Hey, Detective Sparky here to give you what I thought about the first ever live-action Pokémon film ever to hit the big screen.
 
I can say pretty confidently that this is the best video game adaptation to ever hit the big screen. Ryan Reynolds as Detective Pikachu carries this movie. He manages to pull off hilarious and adorable at the same time. All of the Pokémon are utilized brilliantly and you feel instantly at home in this bizarre world. Where the film falters a bit is with its human characters and story. Justice Smith as the lead actor still needs to work on his acting and the plot is pretty predictable, but never the less, this wasn’t a bad movie at all! I saw this movie at the local AMC theater today, and I’m so glad I did. Why? Because “video game movies” are something that historically were a “wait till it’s on TV” type of thing - no real reason to see them on the big screen; they weren’t much different than the games they came from. Detective Pikachu, on the other hand, is an actual movie. Yes, it’s set in a world where Pokémon actually exist, and this one can talk to both humans and Pokémon (Doctor Doolittle, anyone?), but unlike a “video game movie”, the plot isn’t just a vehicle for the setting. It’s an actual mystery/adventure, with characters you come to care about, both human and not. Twists and surprises and feels are the parts of a great flick. One thing that surprised me was how I was amazed by the emotions expressed by the Pikachu character - not only did he feel “real” in the movie, his face, ears, body language conveyed emotion clearly and strongly. It’s hard to explain, it was kind of like a cross between looking at a child and a puppy… I don’t know how they did it, but when Pikachu was saddened, you felt it; when happy, you knew it… Finally, I also do have to say that all of us were concerned about the “Deadpool factor” - which turned out to be a non-issue. Ryan Reynolds is a great actor, and like any great actor, you only see and hear the character he’s playing - not his past ones. Excellent movie for all ages, even if you’re not a Pokémon fan, you’ll enjoy it. I’ve loved Pokémon my whole life and this was the most excited about Pokémon developments since Pokémon Go. Whilst there is nothing to hate about the film I couldn’t describe it as more than reasonably good and mildly enjoyable where as I was hoping to be blown away throughout. Having said that I’m excited to see where the franchise goes movie wise in the future as it certainly has potential.
 
7/10 or 3.5 stars.
 
Vector made by: PDPinke
 
Hat made by me.