Review- Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019): Written by Rob Letterman, Derek Connelly, Benji Samit, and Dan Hernandez, directed by Rob Letterman. Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe, and Bill Nighy. Running Time: 104 minutes. Based on the Pokemon franchise by Satoshi Tajiri and the 2016 video game Detective Pikachu.

Rating: 3/4

               I remained skeptical right up to the end- nothing, I felt, could ever make live-action Pokemon convincing- but lo and behold, Detective Pikachu pulled it off; the Pokemon Cinematic Universe has officially arrived, and a new chapter in Pokehistory begins.

               Set in the distinctly noir-ish Ryme City, Tim Goodman (played by Justice Smith) has just learned of the death of his estranged father, Harry Goodman, while following a case. He's arrived in the city- a place founded as a quasi-utopia of human-Pokemon coexistence by the business visionary Howard Clifford (played by an extra-delicious Bill Nighy)- to sort through his things, but the night he arrives his Dad's apartment is infiltrated by a deerstalker-wearing Pikachu with the voice of Ryan Reynolds.

               The REALLY strange part is that he's the only one who can talk with Pikachu- no other person hears the voice of Deadpool coming out of the yellow Lightning Mouse at his side, just that trademark cry of “Pika-pikaaaa!” Both are wholly taken aback by this, but before they can figure out what in Arceus' name is going on, they soon find themselves drawn into the mystery Tim's father was apparently exploring at the time of his death, one that involves an illicit, gaseous drug that appears to turn any Pokemon that breathes it in raging mad.

               It's off to the races from there, with story twists and character turns aplenty, although with one exception none of them are anything experienced moviegoers will have any trouble predicting well in advance. I can't find it in me to hold this too harshly against the film, though, since the story was never the point; this is a film out to make bank on the wow factor of seeing as many CGI Pokemon on the screen as possible. And it is very hard, as a lifelong Pokefreak, to not get caught up in the sheer novelty of it all; the awesome spectacle of a Magicarp evolving, the sweetness of seeing a field filled with chirping Bulbasaur, or the belly laugh to be had when the film aggressively acknowledges how fucking useless Mr. Mime is. And, of course, seeing Mewtwo in action is something no Pokemaniac can ever not find cool; it's ingrained far too deeply in our DNA.

               True, none of these bits ever hit a real high note of the sort of wonder the best of Pokemon achieves- though a sequence involving a field of massive Torterras might come the closest- but the designs really are excellently realized, and nearly all of them look solid. The music further adds to the intended feel of a video game coming to life, mixing in synthetic beats during the action scenes that deliberately hark to the best of the music from the games. All in all, the movie finds a good balance between the CGI effects and Blade-Runner aesthetic, though I do hope future films take up a brighter pallet; Pokemon were meant to pop, not be shaded over. Not like this.

               As far as the humans are concerned, Justice Smith acquits himself quite well in the lead role. He finds the right balance between conveying his own character's personal issues, from a strained relationship with his father to abandoned dreams of Pokemon mastership, without bogging down the tone of the film too much, especially during his scenes with Ryan Reynolds' Pikachu. My Deadpool joke before may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but Reynold's timing and delivery, though obviously kid-friendly, is clearly cut from the same cloth. He and Smith play off each other well, and their scenes together are easily the best of the whole movie.

               The other humans, though, are very mixed. Bill Nighy is all the joy you would expect from the man who brought us “Christmas Is All Around,” but Ken Watanabe is sadly wasted in his side role as police chief, and the less said about Chris Geere, the better. The one that I feel the most mixed about is Kathryn Newton as Lucy Stevens, a wannabe reporter in the city who enters the story following her own leads on the gas. She's trying her best, and I liked a lot of her dynamic with Smith, but the script does her no favors; her introductory scene has way too many one-liners that are genuinely groan-inducing, and it takes awhile for the character to recover after stumbling out of the gate like that.

               All things considered, I had tremendous fun watching this movie and am officially on board for whatever comes next in the PCU. Yes, I do confess- live action Pokemon CAN work. Bring on another round, with a good, strong coffee to boot.

-Noah Franc