Jack Black has become a recurring star in video game movies, but is the latest film to prove that these projects keep dividing critics and audiences. Jack Black is one of the biggest stars working today, and he has consistently gotten involved with massive video game franchises over the past few years. Since 2023, Jack Black has played major roles in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Borderlands, and A Minecraft Movie, all three of which were torn apart by critics, with some of these critical receptions surprising general audiences.

When the cast of The Super Mario Bros. Movie was announced, there were some divisive picks, such as Chris Pratt as Mario. However, Jack Black's casting as Bowser was almost universally praised, as . However, many critics didn't think that The Super Mario Bros. Movie was as good as it could have been, while fans generally liked it. Although Borderlands was universally panned, a similar divide between critics and audiences is present with A Minecraft Movie, leaving some audience members scratching their heads.

One of the biggest explanations of why Jack Black's video game movies have divided critics and audiences is that critics often have higher expectations than audiences. When critics are discussing films that they have seen, they are comparing them to the entirety of their cinematic knowledge. Critics typically see a lot more films than the average audience member, meaning that they have a lot more great films to compare it to. Critics' diverse tastes and vast film knowledge often mean that films like A Minecraft Movie don't fare well when it comes to serious film criticism.

Critics are often looking for different things in films when it comes to their viewing experiences. Critics are always analyzing the story, themes, cinematography, directing, and more, and it is hard to argue that Jack Black's video game movies excel in these areas. Super Mario and Minecraft Easter eggs and references aren't enough to sway critics into giving these films a good review. While there are aspects to enjoy, .

On the other hand, general audiences typically don't worry about these things. While there are plenty of audience members with vast amounts of film knowledge, this isn't typically the case. Instead, many general audience members judge a film simply by whether they had a good time watching it. This metric doesn't typically correlate with good filmmaking. Instead, they are more concerned about fun and spectacle, which is why fast-paced, music-filled adventure films with lots of jokes and Easter eggs may be more well-received by general audience members.

Based on the aforementioned tastes of general audiences, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and A Minecraft Movie perfectly appeal to them. Since these are two of the most popular video game franchises in the world, many general audience members are fans of the games. Thus, stuffing the movies with recognizable characters, Easter eggs, world-building, and meta moments is enough to make these fans happy. Sequel set-ups like the post-credits scene of A Minecraft Movie also leave audiences wanting more, often ending the film on a high note.

While these video game films put a lot of effort into these aspects, complex stories typically aren't their biggest concern. It is hard to argue that the stories of these two films aren't a bit generic. , with Mario saving Luigi instead of Princess Peach. Meanwhile, A Minecraft Movie is the dime-a-dozen story of humans getting sucked into a different world, meaning that it is essentially the Jumanji story with a different coat of paint. The themes aren't complex, and the video game nods are more compelling than the script.

This trend is not unique to video game movies, as previous Jack Black films have already divided audiences and critics. Films like The Holiday, Tenacious D in: the Pick of Destiny, and the modern Jumanji movies have a similar divide, with general audiences being big fans while critics aren't all that excited about them. This is because . Thus, these films are more concerned with catering to general audiences than moving the medium of cinema forward.

However, Jack Black has made plenty of films that have united critics and audiences. School of Rock is beloved, with it being one of Jack Black's most popular and well-received films. High Fidelity is another great Jack Black classic, while the first three Kung Fu Panda movies are one of the best animated movie trilogies of all time. It is hard to argue that Tropic Thunder is artistically more ambitious than The Super Mario Bros. Movie or A Minecraft Movie. However, these movies manage to combine great filmmaking with stories that have wide appeal.

Critics and audiences have agreed on a Jack Black video game movie one time, and that movie was Borderlands. However, critics and audiences agreed that it was bad. Agreeing that a Jack Black video game movie is good is a whole different challenge. Sequels to A Minecraft Movie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie are already in the works, and since the first films weren't received well, it is doubtful that they will become cinematic achievements in their second outings. There isn't a reason for the studios to try harder with the sequels, as the first films were box office hits as is.

Jack Black will probably have to join another video game franchise in order to pull off this feat. Some video game adaptations have pulled this off, such as HBO's The Last of Us and Netflix's Castlevania. Jim Carrey found a way to do this with the later Sonic the Hedgehog movies, so it wouldn't be impossible for Jack Black to do it. However, he would have to take a big swing with another video game franchise, as wasn't the one to do it.