Detective Pikachu
[Devin Dayley]
Year Released: 2019
Director: Rob Lettterman
Stars:
Ryan Reynolds
Justice Smith
Kathryn Newton
Synopsis:
In a world where Pokemon and man coexist, Tim (Smith), whose father has gone missing and is assumed to be dead, goes on an adventure with his father’s Pokemon-companion, Pikachu (Reynolds), in order to find his father.
Review:
Did I like “Pokemon Detective Pikachu?” Not really, but did I enjoy myself at the movie? Yeah. Let me explain how this worked. This movie, to me, felt like a little kid movie. It channeled the little kid part of me to come out while watching this movie. You see, I was a child when the Pokemon craze was going on throughout the world. So, watching this movie brought out that same “little-kid” aspect in me that saw that craze taking place. Did I hate this movie? No. Therefore, let me talk about the things I did like in order to not paint this movie in a bad hue.
I quite enjoyed the world-building aspect of this movie.
When I was in Rhyme City, while watching the movie, I felt like I was in a whole different world. It was really cool! And when I say a new world, I don’t mean that it was foreign and unknown to me, I mean that this movie was able to use “Earthly” architectural practices and use them to create a new city. This new city did resemble many Asian cities, but because Pokemon is from Japan and is, henceforth, an Asian property, it is appropriate that the city would resemble an Asian city.
Another thing I really enjoyed was the comedy that Ryan Reynolds brought to the role. He is just a funny guy. First “Deadpool,” now this?! No, I know that there have been many things such as “Just Friends” where he shines as a comedic actor, but I appreciated this. He was able to bring a kind of childlike lovability to the role while also appealing to the adult sense of humor. I don’t think that is a very common thing to be able to do.
One thing that I really liked was the animation used in the movie. In this world, obviously Pokemon characters do not exist. The movie did a good job, though, of making the Pokemon blend in seamlessly. You feel as if you can reach out and touch them and lift them up, not that they are absent from the frame, at first, then added in later using computer generation. You feel like the Pokemon are real characters in the movie and not separate entities that you have to use your imagination to add as part of the story.
The movie, even though it’s live action and there can’t be animation styles used, felt anime. Maybe it was because of the “Asian-esc” city or because Pokemon was more of an anime television show back in the day, but something about it felt anime. It might have been the acting. The actors, other than Reynolds, were basically unknown. That gave our minds the power to fill in the information about what kind of movie it was. Other actors, especially ones that are more well known, have a persona that accompanies them everywhere they go, even movie sets. So our imaginations don’t work to make up information such as what kind of movie you’re watching.
As a whole, I would say this movie was fine. Like I said before, did I hate it? No. Did I love it? No. Would I see it again? Probably not. This seemed like a movie that was made for television and the main reason it was in theaters was because Ryan Reynolds, a big Hollywood actor, acted in it and endorsed it. I would rate this movie a 5.7/10. It was fine, but probably not meant for me.
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