Pokemon: Detective Pikachu - Review

As a kid, I was absolutely obsessed with Pokemon. I played all the video games nonstop, I collected the cards, I watched the anime TV show, I had Pokemon shirts, posters on my wall, the works. I absolutely loved it and I always dreamed about seeing a Pokemon movie. Not another animated one like Pokemon: The First Movie or Pokemon 2000, I'm talking full-on live-action. Then, of course, life happened. I grew up. Of course, I will always have a soft spot for Pokemon and I still enjoy playing the games to this day, but my fandom has definitely died down. However, when the first trailer dropped for this movie, that spark I had as a kid started to sparkle again and I got really excited. Nearly 15 years later, we're getting a live-action Pokemon movie! Of course, I realized that I shouldn't be going into this movie and expecting the next great breakthrough in cinematic history or wanting this movie to live up to the hype I placed on this movie back when I was a boy, I just wanted to be entertained and re-live a piece of my childhood again. I am more than happy to say that Pokemon: Detective Pikachu delivered on both those fronts.

I should state right off the bat that I am glad that they didn't go with a live-action movie about Ash Ketchum, the 10-year-old boy from Pallet Town starting his Pokemon journey with his Pikachu he received from Professor Oak and along his journey he meets Misty, Brock, Gary, and Team Rocket. Because let's be real here, the reason why Pokemon is as big as it is today is not because of the deep and complex story of Ash Ketchum. Not at all. Pokemon is popular because of the idea of a kid going off on an adventure and exploring new places and catching and collecting these cool creatures, Pokemon along with themes of friendship and believing in yourself. That was Pokemon is and the filmmakers knew that and you can really tell that they put in a lot of effort into this movie and had great care for the fanbase and the source material.

The story and the characters themselves (I'm talking the human characters here) do feel a little underwritten. We have Tim played by Justice Smith who is attempting to uncover the mystery of his missing father with help from a Pikachu played by Ryan Reynolds and Lucy, an upcoming reporter played by Kathryn Newton. It's not a story that will have you on the edge of your seat by any means, but it does have enough mystery and intrigue to keep the audience engaged. Same goes for the characters. Although with some cheesy acting at times and extremely "on-the-nose" exposition, these characters do have enough chemistry with each other and charisma for the audience to like them and want to see them succeed. But by far the best part of the movie was Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu. First of all, Pikachu has always been adorable from the moment he was introduced to the world, but in live-action CGI, he looks great! On top of simply looking cute, Ryan Reynolds brings his classic sense of humour to the role and it had me laughing out loud many times. To simplify it, it's Deadpool without swearing, but it still feels unique. This movie makes me want to have my own Pikachu (if he is voiced by Ryan Reynolds, that's a bonus.)

While the characters and the story won't blow you away by any means, the ones that we got are a good placeholder for the things fans really came to see. Like I said earlier, the characters and the story were never the selling point for Pokemon as a franchise, it was the Pokemon themselves and the sense of adventure. That is what the movie has in spades. First of all, I love the world that these filmmakers created. If I imagined myself as a kid being sucked into my Gameboy and into the world of Pokemon, Ryme City is exactly what I would imagine. A giant city full of flashing lights, people dressed in over-the-top costumes with Pokemon everywhere that feels lived in and is rich with personality. And secondly, the action sequences and the CGI are top-notch. I wish we had more of them, to be honest. I wish I was able to see more of the actual capturing of the Pokemon and more Pokemon battles and tournaments. But we do get some pretty thrilling action sequences that were exciting and thrilling and pretty intense especially for a children's film. One scene in particular really popped out at me as a scene where I knew that if I had seen it for the first time when I was 11, it might have been the most epic thing I had ever seen on screen. Even as an adult, watching these action scenes with Pokemon using their different powers, It brought me right back to being a kid again.

So as for a recommendation, it's hard to say because I went into this movie as a childhood Pokemon fan. A former addict if you will. However, if you have small children who are getting into the Pokemon franchise, I'm sure this movie would be a great way to understand and be introduced into the world of Pokemon. While the characters and story are not the most complex in the world, the movie has it where it counts. Entertaining all the way through with some great humour and great action and a wonderful message about family and believing in yourself. That's what Pokemon is all about and this movie gave it to us!