The Minecraft movie has just landed in cinemas , having been anticipated as another entry into the generally troubled ‘video game adaptation’ genre. But where exactly does this lack of faith in video game adaptations come from? Are we being too unfair on a potential diamond of a film, or is it already doomed to wither as some expect? To find out, I think it is worth digging into the rise of video game media to analyse what has gone wrong before and whether this could be a repeat in the ever-growing history of flops.
It’s fair to say that as a modern gaming audience, we tend to look for more than just simple and addictive game mechanics. We love good stories and our tastes in our video games reflect this. More modern games make good writing a top priority, tackling themes and topics that the player can relate to—from the complex relationship between parent and child explored in God of War (2018), to a mysterious and sinister look at the darker sides of grief in Silent Hill 2 and a long contemplation of the selfishness of utopianism in Bioshock.
Clearly, the foundations are there for excellent adaptations that build upon the world laid out in these beloved games, and yet historically, video game adaptations have been, well…awful. We didn’t get off to the best start: back in 1993, Super Mario Bros was the first live action adaptation of a beloved video game IP, and to this day is still regarded as one of the worst video game movies of all time. The film places the brothers away from the mushroom kingdom into a dystopian New York ruled by King Koopa. The film was plagued by a series of last-minute rewrites, a strange mafia storyline and a slightly cursed human-dinosaur hybrid, so it was no surprise that the film was a financial failure and left a generally sour taste in the viewers’ mouths.
However, this poor start did little to stop other studios from taking a stab at their own adaptations. Between 1994 and 2001 we saw another six video game adaptations, including Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Double Dragon and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. All very different storylines with large fan bases to back them, and all continuing the trend of receiving generally poor reviews—with the main complaint being a lack of faithfulness to the source material. However, there was a glimmer of hope with the 1995 Mortal Kombat (recently screened at Pictureville alongside Street Fighter). It was met with mixed reviews but still managed to reach number one at the box office, enjoying a three-week stint at the top, and was even the highest grossing video game adaption until it was eventually surpassed by Pokemon: The First Movie.
This hope was shortly crushed, however, as the trend for lacklustre adaptations continued. Franchises like Resident Evil, Doom and Hitman all took a gamble at finding success on the silver screen, and all met the same fate as their predecessors. Then in 2016 came what felt like the final nail in the coffin, with Warcraft and Assassin’s Creed. Clearly, we just had to face facts and accept that video games could not and would not translate well as films.
But sometimes change can come in the most unexpected ways. Cast your mind back to 2019, when the first rumblings of a Sonic the Hedgehog movie started appearing online: to everyone’s horror, the infamous trailer appeared, announcing the arrival of what would come to be known on the Internet as ‘Ugly Sonic’.
“Here we go again,” I remember thinking to myself when I was finally able to remove the image of Ugly Sonic from my mind. But little did we know that our favourite little blue hedgehog would go on to be a colossal success. Yes, the film received mixed reviews, with many critics calling out the unoriginal story and product placements, but reviewers did find promise in the cast performances, the humour and, most notable of all, the very much welcomed redesign of Sonic from his horrifying beginnings. Finally, we had a step in the right direction! A genuinely watchable video game film that embraced nostalgia and went on to produce another two films, with a fourth film in production.
This moment of victory for video game lovers would herald the coming of a new age and we would soon be blessed with some genuinely great video game adaptation content. TV shows like The Last of Us and Fallout have proven that adaptations can be huge successes, with both nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. And let’s not forget the animated Netflix series Arcane and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners following close behind. These shows not only led to a resurgence of respect for animation, but also in brought in new and returning players to their respective franchises.
Of course, not everything can be perfect and there are still blips along the way (I’m looking at you, Borderlands), but for once it seems as though the number of good video game adaptations is starting to balance out the not-so-good. With this history of failures, though, it is understandable that so many are still skeptical of what they have seen so far about A Minecraft Movie.
While previous video game films have had a fairly significant following of loyal players, Minecraft players take it to a whole new level. From its full release in 2011 to today, it has amassed an average of around 170 million active monthly players, a dedicated audience if ever there was one. An initial point of concern for many was the choice of visual direction—live action over animation—while others wondered if the game had the same level of multi-generational appeal as Mario. Yet others questioned whether the film will just be cluttered with tokenistic Easter eggs and cringey memes in an attempt to seem more relatable to a younger audience after the game’s recent resurgence.
Closer to the release, tempers calmed and audiences seemed slightly more open to the change of direction for this movie. Could we be in for a pleasant surprise? Maybe this new take on Minecraft is just what we have been looking for. Or maybe it’s just another film that will join the long list of failed video game adaptations—you decide.
Catch A Minecraft Movie at our IMAX until 17 April 2025. Find out more and book tickets on our website.