Detective Pikachu Review

Detective Pikachu 2019: Movie Review

Detective Pikachu in Details

Similar to the quality of the hit game Pokemon Masters, Detective Pikachu is absolutely the best movie ever made about Pokémon. However, following the remarkable success of its Pokémon Go game, the result of the film is not exactly groundbreaking. Though without a doubt, they at least caught the world’s attention – big clap to Ryan Reynolds, who played Pikachu. Because of Reynolds, it became a good family movie, thanks to the same comic energy he brought in the role as he did with Deadpool. On the other hand, Detective Pikachu is an attempt to be more than a video game adaptation that pays tribute to Pokémon — the creators want to turn its Pokémon into actual characters in a world where they’re totally accepted.

Detective Pikachu is a classic whodunnit story, where there’s usually a detective investigating what’s almost always a murder case. Except that the femme fatale is a cute furry yellow giant mouse-like creature that can electrocute you to death. In previous Pokemon stories and materials, Pikachu was a loyal pet who could only say his name (“Pika Pika!”) cutely; now, he’s a witty urbanite coffee addict in the said movie.

The story takes place in Ryme City, a metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side-by-side, although they cannot understand each others’ languages. Apart from the audience (of course!), the only person who can understand our cute Pikachu is Tim, played by Justice Smith, a lonely teen from out-of-town investigating his father’s death. Tim’s dad was mixed-up in some shady Pokémon dealings involving secret experiments. But the big question in the entire movie is, “Is he really dead, and what does Pikachu’s amnesia have to do with it?”

Then Tim ends up partnering with Pikachu to try and retrace his dad’s last whereabouts before he vanished like a bubble. Their investigation leads the two gentlemen (lol) to a budding news reporter Lucy Stevens ( played by Kathryn Newton) with her Pokémon buddy Psyduck and a much, much bigger story.

To sum it up!

Detective Pikachu’s approach combines the best of Pokémon films, like The Pokémon Movie, with the strengths of the main game franchise combined with goofiness and heartfelt friendship story. They introduced a world where Pokémon aren’t enslaved. Their relationships with trainers and ordinary people are more link to close friendships between pals than a power struggle between owner and pet.

This heartful approach to a Pokémon story is what keeps Detective Pikachu fresh enough to stand out for longtime fans ( Hello 90’s kids!). Detective Pikachu’s writing isn’t exactly solid or thought-provoking, but honestly, for fans, it doesn’t have to be. Because for Pokémon diehards, it’s a chance to spend two hours inside a familiar universe many of us have invested years in.