The progression from indifference to excitement for a movie has not been universally touted as much as seen with the Ryan Reynolds led Detective Pikachu. A collective “why” was asked when the movie was announced back in 2016. A collective “why the hell not” was yelled when the trailer was released last year. After watching the movie, a collective “cool cool cool, cool cool cool” (thank you so much Brooklyn 99’s Jake Peralta) was proclaimed as the potential for a great video game movie is now on the horizon.
Pokemon’s Detective Pikachu follows Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), a young insurance agent living in the fictional Ryme City, where Pokemon and humans live and work together. After finding out his estranged detective father was allegedly killed in a car accident, he comes across a talking Pikachu who believes that his father is still alive.
In Pikachu’s opening, we find out that Tim has a reluctance to have anything to do with Pokemon and Pokemon training. His friend encourages him to use a beautifully designed Pokeball to capture a Cubone, a grimly cute Pokemon fully equipped with a skull mask and bone. The ensuing sequence is everything fans around the world have wanted from a live action translation: realistic Pokemon, excitement reminiscent of the game and cartoon, and a feeling of being transported to a new world. Everything Pokemon related that Detective Pikachu brings to the screen is delivered beautifully and makes you want to return to Ryme City for numerous sequels. But when we visit Tim’s story and his Pokemon-averse past, you are reminded very quickly that this is a PG rated children’s film.
While that’s not always a bad thing, in Detective Pikachu this leads to the plot holes, predictable story points, and stereotypical antagonists that the studio hoped their younger audiences will ignore in the midst of captivating action and visuals. This doesn’t totally take adults out of the movie, but it makes you wonder if a PG-13 version may work better for future installments (or at least a smarter PG adaptation). Children are clever enough that the story should have avoided the typical 1990’s family film tropes and raise its level to match what did work in the film. The Pokemon Battles created great action sequences. The human-Pokemon interactions were clever and convincing, and you want to immediately take home the numerous Pokemon whom with we get to spend time. Whether through the hilariously charade-driven Mr. Mime or the “aww” enducing Psyduck, the movie delivers the Easter eggs for lifelong fans and the introductions to those who don’t know what the hell an Eevee is.
The good and the not so much of Detective Pikachu lands the movie somewhere in the middle. Ryan Reynolds is the tipping point that will bring old and new fans back to Ryme City. Pikapool (a censored Deadpool was definitely transported into Pikachu’s body) brought wit, heart, and humor to the film. The chemistry between Reynolds and Smith carries you through the middling plot with a smile, and overshadows the less than memorable supporting cast (the usually endearing Kathryn Newton comes off slightly grating, and the great Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy are given almost nothing to do).
The two leads and the nostalgia makes Detective Pikachu a cute, good time at the movies. It’s a must see for fans and kids, and creates a world that is rife with intrigue and potential. If the follow-ups can have more belief in its young audiences’ ability to understand nuance, there is much potential for the critical and commercial success of a live-action Pokemon franchise for years to come. I am giving Pokemon’s Detective Pikachu 7 out of 10 of the million times I wrote something with a “poke” prefix in this review