Apart from a few phases that ultimately accounted for about six months of my childhood, I didn’t really grow up obsessed with Pokémon. I, like many people, at the very least saw that Pikachu was cute, and therefore had several Pikachu toys growing up. So when I saw the trailer for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu came out, my first thought was “oh that looks cute; hope it doesn’t stink.” Thankfully, this film does more than not stink; it’s also an enjoyable trip to the movies, albeit with a plot that a lot of folks will be able to figure out pretty quickly. But that plot isn’t the main focus; the focus is to bring Pokémon to the big screen in a believable way. With that goal in mind, this film succeeds and then some.
The best move this movie made from a world-building standpoint is to set it in the actual Pokémon world. There’s no portal that leads to the real world, allowing the characters and the audience to be fully immersed in the world of the video games and anime. When movies about these fantastical characters or worlds try to bring it down to our universe, I often find myself rolling my eyes and looking for another movie to watch. So this movie gets a big thumbs up from me in that regard.
The main character of Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) works well when he has his dad’s Pokémon partner Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) to trade barbs with. The best scenes are definitely when the two of them are together, while scenes with other characters leave a little to be desired. Reynolds and Smith provide the heart of this film, as well as some of the best laughs.
While I wasn’t a big fan of Pokémon growing up, I do have a bit of knowledge of the franchise. This knowledge helps me out quite a bit when there was a Pokémon on screen that I vaguely remembered, so I would recommend brushing up on your know-how with a few rounds of “who’s that Pokémon?“ before heading into the theater. There are plenty of references and Easter eggs scattered throughout this movie, so hardcore fans will be pleased. If you’re more of a casual fan, like me, a refresher course may be in order.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a fun movie that will delight new and seasoned Pokémon fans alike. If you know nothing about Pokémon, you may want to hold off on seeing this film until you can have a friend or relative fill you in on the basics. But no matter what, it’s a fun film with a shocking amount of heart (I had to fit in at least one electricity pun…). Gotta catch ‘em all. And by “catch ‘em all” I mean “gotta catch this one in theaters.”
The Sack Score: 7/10