Tonight I checkout out “Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” released in 2019, and I will let everyone know what I thought about it.
If you are a child of the 90s or the parent of one then you absolutely know what Pokemon are.
These animal-like creatures live in the Pokemon Universe (obviously) and have human trainers who catch them and prepare them to battle each other as a contest. Each one has special powers that they can use when fighting.
Allison Skornick-Rose said in her review, “This concept with these adorable creatures captured hearts and imaginations making the franchise is one of the highest grossing media franchises of all time with over $90 billion in revenue.”
There are video games, trading cards, television shows, books and now, thanks to Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures, a feature film.
Tim Goodman, played by Justice Smith, is a simple boy – so simple actually that he is an insurance salesman. As a child, he was a Pokemon trainer though but decided to leave that in the past. That is until one day he gets a call from the Rhyme City Police department informing him his distant father was killed in a car accident. Tim goes to Rhyme City to pack up his father’s things and leave the past finally forever. However, when cleaning up his dad’s apartment he meets up with Pikachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, his father’s Pokemon partner, who he can actually understand.
Pikachu has amnesia and needs Tim’s help to remember everything that happened to him and Harry. Unwillingly Tim agrees and the two start their mission using clues found in Harry’s apartment including a vial full of gas that brainwashes the Pokemon to become violently aggressive. They soon find out that Harry was on a lead and was probably killed for what he discovered. They follow the clues to a hidden lab only to find Pokemon that were experimented on and brainwashed…buy by whom?
Skornick-Rose mentioned, “When I saw the trailer for this film, it seemed as if Deadpool had been eaten by a small, furry, yellow creature since the voice was obviously the same and the dialogue seemed similar.”
However, that is not what you get here and after a few minutes, you forget you are listening to Reynolds voice Pikachu and just hear the words making this probably one of Reynold’s famous performances.
Skornick-Rose credited, “Smith does a pretty good job considering he was probably speaking to a stuffed toy for most of the filming.”
Kathryn Newton gives a funny performance as the media intern who helps Tim look into his dad’s disappearance and Bill Nighy is good as the founder of Rhyme City.
Skornick-Rose criticized, “Probably the biggest downfall of Pokemon Detective Pikachu is that for me at least, it was very predictable.
The surprises were not a surprise to me and seemed fairly obvious. However, the graphics are terrific, especially on the Pokemon.
Pikachu is absolutely adorable and I can see stuffed versions becoming one of the hot toys buys for the summer.” The graphic artists did a great job creating every little piece of fur on Pikachu’s yellow coat and explosions and fire are thumbs up as well.
If you are a fan and know the Pokemon world and every animal then you will love this movie.
Skornick-Rose said, “If you are not, you will still enjoy it but you won’t necessarily understand some of the inside jokes and stinger are hidden in the film.” The nostalgia factor for those in the 90s in itself will attract people to watch this film but obviously this movie did not make enough money to make it anywhere close to the current highest grossing film of all time…“Avengers Endgame.”
I wasn’t surprised that Ryan Reynolds brought his usual funny, quirky self into the role of Pikachu. If he could pull of Deadpool, this wouldn’t be a problem for him.
This was, surprisingly, a really funny movie with some real emotional moments that you felt. I saw the first two Pokemon movies in theaters and looking back, they weren’t good.
This is hands down the best movie theatrically released in the franchise. See it if you haven’t, you’ll enjoy it whether you’re a fan or not.
Related Post: Netflix will create a live-action “Pokemon” American TV series.
