The Minecraft Movie reviews are rolling in and it's not looking good — "You will want to block your memory."

A Minecraft Movie launches officially on April 4 but reviews from critics are hitting outlets today, and surprise surprise, it's looking like a dud. There are some middling reviews so far and some downright scathing calling it "a new low for modern video game adaptations", ouch.

Right now, the film is sitting at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 52 reviews, which isn’t exactly promising.

Here's a sample of some of the reviews so far:

• Globe and Mail "If Minecraft is the game where kids exercise their creativity by building new digital worlds full of tunnels and fortresses. A Minecraft Movie is where that creativity goes to die."
• Dexerto (1/5)"Let’s be real. I enjoyed the child who kicked my seat for the entirety of the train ride to the screening more than this. I enjoyed only being able to have a £1.75 Greggs sausage roll for dinner because I ran out of time more than this. I later enjoyed watching five and a half hours of Marvel unveiling Doomsday chairs more than this. You get the idea."
• The New York Times "The silliness of “A Minecraft Movie” will appeal to kids who love the game, to adults who think fondly of this comedy era, and perhaps to few else. But the movie could have gone a more polished and predictable route, like another of Black's game-related movies, “Jumanji.”"
• Indiewire (Grade C) "The Overworld is flattened into a colorful backdrop for a painfully generic adventure, rather than used as a tool for unrestrained ingenuity."
• Discussing Film (1/5) "Hollywood has spent over a decade conditioning us to expect blockbusters to be riddled with bad CGI, dull stories, and uninspired performances as creativity and originality dwindle to the margins. Nobody expected creativity and originality to be present in A Minecraft Movie, and the film delivers on that promise with lazy pride. Somehow, the video game movie adaptation has reached a new modern low."
• The Wrap "The most accurate summation of “A Minecraft Movie” is probably “It is what it is.” It’s what it’s supposed to be. It probably won’t dig up many new converts to the game, but should strike box-office silver, at least."
• The Independent (2/5) "There’s a through line, buried in here somewhere, about how it’s harder to be creative, easier to destroy. Unfortunately, A Minecraft Movie proves its own point. Creativity took too much effort. Easier to destroy the spirit of the video game instead."
• Variety "A Minecraft Movie isn’t nearly as good as The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It’s not even as good as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves — which, given the latter’s 50-year-old pedigree, might be described as the analog version of a video game movie. A Minecraft Movie is just a flaky, spirited, low-hijinks quest comedy."

As long as my kids enjoy the movie, I can live with the movie being 'bad'

I won’t be able to see A Minecraft Movie for a few days yet, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little disappointed by the reviews. But after enduring the awful 2024 Garfield Movie on repeat, I’ve learned that if my kids enjoy something, that’s usually what matters most.

And that’s the real issue here. This movie will probably entertain kids just fine — that’s its main goal. The avalanche of merchandise, from Minecraft Happy Meals to those cursed Jack Black figurines, will still sell like crazy. But for the parents who’ve logged just as many (if not more) hours in Minecraft as their kids, it’s a shame the movie won’t offer the same universal appeal.

Most baffling is that when interviewing the movie creators, Variety reported how much they didn't want to "screw this up".

It is possible to make a film that speaks to both kids and adults — just look at The Lego Movie, WALL-E, and Despicable Me. It’s a tough balancing act, but when done right, it means the movie will ultimately be timeless and watched for decades after launch.

Given how Minecraft has always bridged generations, it’s frustrating that the movie couldn’t do the same. But let’s be honest, from the moment we saw that unsettlingly pink sheep in the first trailer, we kind of knew what we were in for.

Still, I can’t be too mad. Minecraft is more mainstream than ever, and seeing it everywhere is a win in itself. Even if the movie is bad, my kids will almost certainly demand we watch it on repeat — just a shame I probably won’t enjoy it as much as the game.