“Chicken Jockey!” “Enderpearl!” “I am Steve.” “They LOVE crushing a loaf.” “Flint and Steel!” “La-la-la-lava ch-ch-ch-chicken.”
No, this is not a mass hallucination; these are just a few quotes from “A Minecraft Movie,” the 2025 action-adventure-musical directed by Jared Hess, starring Jack Black, Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge. If Minecraft Movie memes haven’t already taken over your feed, you’ve probably at least heard of the chaos or seen videos of theatergoers yelling and throwing things mid-screening. The film has become a full-blown cultural event, one I gladly participated in, having seen it twice in theaters (though, disappointingly, both audiences were much tamer than I expected).

This movie didn’t just release, it dropped like the New Year’s ball. Based on social media, showings have turned into full-on events, with crowds screaming lines, dancing in the aisles and even throwing the occasional raw chicken. And whether you love it or hate it, “A Minecraft Movie” has become something bigger than itself, speeding past $550 million at the box office and flooding TikTok and Instagram with “Chicken Jockey” video edits and theater reaction videos. It sometimes feels less like a film you watch and more like a theater experience.

The plot is simple: small-town hero and gamer Garrett “Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa) is down on his luck and stumbles into the world of Minecraft while trying to save his dying career. Along for the ride are Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), hiding out after a school incident involving the town’s beloved mascot, his sister Natalie (Emma Myers) and real estate agent Dawn (Danielle Brooks). In the Minecraft world, they team up with Steve (Jack Black), who’s determined to help them get home and rescue his dog, Dennis, from the evil Malgosha (Allan Henry). That is to say, it’s all pretty straightforward, mainly because the plot exists just to move us from one joke to the next. The closest comparison I can think of to this might be “Ted 2,” where the story is just an excuse for relentless absurdity. And like “Ted 2,” it works. The film is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. Even if you’ve never touched Minecraft, you can enjoy this movie.

The comedy is easily the highlight. Despite being relentlessly memed online, the film still lands its jokes in the theater, largely thanks to Black and Momoa’s comedic (and possibly romantic?) chemistry. Black, in particular, is perfect, delivering every line, no matter how ridiculous, with such sincerity and seriousness that it somehow elevates the already hilarious nonsense he says. Jennifer Coolidge is another standout as the principal; her brief appearances fill the town of Chuglass, making the town feel even more lived-in and surreal. That is, without mentioning that her performance and story bring even more romance to the film. And yes, the movie is technically a musical. Throughout the film, there are three musical numbers, all played for laughs. Admittedly, I wasn’t sold on the final song during my first viewing, but I was completely won over by the second.

All of this goes without saying, but the film works as a satire at the end of the day. I’m unsure if it’s intentional, though it has to be, right? But the way it plays with overdone movie tropes and twists them into a joke is oddly brilliant. And while it’s mostly an action-adventure movie, there are sequences where it suddenly shifts genres, veering into horror, coming of age drama, etc., all without missing a beat.

That said, the film isn’t without flaws. While not bad, the CGI is undeniably strange. The world has an uncanny plasticky effect, especially when placed next to real actors. In certain scenes, missing shadows and awkward green screen moments make it feel like a cheap CGI film from the early 2000s and not a $150 million film, which, to be fair, does add to the film’s weird charm more than it hurts it.

Ultimately, “A Minecraft Movie” is less of a movie and more of a shared hallucination, in which you wake up from quoting lines from a film you’re not sure you fully understood. It’s bizarre, chaotic, goofy and aggressively unserious, stitched with pixelated nonsense and Jack Black’s unbroken commitment to the bit. The CGI is janky, the plot is paper-thin and the musical numbers are hit-or-miss. And yet, it all works. Whether you’re a diehard Minecraft fan or someone who thinks Steve is just some guy, there’s something oddly delightful about this film. So grab your flint and steel, throw your enderpearl and prepare to crush a loaf (whatever that means) because the film is nothing short of a good time.