore studying supply chain management, mirrors the critical response lambasted upon "A Minecraft Movie." Despite a star-studded cast including Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge, the fantasy adventure comedy film fell flat in the eyes of film aficionados.
"It was 100% a quick cash grab," said Nicholas Vasilopoulos, a sophomore studying aerospace engineering. "The plot had lots of holes in it or just random gaps of time that just went unexplained."
And grab cash it did. Grossing $162.75 million domestically, "A Minecraft Movie" didn't just turn a profit — it was the biggest opening weekend of the year to date.
Although top brass at Warner Bros. are sure to be satisfied with their creation, the precedent set forth by this blocky, green-screened low-effort movie makes some worry about the future of film.
"I think it's going to be increasingly harder for people that want to make real stories to be recognized," said Hachtel. "As these (low-effort) movies are more and more successful, you're going to see movies that are very corporatized and very sanitized and just want to capitalize and get out."
Large corporations keep a stranglehold on the film market, so putting minimal effort (and budget) into a project while garnering absurd profits might become increasingly popular — potentially disincentivizing the creation of high art in favor of a larger bottom line.
However, this artistic nightmare might not manifest to reality due to the special circumstances surrounding the film's source material. Kamryn Kramer, a sophomore studying computer science, believes "A Minecraft Movie" found success due to its preexisting cult following.
"Minecraft is just so solidified in our culture already that the movie is such a big deal for a lot of people," Kramer said.
"A Minecraft Movie" is by no means a paradigm-shifting magnum opus to be treasured in the National Film Registry for decades to come — some people didn't come looking for a quality watch.
"It did exactly what it intended to do," Vasilopoulos said.
Looking at theaters near campus where kids, parents and likely intoxicated college students pour out of the theater in droves, it's clear to see this movie was an event. The success of the film was not predicated upon the strength of its plot, but rather the cultural craze conjured by Jack Black's one-liners or Jason Momoa's broken Spanish.
Videos across short-form platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels show moviegoers flipping out at select moments in the film, with one infamous instance being Jack Black's atypical intonation of "chicken jockey."
"I've never really seen a movie that has taken off from so many lines that don't even seem intended to be funny," Hachtel said. "It's just Jack Black's charisma creeping into those lines."
Without a shadow of a doubt, the one thing behind the film's meteoric ascent to the camp film hall of fame isn't in the one-liners — it's in the audience, or more specifically, the theater itself.
"It was infinitely better in the theater," Kramer said. "The energy of the crowd was incredible."
The fracas bemoaned by theater employees across the globe built into the hype of "A Minecraft Movie" even more, making this an event best seen on the big screen.
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"People want to be able to experience that," Hachtel said. "They want to catch on to the trend. I mean, for better or worse, when you have people throwing popcorn in theaters over chicken jockey, people want to buy into that."
By contrast, watching "A Minecraft Movie" at home wouldn't elicit a similar response. While Vasilopoulos found the one-liners to be the brightest parts of the film, others found it akin to putting lipstick on a cube-shaped pig.
"You can tell when they're pausing intentionally for the claps," Hachtel said. "When you're watching it on your screen alone, it's like, wow, he just said chicken jockey. For lack of a better term, there's no aura there."
The film's approach to generating theater-specific success poses some implications for new strategies in cinema.
"You're definitely going to see an attempt for more of these movies to recreate the trend and be a part of the zeitgeist, even if just for a flash so they can get that hype and that experience," Hachtel said.
A sequel for "A Minecraft Movie" is reportedly in development.
Poor storytelling, chicken jockey chaos, and blatant clipfarming aside, "A Minecraft Movie" makes its mark by giving moviegoers a reason to step into the theater.
"For something like 'Minecraft,' I would want a rowdy audience," said Kramer. "But if I'm watching something where I'm expecting a higher caliber of movie, I would want a more reserved audience."
The legacy of "A Minecraft Movie" does not lie in a spoon-fed moral on the celebration of creativity, the importance of familial bonds or the overcoming of adversity (pig-like or otherwise).
Rather, the legacy of "A Minecraft Movie" will be the preservation of the concept of the audience. It shows there is beauty in congregating for 101 minutes and cheering at some absurdist dialogue. And above all, the film shows that the grandeur, the chaos and the camaraderie provided by the theater still holds weight in the age of streaming.
Editor's note: The opinions presented in this review are the author's and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Sophia Ramirez and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at stroeste@asu.edu and follow @samtroester on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Sam is a sophomore studying political science with a minor in business. This is his first semester with The State Press.
