Hey fellas, it's been a while. So, I just got back from Pokémon Detective Pikachu. Here are my thoughts from my first viewing. The film is based on the Nintendo 3DS video game “Detective Pikachu,” and while there are some creative liberties taken; the basic plot remains the same: a young man named Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) has come to Ryme City to search for his father Harry; who went missing, presumed dead prior to the events of the story. Teaming up with the titular Detective Pikachu (voice of Ryan Reynolds), the two seek to uncover the truth about what happened while also trying to unravel a greater conspiracy that could threaten the entire Pokémon world.
Rather than attempting to cram roughly 23 years of video games and well over 1,000 episodes of TV into a single 104-minute movie, director Rob Letterman and the other screenwriters have instead chosen to focus on a story that would be logistically easier to work with the medium of film rather than against it. This choice initially raised eyebrows when the film was announced; though some skeptics were won over when promotion began this past November. It helps, because both video games and anime have had very rocky track records in live-action movies. For the former, every guilty pleasure like the first Mortal Kombat or 1989’s The Wizard has been far outweighed by infamous flops such as 1993’s Super Mario Bros. or most of Uwe Boll’s work. The latter has seen both chintzy-looking low-budget dreck such as Dragonball Evolution and snazzy-looking big-budget dreck such as the 2017 remake of Ghost in the Shell. Even this year’s version of Alita Battle Angel only made back about half its budget domestically, making prospects for its planned sequels uncertain. So, how does this film fare for both?
Well, I am glad to say that this movie not only meets my lofty expectations as a lifelong fan; but is also the first truly great live-action adaptation of both mediums. I will definitely talk about how I feel, but I will do my best to keep things relatively spoiler-free. That can wait for a full review when the movie comes out on DVD, Blu-ray and digital platforms. (Note: while I am still mostly retired from doing recaps; I will still try to post something once in a while even though I'm not doing this with the same frequency I used to.)
Though the movie is first and foremost a family-friendly effects-driven action comedy, I am somewhat surprised at some of the content in the film. While this is the first film in the series to have a PG rating in wide release (not counting DTV movies or Fathom Events), this does remind of the days when it meant parental guidance was not merely suggested; but highly recommended. Kind of reminds me of something in the vein of early Spielberg/Lucas/Zemeckis blockbusters, which is what I wanted ever since I saw the first and second movies in the theater as a kid.
On that note, if someone were to ask me if it might be too dark for younger kids; my reply would be that it’s just the right amount. If today’s kids can handle a typical Star Wars or Marvel Studios movie, they’ll most likely be able to handle this one. As I have pointed out before, there is precedent in the numerous anime movies in the series as well as the 1986 Transformers movie and the first two 1990s TMNT movies. Still, while it is fun; there are plenty of risqué jokes. There’s definitely some real danger and high stakes: the movie opens on a pretty freaky Mewtwo rampage and people die.
I mean, there was a good mix of people my age who have been fans from day one; and the next generation of young fans in the screening I attended. The film is very much as advertised: one part “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” one part “Blade Runner” and on the whole, like a PG-rated version of the “Deadpool” movies (and not just because of Reynolds’ performance). Yeah, I feel great saying that I enjoy both bonkers movies about colorful pocket monsters and Hard-R movies about foul-mouthed Canadian antiheroes.
Visually, the film is spectacular. When I first heard about the Pokémon being rendered in realistic CG, I was expecting like in “Super Smash Bros.” or “Pokkén Tournament,” but they went all out with the film’s $150 million budget. The Roundhouse fight is like a fusion of the Rancor scene in Return of the Jedi, the Bonesaw fight in the first Spider-man and the Hulk vs Thor fight in Thor Ragnarok. The film features at least 54 of the 809 (and counting!) Pokémon, many of which are used in some pretty creative ways (I laughed really hard at the beatboxing Loudred, for example). The design of Ryme City is also a great mix of the European architecture of London with a more neon-lit “Far East” style in the vein of Gotham City in Batman Forever (in a good way).
In many ways, the movie deconstructs the core concept of the franchise; then puts it back together in a way that makes a great foundation for future live-action movies in the series (a sequel is currently in development from the writers of “22 Jump Street”).
That’s not to say the movie is totally without joy. Quite the opposite in fact: it’s honestly one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in the theater this year. This isn’t like that infamous fan trailer, which everyone but me liked. In fact, if I was asked what I would want a darker; live-action Pokémon movie to be; this is closest to what I had in mind. I honestly hope this does well enough to make more movies in this vein. Whether or not they use existing material or make new stories, I welcome it. That’s all for now, carry on.
