Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) - Movie Review

After a long line of films based on video games that have made both gamers and general audiences heave into their popcorn buckets, it seems like the levy has finally broken and we have a good one out in cinemas. We’ve been leading up to this for a while now, between the genuine attempts at artistry in Assassin’s Creed, the outright fun of Rampage, even the frenzied glee of video-game-inspired Hardcore Henry, and while not everyone is raving about this particular feature, this has caught fire in a way that video game adaptations really haven’t managed to in years past. The reason why, having watched it, seems fairly obvious: Both as a continuation of an adored IP and as a film in its own right, this production does justice to both.

Having reviewed a few animated Pokémon films on this blog before, this film manages to maintain what made them work, abandoned most of what let them down, and weirdly failed to keep the one surprisingly high point of all the ones I’ve covered thus far. For a start, the worldbuilding here is on point, giving everything from the urban clutter of Ryme City to the disarming peace of the woodlands beyond a feel that they are attached to a tangible universe.

This is continued with the designs for the Pokémon, which effectively translate the 2D designs of the original games to a 3D semi-live-action arena. The effect is a bit odd initially, but that’s largely to do with not being used to seeing Pokémon in this high a fidelity, with results that range from the cute (Pikachu) to the bizarre (Psyduck) to the downright creepy (Ditto).

From there, the film itself feels like it’s taking proper advantage of its setting and the memetic nature of its IP. Backed by actors that sound like they’ve been doing this gig for more than a single day, and jokes that nudge the line between kid-friendly and adult humour surprisingly well, it manages to translate the wonders of the Pokémon world, but without the constant hand-holding that both the games and the animated movies unfortunately share.

I’d credit that efficacy to Ryan Reynolds as the titular detective, since he’s made quite a name for himself in recent years off of cinematic wisecracks, but this isn’t exactly Deadpool for kids. Reynolds and Justice Smith make for a great double-act, both reflecting both mundane and extranormal outcomes of the world around them… and it’s here where things get interesting.

The concept at the heart of this film, and the franchise it’s nestled in (it’s even in canon with the original anime films), is the notion of humans co-existing with these strange creatures that are somehow all the same species. Considering real-life issues with humans trying to co-operate with their environment (thanks for the eye-roll climate change quip BTW, Ryan, you somehow out-goofied a scene with giant turtles), the story reflects the idealism needed to make that co-habitation work. But it also raises another question: How does the existence of Pokémon affect human relationships with other humans?

It’s a fairly basic question, but in the hands of this film, it makes for something that adds textures to the original games. The story starts out on a note of familial estrangement, following Smith’s Tim and his strained relationship with his father, and from there, it spans out to show a collection of characters who feel left behind by their kin in the face of creatures that can do the unimaginable. While said unimaginable feats make for some incredibly visuals and set pieces, it ends up tempering what we’re seeing by how the film taps into ulterior notions regarding that human/Pokémon co-existence. Notions that reach a natural yet unsettling conclusion once we reach the finale, entering some true cyberpunk territory in the process.

All of this combined results in a film that not only manages to deliver on its own terms, and gives the fans in the audience a chance for some Poké-watching opportunities, it also adds onto the original franchise’s own ideas surrounding its premise in a way that makes this feel like it needed to be part of the same series. Maybe that’s why this film has outperformed the bulk of other video game adaptations: Because none of the others did this much of a service to their IPs as this managed, giving it a bona fide reason to exist beyond brand recognition.