Hey everyone! I am back with another review! I just spent this past week in the Caribbean, so my reviewing has been few and far between, but I am back!
So last night I saw one of the movies that I have been anticipating for 2019 and that was "Detective Pikachu". Being a millenial, I can vouch for the Pokemon fans around my age how exciting a live action Pokemon movie is and how we have always wanted something like this. Did it live up to expectation? Read on to find out!
(And caution, spoilers ahead!!)
As I mentioned above, being a fan of Pokemon for over 20 years, this is a movie that I always wanted. Live action Pokemon with actual humans, real-life problems, and interactions was something I could only dream of watching as a child during the peak of the cards, Gameboy games, and the anime series. When the teaser trailer dropped for this movie, it was really exciting to see Pikachu interacting with a human.
First of all, this movie is based off the "Detective Pikachu" video game. It is available on Nintendo DS for around $33. (Target link: https://www.target.com/p/detective-pikachu-nintendo-3ds/-/A-53307781).
The movie opens and immediately introduces the main character, Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), trying to catch a Cubone unsuccessfully. We learn that he is not interested in Pokemon and is concentrated on his minimum wage job. Shortly after, he gets a message that his father has been involved in an accident. He rushes to Ryme City, which is a place where Pokemon and humans live in harmony, to meet with his father's supervisor and get the apartment keys. Upon entering the apartment, there is something skittering around and that is when we are introduced to Tim's dad's Pokemon and partner, Pikachu.
Pikachu is voiced by Ryan Reynolds and that is a huge draw in for those who might not be too familiar with Pokemon, yet a fan of the actor himself. I feel like Reynolds carried the movie with his lines and made Pikachu very personable and hilarious. He does an excellent job in the voice acting all around and he makes Pikachu more of a sidekick than the cute little Pokemon we are used to in the anime. Speaking of sidekick, Pikachu's memory is erased and he has no recollection on where he is, what he does, and even his attack moves after being forced into battle with a Charizard.
Pikachu and Tim team up and try to crack the case on what happened to Tim's dad. Along the way they meet up with Lucy (Kathryn Newton), who is a very ambitious news reporter intern at the news agency, and her Psyduck. There is a mysterious purple substance in a vial marked with an R that makes Pokemon go savage (like in Zootopia) and they try to find its origin. They encounter different Pokemon and leads like a Mr. Mime who tries to explain his story in the form of charades.
Eventually, Tim and Pikachu learn that the legendary Pokemon, Mewtwo, had a big part in Mr. Goodwan's death/disappearance and starts to look for the Pokemon itself. There are twists between the characters and we learn eventually who is the real villain and their motive to bring Pokemon and humans together...literally. We also see a deep bond form between Tim and Pikachu that tug at the heartstrings.
Overall, I thought this movie was just alright. Some personal positive notes were the CGI models of Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and Ryan Reynold's voice acting performance. I loved how real Pikachu felt; for example, his movements and the way his fur moved or his nose would wiggle felt very realistic. The Bulbasaur part was very pretty and the rendering of the Bulba-pack in their environment was beautiful with the blues and greens against the white light. One last thing to point out was the writers and directors kept the beloved Pokemon, Psyduck, very much in character with an emphasis of keeping it calm so it does not get a headache (Pokemon fans will understand). There were also nods to the game and anime like Red being on a Pokemon Champion poster and Pikachu wanting to ride on Tim's shoulders.
I found a behind-the-scenes video that features an artist that was approached for his fanart on Deviantart to work on the film. He explains the programs he uses for his drawings (Photoshop with a Wacom tablet) and his creative path.
The story overall was very lacking. I felt like they took on too much and tried to crunch it in 104 minutes. First of all, I feel like Mewtwo has been overused. The legendary Pokemon was the subject of "Pokemon, The First Movie", "Mewtwo Returns", and in the stage show,"Pokemon LIVE" (and by the way, the musical can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDLj7hT1bk4&t=1s who remembers the commercials??). There are plenty of rare Pokemon to shift the focus on, in my opinion.
Now on to some creative criticism; going back to the storyline, I felt like the story went too fast. The acting was not the greatest and the lines were kind of corny. In particular, I felt like Newton's performance was too much. Her line delivery was too forced and peppy. Also, one big factor that kind of made me puzzled was the ending. I explain it like a fireworks finale; everything happens all at once way too fast and then the movie is over. I was left confused what happened overall. It was a very basic script with a predictable outcome.
As far as the rest of the Pokemon, some of them were not to scale and lacked character, for example, a Snorlax sleeping on the street and it looked very small compared to how big he is portrayed to be originally. Mewtwo was alright, but I did not find his teeth appealing. I also felt like the Pokemon should of stood out more and had more of a story to them. Personally, I would of loved to see more of the Squirtle fire department. I do applaud the attempt to make an original Pokemon story away from the games and anime we are used to.
Pikachu and friends will always be a huge part of the media. He is found on so much merchandise and Pokemon continues to be successful. I honestly cannot say exactly what I was looking for in this movie, but as someone who has been watching Pokemon since 1998, this was different for me to experience. I leave the floor open to you guys now; what did you think of "Detective Pikachu"?
Also, stay tuned for my trip report coming soon from my experience on the Disney Cruise Line as well as some more "Amanda's Finds"!
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