Pokémon : Détective Pikachu

(Theater impressions--short review) Semi-casual Pokémon fan here--played through a few of the games (never played Detective Pikachu), watched the anime as a kid, but not super invested in the franchise. A lot of people seem to be giving this movie high ratings. Detective Pikachu is not without merit, but the film's good points (namely, Ryan Reynold's performance, some good humor, some nice character interaction and overall high production values) are unfortunately outweighed by its bad points (namely, a needlessly and hopelessly convoluted plot, hit-or-miss performances from the remaining cast, some jokes that didn't land, some heavy-handed dialogue and some poor character interaction, and lack-luster CGI). The film is overall inconsistent in tone; it doesn't seem to really know who it's for or what it wants to be. I had fun watching the film with my friends in the theater (who are also familiar with Pokémon), but if you're unfamiliar with Pokémon or if you're watching it on your own on the small screen it might not quite be an enjoyable experience.

This movie is humorous and the visual effects are incredible. Even though some aspects of the movie leave us underwhelmed, it is still a step in the right direction.

While I like Pokemon, I've never been a collector of cards or watcher of the cartoons. Still, the characters are cute and I like the idea of the competitive fights. From the trailer, the movie looked funny and cute, so I wanted to see it. And that's basically what you get from the film. Ryan Reynolds is funny and charming as the title character. The Pokemon are cute and the CGI is well done. Yet, underneath the surface, the plot is nearly nonexistent and the acting is subpar at best. So, is it worth watching? Yes. It's cute and funny. You'll laugh and be visually entertained. But once it's over, you realize you really gained nothing from the time spent watching.

It's very rare that I ever watch kid's movies any more. I couldn't even tell you what the last one I saw before this was. But 'Pokémon Detective Pikachu' just really interested me for some reason. I'm not even much of a 'Pokémon' fan (I watched it briefly as a kid, but that was about it). I think it was the casting choice of Ryan Reynolds as 'Pikachu' that took my fancy. A really enlightened choice. He has the comedic skills to make anything funny, and ultimately that is the strongest thing this movie has going for it.

I also loved the concept of the story being based around a mystery. I'm a sucker for mysteries in films. Unfortunately the one they chose for this movie didn't really work for me. It just never hooked me in. I didn't absolutely need to know the answer, and that is always the key to a mystery element working in a story.

The other thing that impressed me was how good the animation was. The 'Pokémon' looked absolutely fantastic. I think this is a great movie in the sense that kids are going to have a great time with it, but also the adults that take them along are going to enjoy it more than they might other children's movies. A worthy effort.

I give it a 6 just for Ryan Renolds an for pokemons which look very nice. But, overall the movie is very stupid. It is sad they had such a great background and they could't produce a cool movie.