Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019)

[baumer]

Discuss

[cannastop]

Solid entertainment, especially if you like Pokemon coming into the theater. Kind of a combo of Zootopia and Batman 1989. Lightweight worldbuilding, though. But seeing Ryan Reynalds as Tim's father at the end was touching, even if Mewtwo's actions made no sense.

 

Also, the second act split up was contrived and not nearly as justified as Zootopia's.

[ZackM]

I thought the worldbuilding was decent enough.  It was present without ever feeling gratuitous.  I was more confused by Howard's actions than I was by Mewtwo's.  I was surprised by some of the adult humor like the joke about being good at being home alone at night or the smell my fingers joke.  I don't think the kids in the theater understood why the adults were laughing during those scenes.

[Poseidon]

Even though Spoilers are allowed, still beware.

SPOILER ALERT!

The movie was some light fun in a warm and welcoming world, with some likeable characters. 

 

 

But could somebody please help me out with one major plot point.

 

So why exactly did Mewtwo feel the need to transfer Harry into Pikachu?
It turned out, that his body was fine in the end, so why wouldn't he just heal Harry, like he healed Pikachu?

Did I miss something?

[cannastop]

22 minutes ago, Poseidon said:

Even though Spoilers are allowed, still beware.

SPOILER ALERT!

The movie was some light fun in a warm and welcoming world, with some likeable characters. 

 

 

But could somebody please help me out with one major plot point.

 

So why exactly did Mewtwo feel the need to transfer Harry into Pikachu?
It turned out, that his body was fine in the end, so why wouldn't he just heal Harry, like he healed Pikachu?

Did I miss something?

Maybe Harry had to heal?

[robertman2]

I think it was part of a plan to stop Bill Nighy's character?

[redgarlic]

2 hours ago, Poseidon said:

Even though Spoilers are allowed, still beware.

SPOILER ALERT!

The movie was some light fun in a warm and welcoming world, with some likeable characters. 

 

 

But could somebody please help me out with one major plot point.

 

So why exactly did Mewtwo feel the need to transfer Harry into Pikachu?
It turned out, that his body was fine in the end, so why wouldn't he just heal Harry, like he healed Pikachu?

Did I miss something?

He said he needed the son, I assumed some genetic shenanigans were in place.

 

I loved the movie, only disliked the ending. But then I'm a lifelong Pokemon fan...

[Poseidon]

5 hours ago, redgarlic said:

He said he needed the son, I assumed some genetic shenanigans were in place.

 

I loved the movie, only disliked the ending. But then I'm a lifelong Pokemon fan...

Yes, he said he needed the son, but it was never explained why. 

Or maybe he needed the son, because his plan was to bring them back together as a family?

Well, probably even the writers didn't know. Or the editors were a bit too ungenerous with the material. 

[Morieris]

While watching, I thought "This is way too depressing to be a movie about a smart-ass talking electric mouse." But then I realized that they pulled a ton from Generation 1.

 

Spoiler

• Transferring a consciousness from human to pokemon - Bill's experiments outside of Cerulean City before you hit the button.
• Mewtwo in the cave after escaping from the scientists (He escaped from Cerulean Cave AND Kanto apparently)
• Man leaves son to use Pokemon.
• "Pikachu is hurt so I have to walk through a forest with him in my arms like La Pieta."
• Main female lead is girl with Psyduck.
•  I want to say that Eevee evolving into Flareon in front of us was used at some point in Kanto to show us how Eevees evolve so variously but IDR.
• THE DITTO!

 

This is the only VG movie I've seen where I knew the source material and even that didn't stand out to me until later. Well done, I appreciate the filmmakers respecting the material without beating us over the head with it.

 

But the story is just ... a mishmash of gen 1 and original, confusing story to its detriment.

 

11 hours ago, Poseidon said:

 

So why exactly did Mewtwo feel the need to transfer Harry into Pikachu?
It turned out, that his body was fine in the end, so why wouldn't he just heal Harry, like he healed Pikachu?

Did I miss something?

Probably because if they saw Harry walking around as normal the bad guys would know he was okay. They still knew Pikachu.

 

Spoiler

Like when Nighy told Tim that he's still alive and to look around the laboratory - He probably thought Mewtwo was with him. He was more concerned about Mewtwo than Harry.

 

I feel like the Pokemon were just flavor text a lot of the time. I know, you don't want to confuse the casuals, considering how much WB/Legendary probably spend on this but...wish there were a bit more of them.

 

Justice Smith did a surprisingly great job for something that's both oddly serious and weirdly surreal (The scene with Mr. Mime - AKA, the scene with some dude in a green bodysuit and a tennis ball voiced by Ryan Reynolds - that was really impressive.) But other characters were a complete misfire (Hello, Lucy).

 

The tone still shook me, but I didn't hate it. I didn't like it as much as "Alita" or "Us", but more than "Fighting With My Family".

 

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Wait, so the movie is more serious than being a comedy? I might have to see this then.

[4815162342]

It's a B.

 

The plot turns into complete nonsense but it stays charming throughout.

[cookie]

Mewtwo is kind of the weak link in many ways, not just that his precense and role in the story plus Bill Nighy’s whole scheme makes it all that more convoluted, but the CGI on him in the final act is pretty bad.

 

Film is fine otherwise though, even if the end twist with Pikachu being Harry all this time is pretty lame (and you can smell it out way in advance). Justice Smith makes for a good straight man and even has his own funny moments like how he beats Mr. Mime at his own game.

Edited May 10, 2019 by cookie

[cannastop]

Today I learned that the crazy gas was in the original game and not a reference to Zootopia.

 

The movie still looks like Zootopia though.

[BK007]

I must say I walk away disappointed. 

 

Incredibly enough, the easiest thing to screw up - the Pokemon themselves - were the best parts of the film, but after the massive wait it took to get a live action Pokemon film, they then decided to shoot that script? Hire those actors? 

 

I don't know if the plot followed the game 100%, but they really shouldn't have. Zootopia, only referenced because of the above poster, has much better worldbuilding only because they tried to use as many animals as possible. As a Pokemon fan, as much as I loved seeing Pokemon like Sneasel, Charmander, Loudred and Bouffalant, there were way too many trainers with them. It was a bit fake in that sense. Whilst the signboards and the world itself was cool, seeing the same Charmander running in the same way so many times just kind of broke the suspension of disbelief. However, the animation was absolutely fantastic. 

 

What I really didn't like was the nonsensical story with its pathetic twists and really, how it was directed. Letterman is a hack. Why did they give it to him? A lot of really poor choices in the storytelling. Flashbacks used badly, too much fake fanfic exposition, why did they have him write it too? They really should have chosen better. 

 

As for the actors, Justice Smith took awhile to get used to, but by the end he seemed decent enough. Newton was terrible- and besides Reynolds voice work and cameo, the rest of the cast were woeful. Nighy was sleepwalking and whoever else they cast were so unbearably bad. The Latino gangster has to be one of the worst performances of a speaking role in the history of film. How did he even get cast ?

 

I was hoping for a movie akin to the crowdpleasing POTC or Transformers, but what I got was a movie that didn't know what it wanted to be. Part detective movie, part generic family movie, it's sad that this is the end product. I'm not sure it'll do very well and another Pokemon movie in the same universe (if ever) would have a major uphill battle. It certainly cannot be directed or written by a hack like Letterman. 

[Ezen Baklattan]

The Mr. Mime interrogation and Ditto reveal had me cackling.

 

Otherwise it’s fine if forgettable.

[CoolioD1]

this movie sucked. pikachu just wouldn't shut the hell up.

[Frozen]

So does Tim not know his own father’s voice?

[MrPink]

Kathryn Newton should be in Razzie consideration come year's end.

 

It was ok for about 45 minutes or so and once they got out of Ryme City I more or less checked out. The wacky 3rd act didn't help matters, followed by a groan worthy 'twist'

 

Pikachu is cute tho. I want one.

Edited May 11, 2019 by MrPink

[YM!]

This was solid fun, though disappointing for me. The third act really falls apart, the twist I called from the first trailer and Newton’s character sucked. Pikachu is cute though and the battles are fun.

 

C+/B-

[Fancyarcher]

My review.

 

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