Recently the 2016 (in Japan) 3DS game Detective Pikachu‘s film adaptation was released. The film is not completely faithful to the original, besides some major plot points. One of the biggest draws of the film is its mix of CGI Pokémon that are designed to look realistic and being mostly otherwise live action. This article will give the impressions of a longtime Pokémon fan.
Obviously the most enticing aspect of this movie for people who are already Pokémon fans is that it features Pokémon. This is especially true for this movie as Pokémon have never been seen officially drawn in a realistic art style like in this movie. Some Pokémon translate well to this style, while others are not as lucky. Generally smaller Pokémon that are designed to be cute like Bulbasaur or Pikachu look fine while larger and more intimidating Pokémon like Charizard or Mewtwo translate much more poorly. Pokémon like these often lose the cartoony style that Pokémon is known for and are generally unsettling to look at.
Besides the obvious appeal of Pokémon being featured, there is little other pandering to Pokémon fans in the movie. References are generally only mentioned in passing and are usually rather surface level. Some aspects of the world don’t even match the already established rules of Pokémon. The only major exception is the credits, which do a fantastic job of tying the movie in with the rest of the Pokémon brand and is fantastic fan service for fans of the Pokémon games and anime.
The acting is generally all well done. The main characters are always believably written and performed, with the exception of Pikachu. Although the gimmick of Pikachu sounding and in some cases acting like Deadpool is generally well executed, many of his jokes fall flat and some of the voice acting felt poorly performed, where it sounds more like a person awkwardly talking into a microphone rather than Pikachu saying something. Still the acting generally doesn’t detract from the quality of the movie.
The visuals in this movie are almost always spectacularly done. Despite some questionable art decisions, almost all effects shown during the movie are convincing and obviously high quality. The only criticism the author has is that sometimes the frequent use of effects can detract from the concept of Pokémon existing in the real world.
The plot of the movie is not particularly special. The protagonists are generally well developed. There are many twists in the plot, though most of them are rather obvious besides one strange exception. This exception revolves around the antagonists, which are hardly developed and almost never featured. The author found that the movie’s plot was not the aspect of the movie that kept them engaged, with seeing the other aspects of the movie again taking higher priority.
Overall the author recommends Pokémon Detective Pikachu. It is an entertaining and engaging experience throughout that is closely tied to one of the biggest IPs in the world. Pokémon fans in particular should enjoy this movie solely for its unique representation of the idea of Pokémon. The movie is far from thought or feeling provoking but it does a great job at staying entertaining for an average movie length.
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