Detective Pikachu is but the latest attempt at a live-action nostalgia trip by Hollywood. Originating as a video game itself, it is meant to be the launching point of a potential franchise set in this universe, which was why it seemed strange, and questionable to be honest, that a whole cinematic universe would start with a Pikachu wearing a Sherlock Holmes hat solving mysteries. But boy am I glad I was wrong because, while it’s nowhere near as great as it could’ve been, it somehow successfully brings to life the world of Pokémon into the realm of live-action. Admittedly, Director Rob Letterman clearly had the die-hard fans as well as the more general fans, like myself, as their priority when making the film, leaving non-fans a little bit in the dark sometimes. But it nonetheless maintains a clear sense of fun, charm, and heart at its core.
After his father, Detective Harry Goodman, goes missing and is pronounced dead during a case, Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) makes the decision to travel to Ryme City, a place where humans and Pokémon live in harmony, in order to collect his father’s belongings at his apartment. But after a strange encounter with Harry’s Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds), who Tim can somehow understand and vice versa, they both make the choice to solve the mystery behind his father’s disappearance with the help of news intern Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton). But as they go deeper and deeper into the case, they begin to suspect a larger conspiracy is at work, a conspiracy that could jeopardize all of Ryme City and beyond.
If there’s any part of this movie that is done nearest to perfection, it’s the Pokémon themselves and the world they exist within. Every frame of every scene is filled to the brim with all the Pokémon fans have grown up with. Often in the games or even in the anime, you’ll find Pokémon in a “one at a time” sort of sequence. With the film, all the Pokémon feel natural, as if we’re realistically experiencing them in their “natural habitats.” Whether they’re hanging on the side of a building, walking the streets of Ryme city, bustling within the forests around the city, or even simply stamped on a poster, there are Pokémon everywhere. It gets to the point where it’s best to see the movie more than once if you wish to catch every single one of them
All the Pokémon themselves are brought to life beautifully with impressive animation and CGI, providing a diverse range of textures for each types of Pokémon, whether it’s fur, feathers, scales, or even occasionally gaseous forms for your typical Ghost-Types. The visual effects succeed in balancing the grounded-nature of the narrative setting while honoring the cartoonish tone of the environment and world of Pokémon.
Much of that grounding is thanks in part to Justice Smith impressively relatable performance, and his on-screen chemistry with Reynolds’ Pikachu is perfect. Given this is meant to be a noir-lite buddy cop adventure with Pokémon, both actors fit the buddy cop duo effectively, with their constant banters resulting in some of the funniest as well as most heartwarming moments in the film. Ryan Reynolds, however, is the one who steals the show. Taking a break from his more mature projects and endeavors, Reynolds successfully brings his snarky, caffeine-loving, quippy Pikachu to life to often hilarious results.
The same can’t be said, however, for the rest of the supporting cast, who are either pushed to the sidelines or just simply badly written. Kathryn Newton is spunky and likable as Lucy and I think it would’ve been beneficial if she were given more time to be fleshed out. Bill Nighy is also given a decently big role in the film as Howard Clifford, the founder of Ryme City. But as I stated beforehand, much of these characters are one-dimensional and the direction they take with the primary villains in particular is underwhelming and just simply ludicrous.
But the film’s potential is most hampered by the lackluster story. As a noir-lite type of story, it plays out as a generic, by-the-numbers, predictable story that you can practically predict the exact steps it will take from start to finish. The story also attempts to inject a few twists to its story, but the twists you can unfortunately either spot from a mile away or not only see coming, but will be flabbergasted by how incredibly silly and ludicrous they are, particularly one towards the end of the film. I think the story’s biggest problem is how it diminishes and limits the potential world of Pokémon. While in many ways it’s fully realized and beautifully rendered, it can often feel small given the narrow nature and focus of the story at hand. There are a lot of ideas that can be used to better interweave the detective story and the vast imagination of the Pokémon world, but the story instead constrains and limits itself. Even though it’s great to see this world given the love and passion it deserves, it definitely could’ve been even further realized and expanded upon.
Overall, Detective Pikachu is a love letter to Pokémon fans, old and new, that dedicates itself to transporting the audience into an imaginative world teeming with Pokémon of every size, shape, and type. The story is sadly lackluster and doesn’t do the beautiful world-building justice while many of the characters feel flat and one-dimensional. But the electrifying chemistry between Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds keeps the audience hooked and satisfied and are sure to bring out plenty of laughs. The film could’ve done a lot better with its story, but if this is meant to act as the beginning of something new, then it’s “super effective.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bILE5BEyhdo&t=1s&w=585