Welcome to the world of Pokemon! This world is inhabited by creatures called pokémon! For some people, pokémon are pets. Others use them for fights. Now are you a boy or a girl?
Based on the The Detective Pikachu Game (2016), the new 2019 Detective Pikachu movie left longtime fans anticipating and skeptical of the live action. However, those skeptics fainted when the movie came out with the highest review on Rotten Tomatoes for video games adaptations of 5.93/10.
We follow Tim Goodman, an older protagonist for the Pokemon series who is played by Justice Smith, trying to solve the mystery of his father’s death with his new partner Pikachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds.
I was really surprised by the plot, most video game adaptations ignore the plot in favor of milking the franchise. The film tastefully treats longtime fans with some references but the creators don’t bank on the nostalgia; they also remember to develop the story. Detective Pikachu’s plot has some predictable parts but there are enough twist to throw viewers off the scent of the ending. The spectacular world building in the film helps bring the plot to life with the new setting, Ryme City managing to capture the magic of the original Pokemon series. Another aspect that helped the setting feel alive was the great acting in the film.
Despite the great looking cast, I had mixed thoughts on the casting of Pikachu. My worries were gone once I watched the movie. Reynolds did a great job of voicing the beloved mascot. He gets a lot of great one liners and is the main driver for comedy in the movie. I can’t count how many times his character made me laugh, ignoring the fact that his deep voice is
coming out of a tiny mouse. The other actors did a great job as expected of them but Reynolds stole the show.
If you’re a Pokemon fan then this movie will make you feel like a little kid again. The small references to the Pokemon series roots really made me smile. Seeing the well animated CGI Pokemon interact with real people let me relive my childhood dream of wanting to jump into the world to go off on my own adventure. I have to say congratulations to the Detective Pikachu movie for making it into the Hall of Fame in my heart.