We don’t need to be told we’re bad. We’re tired enough already.
Modern movies, especially the reboot/remake/reimagined kind, often carry this smug little chip on their shoulder. They take a beloved story, pump it full of "important" updates, and then spend two hours telling the audience that they were wrong for ever liking the original.
This is exactly what happened with the recent Snow White remake. It wasn’t just a retelling—it was a correction. The whole thing had this tone of, “Here’s what was wrong with the 1937 classic, and here’s why you were wrong for liking it.”
The problem is… most of us already got the memo. Like, 30 years ago. As a culture, we evolved. We stopped expecting the damsel in distress trope all the way back in the '90s. We already have a pantheon of strong female characters who don’t need saving and don’t need a man to tell them they’re worthy. “This princess doesn’t need a prince!” Okay, cool. Neither did Mulan in 1998. Move on. You didn’t invent the strong, independent female character — you just made her insufferable.
Worse than that, these movies tend to talk at the audience instead of to them. They don’t tell stories—they scold. You liked this old character? Problematic. You miss the original plot? That’s your internalized bias. You want to just have fun at the movies? Check your privilege.
Meanwhile, The Minecraft Movie is just having fun
No deep message. No attempts to “fix” anything. Just vibes. Weird, pixelated, lava-on-a-chicken, Jack-Black-singing nonsense vibes.
Does it have a great plot? No. Does it feel like mindless scrolling through random scenes? sure! Is it dumb? Oh, absolutely.
But it’s also hilarious, bizarre, creative, and lovingly made by people who clearly adore the source material. It’s not trying to lecture you. It’s trying to entertain you. and last I checked - that was the whole point of entertainment. It’s not smarter than you. It’s dumber than you, on purpose. And that’s why it works.
There’s something oddly respectful about a movie that just wants you to have a good time. It’s not trying to change the world. It’s trying to make your 90 minutes in the theater a little sillier, a little brighter, and a little less… exhausting.
Hollywood forgot what joy looks like
Somewhere along the line, we stopped allowing movies to be joyful unless they were also profound. A movie can be fun, sure—but only if it has something “important” to say. What's the lesson?! It’s like fun isn’t allowed to be the point anymore. And if it is? Then it must be ironic fun, or satirical fun, or guilty pleasure fun.
What Minecraft reminds us is that fun is reason enough. It’s okay for a movie to exist just to make us laugh. Especially now, when everything else in life feels heavy.
It’s why audiences are showing up. Not in spite of the dumbness—but because of it. Because it’s sincere. Because it’s not ashamed of being absurd. Because it’s not pretending to be smarter than it is.
Maybe we don’t want to be challenged right now
Let’s be real: it’s not exactly a chill time in the world. Weird Tariffs, climate anxiety, political chaos, social media doomscrolling—we are all stretched thin. We don’t need every film we see to be a psychological deep-dive into trauma and identity.
Sometimes, we just want to watch Jack Black and Jason Momoa do a man-sandwich while escaping flying pigs. And that’s okay.
So when you see A Minecraft Movie dominating the box office, don’t scratch your head and ask, “Why is this happening?” Ask instead, “Why did it take so long?”
It’s not about what the movie is doing right. It’s about what it isn’t doing. It’s not scolding you. It’s not preaching at you. It’s not trying to rewrite your childhood. It’s just a weird, joyful little escape from a world that desperately needs one.
And for that reason alone, it might be the most important dumb movie we’ve had in years.
