Simply adorable! Pokemon Detective Pikachu gives fans so much to chew on. The best part is letting our beloved character of Pikachu speak and what better voice than that of Ryan Reynolds. Capturing the wittiness and humour of the actor with his brilliant comic timing and giving it a solid outlet, thanks to the clever writing, the movie ends up becoming a hoot.

Rob Letterman whose last project was Goosebumps in 2015, walks in with a twisty tale of Pokemon making it his very own by riddling it with an adventure. While there are plenty of movies out there that lose sight of their plot somewhere down the line, Pokemon Detective Pikachu simply doesn’t. The movie has a taut suspenseful storyline that it constantly keeps its reins on, despite it trying to decipher the Pokemon universe, introducing characters gradually as we delve deeper. Its true strength lies in its story that it does not even for a second compromise on.

At this point, how could you not believe in climate change?

On the apparent downside of Pokemon Detective Pikachu, it’s not hard to decipher that the movie could have become so much more if only they had paid a little bit more attention towards its CGI. Also, if it was a bit darker then the flick would have simply killed it. In terms of serious filmmaking, the movie falls a tad short and that’s one bothering drawback.

The Theme of Pokemon Detective Pikachu

Minutes into the movie succeed in making you realize it is already better than half of the films we get every year. Even though the CGI of the world begins to bother you, there remains proper connectivity in terms of its intriguing storyline that is constantly giving you something to look up to.

Pokemon Detective Pikachu begins with a prologue that tries to show an accident in a lab, a chase and what seems like a presumed kill by a Mewtwo. Taking the story forward is the aftermath of that car crash in which a 21-year-old insurance salesman, Tim Goodman’s (Justice Smith) father had died and he is there to collect his father’s belongings from his apartment. There he bumps into his father’s Pikachu who was an amnesiac detective trying to figure out the puzzle of Tim’s father’s disappearance. That forms as a primal plot of the story of Pokemon Detective Pikachu.

How does the movie leverage the character of Pikachu? Well, it just gives the character a mouth. And what better one to give than that of Ryan Reynolds. The latter simply owns the character.

Pika pika?

You can order this cute little Pikachu from here: (Click on the image)

That being said the movie draws most fun from the conversations of Tim and Pikachu which are hilarious. The quick snappy replies and comments of the Pokemon are the one to look out for.

Wait a minute. You can understand me?

All those witty comebacks and statements that Pikachu nails make the flick very entertaining to watch. They are so good that there are moments you literally wait for him to open his mouth. The screenplay in that sense has been written nicely, however in terms of profundity the movie doesn’t score much.

Pokemon Universe

There are plenty of twists and turns in the story that always hands you over something. You are forever getting close to solving the mysterious disappearance of Tim’s father Harry. In doing so, it subtly unspools. As it does, it places in your way, multiple creatures from the Pokemon universe. Right from the mischievous Aipom, to the funny Mr. Mime that will entertain you as you try to find answers.

Even as you draw out a laugh, you realize that the story still remains in progress and that you need to pay attention constantly so that you don’t miss any tiny detail. It is the work of a detective after all which is more fun when you are busy unraveling it yourself.

The movie unwinds more like an adventure that helps you meet characters that you had once come across in the anime. Pokemon Detective Pikachu allows you to visit forgotten memory lanes by revisiting characters even from the game. Watching them come alive on the big screen, breathing amongst real-life characters feels fantastic. It just goes on to show the limits our technology has crossed. The world today is able to bring even fantasy alive.

In terms of drama, the movie fails to reach levels that a good movie should. There is one point where the movie tries to be emotional but that’s the one where you are counting the loud-mouthed Pikachu to say something witty or cool. When you try to find the chemistry between Tim and Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton), you realize there is none. Lacks emotions big time!

Psyduck Pokemon

One of the most interesting Pokemon characters planted in the movie is that of Psyduck. He is like a ticking bomb. The Pokemon has to stay calm or it would explode.

Maybe she can tell us about the long-term psychological effects of being strapped to a baby seat, next to a bomb!

Psyduck tries to be calm for the better part of the movie only to explode toward the end. That just shows how the creators decide to use a ticking bomb when the time was ripe. There are many trivial subtleties like that ingrained which makes it effortless.

I hated rubbing your feet! I can never forgive my hands for what they’ve done!

Mewtwo

Whilst most of the plot of the movie revolves around the character of Mewtwo, the Pokemon ends up being unreal. You can literally chew on bad CGI when you are looking at it. It’s like a contrasting character of Pikachu because the latter has been created so brilliantly, you could feel the fur on it. But Mewtwo feels like as if it has been bluntly put on top of the movie. It is obvious and bland in terms of visuals. So are Greninja, Torterra and Bulbasur.

Amongst other downsides, I would say, even though the movie tries to show every Pokemon’s powers in a subtle way it bothers you to know that all these powers aren’t actually causing real damage. More or less it ends up becoming a Disney movie. It should have been a little darker.

You can order Pokemon Detective Pikachu from here:

The Final Verdict of Pokemon Detective

Fans of Pokemon all across the world, Pokemon Detective Pikachu might not be the best of movies to have done justice to an insane fandom, but it is really something worth knocking you down in the long list of absent movies from the Pokemon universe.

With the Pokemon game doing it for a lot of people, this movie too helps you get in on that fad allowing you to brush up your general knowledge in terms of what’s what and who’s who.

The adorable Pikachu literally knocks it out off the park, and that’s something worth watching this one for.

Check out the trailer of Pokemon Detective Pikachu here: