Also saw Pokemon: Detective Pikachu… or maybe just Detective Pikachu (the title is uncertain). This is the live action – and big budget – film based on the Pokemon franchise. And, spoiler alert, it’s pretty good. And that makes it A) one of the better video game to movie adaptations, B) one of the better anime to Hollywood productions, and C) easily the best collectible card game to movie adaptations (i think that’s a list of just one movie).
So, my Pokemon bona fides are almost nill. Never played the games, never played the card game, never watched the anime. I have a working familiarity with the idea, some of the Pokemon types, and the general plot of the anime (Ash v. Team Rocket, etc.). But this is based on a kind of side story – a single Detective Pokemon game – which, I gather, is not tied into most of the lore. Which was probably wise of the film as that gives us novices more room to just enjoy what they put on screen instead of being devoted to every nook and cranny of thirty years of lore.
The basic idea is that Pokemon and humans live together in peace in a Utopian Ryme City. Pokemon battles are outlawed so the film can brush aside that whole dog fighting angle the property usually has (and that PETA hates so much). A young man arrives in the city having gotten news that his detective dad has been killed. He runs quickly into a mystery involving a weird chemical that he gets sprayed with that turns Pokemon crazy… and apparently allows him to talk to his dad’s Pikachu partner. A partner who has a cool deerstalker cap so he knows he’s a detective… even if he’s got amnesia.
Ryan Reynolds voices Pikachu and he’s his usual charming self. Since his voice isn’t what you would expect out of cute Pikachu, that’s the angle more aimed at adults (or at least adults with no nostalgia). He will occasionally say something off color that is just off color enough that kids won’t catch on. And he does a reasonably good job with the emotional beats too.
Is this flick any good for a novice? It’s fine. It gets a little draggy and I got deeply bored in the middle but the opening worldbuilding and first encounter between the leads was fun. The end big battle sequence is reasonably fun as well…. and I was actually surprised by a couple twists (perhaps I shouldn’t have been). It’s not a big hit for me but that is swayed by my general ignorance and lack of love for the property.
Will fans of the franchise love it? If the young gal at the box office is any indication, probably (she’d seen it three times already). They will no doubt geek out over a lot of things that I had a vague feeling were show/game/card references and just love it on that level. They might have some problems with liberties made to the source material, if some things I’ve read online are true. But I think the overall respect, budget, and FX thrown at the movie should appease them.
This isn’t a strong recommendation – I legit think the story isn’t strong enough (at least for a novice). But it works reasonably well for a passing entertainment for a noob. I think fans of the franchise should run to see it. At least support what Hollywood has done in respecting the property.
Score: 74