Despite my great love for Pokemon I missed "Detective Pikachu" when it was in the cinemas. I mean, I knew about the movie, I even wanted to see it, but I had no time. Then I kinda forgot about it. Some time ago my mum reminded me that this movie exists, more, she wanted me to watch it with her (which was pretty surprising, because she's never been interested in Pokemon, but okay). So I did. And I have no idea what I should think about it.
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| BTW Mum wanted to watch it, because she saw a teaser and thought Pikachu was cute. Well, that wasn't a bad reason. |
The movie is based on "Detective Pikachu" game. Unfortunately, I haven't played it, so I can't compare them. However, Internet claims plots are quite similar, at least at the beginning: we have a young man, Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), who comes to Ryme City – a metropolis, where people and Pokemon live next to each other – to investigate a disappearance of his father, detective Harry Goodman. There he meets his parent's working partner, Detective Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds in original dub), with whom he can communicate. Together they try to solve Harry Goodman's latest case. They are aided by several locals, mainly an energetic reporter Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) and her Psyduck.
I can't say I didn't enjoy the film, because I did. To be honest, it's impossible not to be enjoyed, especially by Pokemon fans. Every scene is basically flooded by various Pokemon. The SFX staff did amazing job here: the creatures are so detailed and natural looking, they basically feel real. Watching them move and interact with their surroundings is a pure pleasure. I especially like the scene with Bulbasaur – they were so adorable.
| Little green cuties. |
Also, it was nice to actually see Pokemon covered with fur. I know it may sound strange, but due to games' graphic limitations (and probably art style too) many of creatures looked like rubber toys. Making them soft and fluffy was really refreshing idea.
| Gotta hug them all! |
Generally, when it comes to the visual side, "Detective Pikachu" is a true feast. Awesome scenography, bright lights and saturated colours make this movie so lively it has to be seen. Action scenes are also great, dynamic but clear. I wish I could say the same about the audio, but well... Okay, it wasn't bad. The score isn't special (except for the moments, when it uses original anime theme songs), but isn't horrible, just generic. Sound effects are also nice. The problem is I had to watch this movie with Polish dub – it was aired live on TV and, while I could change the audio to the original one, I couldn't switch on subtitles. I would leave it like that, but my mum doesn't understand English, so we had to stay with Polish dub. And damn, it was awful. Voices sounded artificial and out of place, but okay, Polish dubs of newer live action films tend to suffer from that. The worst thing was the characters spoke pretty unintelligible. And when you have to strain to understand dialogues, then you know the dubbing department did a shitty job.
As I mentioned earlier, it's impossible to not enjoy this movie as a Pokemon fan. Amount of lore details crammed into it is unimaginable. It's especially nice given the fact, usually filmmakers don't care much about source material. Here every scene is rich in love towards Pokemon and I couldn't help but smile while watching it. However, there was one thing that effectively disturbed me.
The plot.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
For most of the time, the plot just... Exists. It's generic, full of cliches, but not bad. However, near the end the scriptwriters started doing plot twists and holy shit, they. Are. Egregious. Okay, making Howard Clifford the main villain, who framed his son wasn't a bad move. More, I really liked the twist with Ditto. Same for the reveal of Harry Goodman's role in all this shit – it was good, if very predictive. However, then we got to know Howard's villainous plan and no matter how hard I try, I just can't take it seriously. I mean... The idea of kidnapping one of the most powerful Pokemon for experiments is old, but reasonable. Same for making a berserker serum. Transferring consciousness to said Pokemon body was actually quite clever. But merging everyone with their Pokemon? Seriously, movie? That doesn't make fucking sense! What does he achieve by doing so? Does he actually achieves anything? Because I doubt he would put so much time and money in his plan just for satisfaction. It is hinted that Howard Clifford has a massive god complex, but still... Even if it was his sole motivation, the amount of preparation is horrendous compared to the effects.
The very last twist in the movie was even worse. After witnessing all the absurd of the ending I just waited for the reveal, that Detective Pikachu is really Tim's father. And fuck, they did it. They really did it. They pulled "Luke, I'm your father" at the end. Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly that, instead of being Tim's father Detective Pikachu's consciousness was just merged with Harry Goodman's one... But the aim of the twist is the same. Also, I totally don't get the idea of Mewtwo keeping Harry's body to revive him later. I mean, it makes (kind of) sense in universe – Mewtwo wanted to save him – but personally I think the story would benefit if the revival didn't happen. Tim and Pikachu having to learn how to live with the revelation would be much better end than standard "your father's safe and sound, he doesn't remember anything, but who cares, he's alive, happy end". Instead all character development and evolving (pun not intended) relationship between Tim and Detective Pikachu went in vain.
End of spoilers.
In general, "Detective Pikachu" is not a masterpiece of cinematography. It's just an extremely cliched movie based on a video game. However, if you can turn a blind eye for some absurds of the plot, it becomes a beautifully made, entertaining film. And no, the viewer isn't required to know much about Pokemon. My mum had no idea about the lore and still enjoyed it pretty much.
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| To be honest, I'd be surprised if she didn't. There are so many cute Pokemon in it! |
Image sources:
All movie stills were screenshot by me from official trailers and belong to Warner Bros. Pictures.
Trailer 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1roy4o4tqQM
Trailer 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bILE5BEyhdo
All movie stills were screenshot by me from official trailers and belong to Warner Bros. Pictures.
Trailer 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1roy4o4tqQM
Trailer 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bILE5BEyhdo
Howard Clifford: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5884052/mediaviewer/rm4222379776
Chinese poster: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5884052/mediaviewer/rm254959616
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