Pokémon, le film : Hoopa et le Choc des légendes

Definitely the worst pokemon movie. It's fast, forced and generic, totally different from the trailers. The story, as much as it has potential, seems to have fallen cut during the beginning of production, earning a totally unfinished final product, which is really a shame, as it could have used a lot of potential that middle eastern culture had to offer. The soundtrack just gives a feeling of adventure, which as good as it is, at no time gives a sense of danger to the characters, leaving the action scenes a little monotonous. In no time, there's a big scene that makes you cry, which is a shame, since pokemon movies have a talent for that. The movie looks like it was only made to be able to create more Legendary merchandising due to the toy collections McDonald's and Pokemon Center were doing at the time.

If you've seen any of the other seventeen(!) Pokémon movies (and if you haven't, stop reading this, and get thee to the Mewtwo!), Hoopa and the Clash of Ages won't hold a single surprise. The franchise has its formula of scant story, frantic melodrama, and epic, destructive battles anchored on teasing a new legendary Pokémon pre- international gaming release down to a science, and Hoopa isn't one to rock the Poké- ball. More discerning adult viewers might find this staunch formula irritatingly lazy by this point, but it's hard to overrule the abiding thrill of hearing that theme music kick in once again for fans young and old. Hoopa and the Clash of Ages may be one of the more forgettable entries into the Poké-pantheon, but the fun force is still strong with it, making it a daft but pleasant enough way to while away 70 minutes.

Standouts within the past crop of Pokémon films are usually determined by moments that are iconically epic (holla Mewtwo and Lugia, circa-2000), or deliriously surreal ("YOU. ARE. MAMA!"). If anything in Hoopa and the Clash of Ages stands the test of time, it'll be the glut of (almost) every Gen II-V legendary Pokémon it conjures up for its battle royale - which, being a nod to their transportation by Hoopa ring in the ORAS games, doesn't even feel excessively gratuitous. It's wise to share the spotlight, as Hoopa itself is far too irritating, awkwardly voiced, and thinly drawn (in both tiny, impish and massive, sh*t-destroying forms) to anchor and entire movie on otherwise. Still, its teleportation-fuelled mayhem is quite fun to watch, owing a debt to the portal-spamming Blink from X-Men: Days of Future Past (who was probably the highlight of that movie as well). Watching gigantic Hoopa Unbound grappling with its teleporting six arms against a tag-team of Lugia and Mega Rayquaza, smashing across a city skyline? About as awesome as it sounds.

As with its predecessors, Hoopa's animation is a step up from the show's calibre, and its realm of pseudo Middle Eastern desert temples turned technological oases are impressively etched with detail. But, with the trumped up production values come storytelling and voice acting several steps below par. Apart from Hoopa's infuriating chirping, the English dub of each of the core humans are dopily flat, especially Ash, who sounds more like a placid middle-aged woman than ever here, and James, whose replacement voice actor is cringeworthy. Mee-ouch.

Story-wise, Hoopa's weird, schizophrenic disembodied rage "shadow- self" and dubious, cultist spirituality/magic subplots are treated so disposably, it's hard to imagine even the screenwriters not laughing them off as transparently nonsense. There's little of the show's zany humour, which is a bummer (even Team Rocket's requisite flyby has never been staler). Similarly, the geography is fairly stationary, which restricts the "Who's that Pokémon?" background cameos, though a climactic appearance by an adorably heroic Hippopotas goes a long way. But a final battle against a disembodied rift in space/time (which, lazily, doesn't even seem to have anything to do with Dialga and Palkia, who are right there, nonsensically shooting energy beams into it trying to stop it)? Sure.

Whether Hoopa and the Clash of Ages is worth its weight in Pokéblocks will depend on the viewer's tolerance for the unyielding Pokéformula. It's a lot of nostalgic fun for indulgent Pokéfans (though monstrous Hoopa Unbound verges on being too scary for young kids), but liable to the leave the uninitiated wishing they could borrow a Hoopa ring to disappear into a different movie. But, let's be honest: as Hoopa queries ad nauseum, "Were you surprised?"

-6/10

Rarely has Pokémon ventured into territory that is either unfamiliar or done anything super different in their formula for film entries. This base template was adequate for a while and had some variations to it along the way. Now though with more than ten films in, it has begun to feel very much the same and unoriginal. Having multiple entries lined up to be released after every season doesn't seem to help with its freshness. Perhaps releasing a film after every region Ash and friends visit would have been a more reasonable approach. That way there would be more time in between films to develop a better story and make it worthwhile for the fans. Cranking out a film that is basically a copy of the last really does nobody a service. This one still falls in the same trap with some very small differences.

This entry finds Ash and company on their way to another random city, this being inspired from the look of Dubai. There they randomly encounter a new Pokémon by the name of Hoopa (Lori Phillips). Believe it or not, this Pokémon not only knows English but speaks it this time too, wow! Of course it still has the small big eyed cutesy look to it. Hoopa belongs to Baraz (Daniel J. Edwards) and Meray (Emily Woo Zeller) and are looking to restore Hoopa's power by giving its unbound power back (Ryan William Downey). Currently Hoopa exists in its confined state due to lack of maturity and understanding. Surprisingly this entry is not handled by that usual duo always being mentioned. Yes, it is still directed by Kunihiko Yuyama but the script was written by Atsuhiro Tomioka in their first Pokémon movie credit. Maybe Hideki Sonoda finally took a needed break from doing that last several entries. Unfortunately, Tomioka only adds some new things to this entry.

The pluses to this film are the usual categories pointed out for several films before this one. Voice acting works just fine for this project. The main cast of actors all voice their characters like they should and emote properly when the scene calls for it. Even for the supporting characters, Daniel J. Edwards and Emily Woo Zeller have experience working on other animes. Of all the voices Ryan William Downey who plays the unbound version of Hoopa is pretty cool sounding, even though he has lesser credits to this name. Lori Phillips is also fine as the confined version of Hoopa although the Pokémon is very much a copy of Zorua; laughing and smirking thinking it's clever. Actually it's annoying, can't something more unique be made with these focal point Pokémon's personalities?! The character arc for Hoopa is okay to be clear, that at least isn't the usual super power Pokémon in need of saving.

This doesn't mean the rest of the writing works though. The continuity to this narrative doesn't make sense. The reason why the title says "Clash of Ages" is due to it involving the many legendary Pokémon on screen. However, some of the legendaries called into question are ones that either should appear and don't, ones that shouldn't appear but do, and ones that look nothing like they've been depicted before. It's very confusing because this is obviously supposed to take place as the latest point in time in Ash's journey. Yet with these discrepancies, it's very difficult to understand why things are the way they are. Then again, being that Ash and friends have done some time traveling in various stories, maybe that's what's causing these changes? It's really not clear and doesn't make sense why these loose ends can't be tied up.

Visually though the animation is still very good looking. The 3D CGI images against the digital 2D animation blends well together with nothing that looks like an eyesore. Cinematography was handled by Tatsumi Yukiwaki who seems to be taking over this role for Hisao Shirai. Of course, the clarity of the role goes unknown. Music on the other hand was another interesting listening experience provided once again by Shinji Miyazaki even though Ed Goldfarb is credited for some reason. Because the location of the story takes place in the area closely resembling the middle east, Miyazaki incorporates a lot of instruments and cues that match the setting and it gives the scenes a much more engaging feel. And as expected there is a Japanese album release but that is all. As we all have come to know and expect.

The franchise is still languishing in the average viewing experience realm. Aside from some minor changes in screenwriter, change in musical sound, standard animation and credible voice acting it is still a regular ho-hum entry. The main Pokémon still isn't that interesting and continuity is baffling to say the least.

The latest Pokémon movie is simply a big mess, and is in my opinion, the worst one yet. It has too many new concepts that just don't work and it's just overstuffed with too many legendary Pokémon.

Hoopa gives Shaymin a run for his money as the most annoying Pokémon ever. He never shuts up and I absolutely cringed every time he said "Were you surprised?". The "alternate" Hoopa is equally annoying.

There were far too many legendary Pokémon, and the "big battle" at the end is very all-over-the-place and mainly felt like an extended advertisement for the games. You could have sworn that it was directed by Michael Bay.

A lot of Pokémon movies have their share of stupid scenes, but this one has some of the worst. It includes the people somehow being entertained by the legendary Pokémon instead of being afraid, the guy at the stand telling the giant Hoopa to pay for the food it ate, the gang wanting to go to a big city just to have some doughnuts, the many teleport scenes with Hoopa, and several more.

The script is pretty weak, and the Arceus-ex-machina at the end was really poorly done.

The whole thing just feels overstuffed and recklessly thrown together. This is perhaps the worst Pokémon film of them all, just barely beating out "Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice". Like that film, only the most die-hard Pokémon fans should bother with this one, but everyone else should skip it.

RATING: D

This movie is good to watch for the fans who've watched Pokémon Season 18(XY:Kalos Quest).......... My favourite was when all the legendary pokémon came together to fight.