Love it or hate it, Pokémon is one of the most popular worldwide phenomenons that’s still going strong today. Originally created by video game designer Satoshi Tajiri, Pokémon has gone on to become the most profitable media franchise ever. The franchise has spanned over numerous video games, manga, trading cards, and an anime series that’s still going on today. An amalgamation of “Pocket Monsters”, the basic concept is about capturing creatures with extraordinary powers and engaging them in battle. While there have been numerous animated movies, including some theatrical films, there’s never been a live-action film of the property. Most of the time, video game movies tend to not be of high quality, and Nintendo knows this well. After the Super Mario Bros movie in 1993 failed, Nintendo has refused doing any live-action movies based on their properties. With the growing popularity of Pokémon, we now have Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
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After learning of his father’s death, Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) travels to Ryme City to collect his father’s things. In Ryme City, humans and Pokémon live together in harmony and Pokémon battles are deemed illegal and outlawed. While searching his dad’s apartment, Tim finds a Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) who can understand him and vice versa. Pikachu has a hat with Tim’s father’s name written on it, but he has amnesia and is looking for clues. He believes Tim’s father is still alive, but Tim isn’t interested since the two drifted apart after his mother’s death. Soon, they get caught up in a mystery involving a toxin that makes Pokémon go crazy and attack their trainers. Along with ambitious want-to-be reporter named Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton), they set out to figure out what’s going on. They soon find that it leads back to the enigmatic Clifford Enterprises and a mysterious Pokémon.
Like many who grew up in the mid to late 90s, I was super into Pokémon and obsessed over them. As I grew older, I lost interest in them, but when I found out about this movie, I got curious. Having seen it, I can say that while not perfect, this was better than I was expecting and very entertaining. What easily makes this film work is Ryan Reynold’s performance as Pikachu, who essentially repeats his Deadpool shtick. Obviously, there’s none of the violence or cursing from those movies, but he has the same wit and sarcastic attitude. But while he’s entertaining and makes the experience worth it, Justice Smith doesn’t quite hit the mark and falls flat. Granted, he’s not as bad here as he was in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but he’s mostly uninteresting and bland. Kathryn Newton has fun moments, and Bill Nighy adds some class here.
For Pokémon fans, this will be a treat as there are tons of recognizable Pokémon all throughout. One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the world-building and seeing how humans and Pokémon work together. For instance, we see Squirtles helping put out a fire, a Machamp redirecting traffic, and a Ludicolo that’s a bartender. We also see an underground Pokémon fighting circuit, where one can assume it works the same way as cockfighting. While all of the Pokémon are CGI, they all look pretty good and fit in with the world perfectly. The mystery is interesting, though it’s fairly easy to guess where it’s going, and the plot is fairly standard. Despite its flaws, you can tell the filmmakers really cared about the material and wanted to do it justice. Overall, Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a fun if flawed adventure for fans and non-fans alike.
