Author’s Note: OK…before I even get to the point of the movie I would just like to say, coming from a guy that grew up watching the series ever since it aired in the mid 90s and then not anticipating the worldwide impact that the franchise would have upon most of us (including myself), I would say that it’s safe to say that Pokémon has come a long way. Am I still a huge fan? Yes. I could literally go on with my experience with the franchise but that’s another story for another time. Minor spoiler but it won’t spoil the movie, I promise. Reference to Pokémon the First Movie is shown in the opening scene.
At first glance, I was a bit skeptical but over time I began to think back on Ryan Reynolds’ performance on a couple of characters from Marvel (if you think he only did Deadpool, you have to look again). The marketing for this movie was pretty well handled, I think. While in my opinion I think that the critics don’t understand the craze that was Pokémon when that storm hit back in the 90s, I think I was at the right age when that first hit so the nostalgic feeling hit hard. The more I watched the trailers and then saw Mewtwo…it reawakened that inner child in me.
I used to collect the cards, played the games A LOT. Watched the anime (including the movies, still have number 3 on DVD somewhere) and collected a few figurines and yes…I remember some promo plushies as a kid (KFC had a few. I got Dratini and Seel; there was also Zubat and Vulpix). Pikachu is so darn cute, although I could easily list off other Pokémon in the film (not much of a spoiler but just drawing from my well of memories) [Togepi, Charmander, Charizard, Growlithe, Arcanine Machamp, Ditto, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Aipom, Pidgeot, Cubone, Treecko, Lickitung, Psyduck, Snubull, Gengar, Blastoise, Magikarp, Gyarados, Sneasel, Octillery, Snorlax, Sandshrew, Dialga, Palkia, Geodude, Doduo, Dodrio, Arceus, Mewtwo, Loudred, Meowth, Golduck, Flareon, Eevee] As you can probably tell, the nostalgia bug bit me hard and would not let go. OK…I’m going to just mention a line in the movie. This film definitely hit me right in the “jellies”. I have gotta say kudos to the script writers on this and even more so on the team when they were creating each of the Pokémon and there’s A LOT so I’m happy with the ones that got into the movie.
While this movie is loosely based on the game Detective Pikachu (yes, even the main character) and not having played the game, I did enjoy the way the story played out. Considering that there have been quite a bit of video game adaptations, very few (less than a percent) have actually succeeded. This one I would definitely put in the success column but what really caught my curiosity was how the studio would adapt the look of the Pokémon themselves. While there is a video on Youtube regarding how the voice of Pikachu sounds like in both English and Japanese, sometimes it’s a preference on which one sounds better and then there are times when one does better than the other and then the same can be said for the English choices Some are good, others aren’t.
That being said, Ryan Reynolds did a good job on bringing the humor part of the movie and given his track record on Marvel (Blade Trinity and Deadpool), I think he definitely made Pikachu his own in a way. The way how he delivers certain lines in English, I think would have a rough translation for the Japanese version.
As for Mewtwo, I did like the reference and nod from the first Pokemon movie and what was interesting was how the Pokemon were affected when they went into a certain state of mind. I won’t go further into that for potential spoilers but I was pretty happy hearing the voice actress who did Pikachu’s original voice Ikue Otani which I think most fans might recognize since I think hers was consistently used for Pikachu in the anime as well as the games.
Justice Smith and his performance as Tim
Visually, this is as accurate as Pokemon ever got with regards to a video game adaptation. I loved how Rhyme City looked. It felt authentic and almost something that would exist in the Pokéverse. I especially liked how they showed the evolution of Magikarp to Gyarados post fight after Charizard was able to calm down.
As a fan of the franchise, this definitely fulfilled a childhood fantasy of mine as well as many others old and young alike that was a part of that Pokémon craze back in the 90s. While the story might have been lacking to some, I actually found it pretty good. Most of the music was well written and I could hear bits from the game in the movie which was a treat and I especially loved how they replicated the sounds of the pokéball for the movie. For any fan of Pokémon, I would definitely suggest watching this and to not try and take it just at face value. Plus…it’s a lot of fun.
Overall 8.9/10
A Writer's Corner (Anime, Media, Everyday Life) 
Great post 😄
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