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 Easter eggs 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.
Thank you for joining
in on tonight’s review. Stay tuned next month to see what I will review next.
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