Title: Detective Pikachu
Year: 2019
Director: Rob Letterman
Country: US
Language: English
At 9 years old, I was the right age for the Pokemon craze that shook North America in the late 1990's. I played Pokemon Blue for Gameboy Colour daily, constantly traded cards on the playground, and obsesssively watched the original anime. When Pokemon: The First Movie hit theatres in 1999 I demanded we go on day one, and was excited to get a promotional mewtwo card for doing so. Detective Pikachu is the perfect film to fuel my nostalgia.
Ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim (Justice Smith) to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds)
The first "live action" Pokemon movie, fans of the franchise have been waiting for a film like this for two decades. The realistic style of the Pokemon is the film's greatest asset. These incredibly detailed designs are based on the artwork of RJ Palmer, a fan turned concept artist, who was discovered when a production designer stumbled upon his work on the internet. The CGI in Detective Pikachu is spectacular as it gets every teeny detail, down to the way the pokemon's hairs move in the wind, down to perfection.
I love the neo-noir atmosphere. It wraps a more modern screenplay with the sensibility of classic Hollywood films like The Big Sleep. While there are many references, such as Seinfeld's "Serenity now", we aren't encumbered by them and the film maintains a fine balance of comedy and drama. The screenplay does a tremendous job at foreshadowing and keeping the audience on its feet. The film is light enough to appeal to children, but doesn't dumb down its material and thus engages adults as well.
The pokemon who appear in Detective Pikachu are fairly well known in the mainstream and thus even adults in their 40's who don't have the nostalgia I do for the franchise will like the film. It's a good movie, I wish I had movies like these as a kid.
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