Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

This review may contain spoilers!

It is nothing short of a joy to see the world of Pokemon brought into live-action cinema. I would give Pokemon: Detective Pikachu a 7.5/10.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu follows Tim Goodman and a talking Pikachu (who only Tim can hear) as they try to solve the mystery around the disappearance of Tim's detective Dad. I was stunned by how this world was depicted, the level of detail was phenomenal. The strength of this feature isn't necessarily the narrative, it's about how you are invited and incorporated into a Pokemon world in which these truly unique looking creatures can just wander into or across a shot at the drop of a hat. This is one of those movies that instils a sense of wonder and few live-action movies give me that wide-eyed sense that I had when I was a kid seeing something truly new for the first time. I also have to give honourable mention to how this film crafts the mystery around what has happened to Tim's Dad and also the heartfelt exploration of what that father/son relationship is like. The cinematography is masterfully done, I think there are a number of colossal shots to really show off some of the incredible post-production work here. The special effects department for Detective Pikachu have really done themselves a service here, the live-action depiction of Pokemon is stunning and the designs something no other studio has really brought to a film series like this. The score for the film is really energetic and vibrant keeping a fresh tone for the film, I was very impressed with a lot of the homage tributes to tracks from the video games and anime.

Justice Smith, who played Tim Goodman, really comes into his own as a leading performer in Detective Pikachu; this is a role who transforms from a sullen and withdrawn person to a brave, selfless hero in what is a great character arc. Karan Soni, who played Jack, introduces us into this world of Pokemon in a great way; his very invested friendship with Smith is a great bond and whole scene around capturing the Cubone is a favourite of mine

However, the best performance came from Ryan Reynolds, who played Detective Pikachu. This leading character has had a lot of people intrigued and it's no surprise that he wins the audience over throughout. Reynolds has really embraced his quick wit and charismatic delivery in recent years, particularly with fan-favourite Deadpool; it's nice to see this applied to a role who works for audiences of all ages. The dynamic between Reynolds and Smith is quick and refreshing, a bond that you really feel grow as the narrative develops. This little Pikachu has a lot of heart and the emotional monologues between the two main characters consistently drive the story in the right direction. Even as Harry Goodman come the end of the film Reynolds has a more restrained yet touching bond with Smith and you feel the experience of what they have done bring them closer together as father and son.

While Detective Pikachu offers a lot in terms of experience the narrative has a lot of stumbling points, particularly at the end of the film. There isn't really a moment of the story where I felt especially surprised by Detective Pikachu. In fact we often got a lot of overbearing hints that Howard was the villain and Mewtwo even tells us rather bluntly that Pikachu is Harry's father the whole time. This means that major climactic moments in the feature tend to fall a bit flat and leave you disappointed in how they are delivered. The big villainous showdown in which Howard possesses Mewtwo and uses him to fuse Pokemon and humans together felt like a colossal step backwards. It became a bit silly and hearing the main human antagonist suddenly start voicing Mewtwo was jarring to say the least. There was room to do something clever with all the elements at play here yet the film seemed content with a B-grade script tacked to an A-class production.

Kathryn Newton, who played Lucy Stevens, goes far too over the top from the moment she enters the film; Newton is constantly pushing her role's inquisitive and paranoid nature far too over the top to be taken seriously. Bill Nighy, who played Howard Clifford, doesn't really seem to get the film very much nor does he seem particularly motivated by his role; Nighy clearly shows up here but for such a seasoned actor I expected a bit more effort. Ken Watanabe, who played Lieutenant Hide Yoshida, is wasted in this movie as a source of exposition and little more; Watanabe has a clear link to a main character but that is never explored and so this role basically gets squandered. Chris Geere, who played Roger Clifford, is a rather dull plot red herring; Geere just fails to leave much of an impression so the likelihood his character ever resembled much of significance was low.