Detective Pikachu Review

Growing up the biggest thing any one talked about and played with was Pokemon.

Pokemon Cards, Pokemon TV Shows, and of course Pokemon Video Games were all the rage in the late 90’s early 2000’s (it almost seems like I am doing the Spaceballs Merchandising bit right now) .

There have been Animated Pokemon movies in the past but when we found out they were finally doing a live action Poke Movie, it definitely peaked my interest. Detective Pikachu is directed by veteran animator Rob Letterman, and it brings his skill of putting real people with animated figures. I will be reviewing this like an animated movie though because I feel like that is the better way to grade this based on the visuals and story.

Animation – A There were humans in this movie, but I was really wondering how the Pokemon were going to look side by side with humans. They looked incredible, from Pikachu, to the Squirtle Squad, to Mewtwo and on and on. They all fit in so well and did not really take me out of the movie at all.

Cast – C+ Ryan Reynolds was obviously great as Pikachu, but that is his schtick so I expect him to be great. Everyone else was just ok for me, and that started with main character Justice Smith. He was not very compelling as a main character and that was one of the problems with this movie. Bill Nighy as the villain was just bland as well and did not get me excited.

Story – C The first hour is great when you are learning about Rhyme City, and the interactions with all the Pokemon. Once the major plot fills in, the movie loses some steam and does not have the same magic. I also really did not like the twist at the end and made me rethink some of the movie and made me contemplate the future of a potential Pokemon universe. But also…Bulbasours

For a video game movie and a Pokemon movie, this turned out better than anyone could have possibly expected. Sure it was not perfect and left a lot of narrative room to be desired, I walked away thinking there was something there in this very cool world. So props to Rob Letterman and the whole team for making a lot of 2000’s kids dreams come true.