Genre:
Animation, Adventure, Family
Produced by:
Mary Parent
Directed by:
Rob Letterman
Written by:
Nicole
Perlman, Rob Letterman
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures
Starring: Ryan
Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Suki
Waterhouse, Rita Ora
Runtime: 104 minutes
SYNOPSIS:
Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is forced to go to Ryme City when he learns that his
father Harry, a detective, was killed. While scouring through his father’s
apartment, Tim encounters Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), a Pokémon creature/Harry’s ex-partner. And Tim and
Pikachu have the sort of human-Pokémon bond unlike others. Tim can understand
Pikachu’s every word. With no one else left to trust but each other, the two
must team up to uncover Harry’s murderer, a case that’s not only going to have personal
implication, but also worldly one.
REVIEW:
Pokémon is the rare
intellectual property with cross-generational appeal. It is a brand that’s so
closely associated with the word “childhood memories”, but it is pretty
mind-blowing that such word doesn’t represent just the past, but also the now. Throughout
its various iterations, Pokémon has become
a part of the 90’s kids’ childhood memories, the 2000’s kids’ childhood
memories and even till today, 2019’s kids’ childhood memories.
As all successful media franchises are,
its reach is all-encompassing. It’s a best-selling trading card game, a popular
video game series and one of the most watched anime TV shows. But one thing is
still missing. In an age where nearly every intellectual property is a
Hollywood franchise, Pokémon has yet
to receive such treatment. Its only track record at the movies so far is
through a dozen theatrically-released Pokémon
animes. That remains a small feat for a franchise with such a huge following. By
now, Pokémon should have been running
the same race as the Marvel, DC and Star
Wars franchises.
Finally in 2019, Pokémon gets its Hollywood debut through Pokémon Detective Pikachu, a start of a potential Pokémon cinematic universe. And Warner
Bros. is dead serious about that. Different from past anime iterations, Detective Pikachu goes the expensive
route by turning it into a big-budget live-action, CGI hybrid feature. It even
has one of the highest paid actors in Ryan
Reynolds voicing Pikachu.
Still, that doesn’t guarantee success. Detective Pikachu is based on a 2016
video game. History suggests that video game movie adaptations tend to have a
poor track record both critically and financially since its inception. That is
obviously not a good sign for a movie currently tasked to break the video game
movie adaptation curse as well as launch a potential next big Hollywood movie
franchise.
Detective
Pikachu’s
creative attempts should be applauded. It serves as a slight reminder of what every
franchise-starter and video game movie should aspire to have: a little more
invention, a little less repetition. A few similarities aside, this Pokémon movie is mostly a departure from
the Ash Ketchum-driven Pokémon anime,
which in turn also signifies a movie that’s willing to break out of that franchise’s
general tournament movie formula. In that sense, it represents a positive first
step for a potential Pokémon
cinematic universe.
On the one hand, it’s too early to read
into the Pokémon franchise when it
only had one movie so far. On the other, if the filmmakers had wanted to make a
safe, conventional franchise-starter, they would not have chosen Detective Pikachu, the outlier arc
amongst the Pokémon lore. Not that
safe and conventional is bad. Today’s fandom culture is so fervent and at times
vitriolic that really the best way to please a fan base is by sticking to the
script rather than taking risk. But if this Pokémon
cinematic universe is going to endure and evolve the way the MCU model did, it might
have to take risk at some point. There is no better time to do it than at the
very beginning.
Despite all the risk-taking, Detective Pikachu still feels like a
movie that would fit right into the Pokémon
universe. It is the same Pokémon world
as the ones fans remembered in the anime and video game, only this time through
a brand new lens. Its emphasis on new perspective opens the opportunity for genre
experimentation. Who would have ever envisioned a Pokémon movie with a noir twist? The filmmakers certainly have the Detective Pikachu video game to thank
for. Still, it would not have happened without them taking the all-important leap
of faith. Whether the filmmakers’ gamble translates into a money-making
franchise, only the box office numbers can tell. But, should it make the
required amount of money to start a franchise, should genre experimentation be
the way forward, then it’s got a strong enough creative foundation to be a
long-running movie franchise.
One doubt still lingers though. Should Detective Pikachu be a live-action
movie? In the Pokémon franchise’s
history, that is a first. At the same time, Pokémon
has such a distinct look about its world that would be difficult to replicate
in the live-action format. In the end, it is a case that can be both argued for
and against.
If it’s determined by the technical
achievement, then good news, Detective
Pikachu is a successful live-adaptation for one reason that matters the most:
it does the Pokémon creatures justice. With the help of some state-of-the-art
photorealistic CGI, the Pokémon manages to convincingly ease its way past the
cartoon goofiness of its anime and video games into the live-action realism of Detective Pikachu.
Surely, this should come as a breath of
fresh air in the wake of recent firestorm surrounding video game characters’
cinematic design. Sonic the Hedgehog (2019)
might be the one grabbing the headline for all the wrong reasons, but there was
once a time when people’s hands went up in the air when they discovered that Detective Pikachu’s version of Pikachu
was going to have a fur. Quite many demanded that the character be changed into
being furless. Credit to the creators though, when Sonic the Hedgehog director Jeff
Fowler caved in under fans’ demand, Detective
Pikachu’s director Rob Letterman
didn’t. Like it or not, Pikachu is going to have a fur in this movie.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter
whether Pikachu has a fur or not. Who gives a damn about fur when Pikachu and
all the Pokémon creatures present here are recreated so well, like in the most
source material-accurate, realistic kind of way? It speaks volume of the leaps
and bounds movie technology have achieved today. No other animated creatures
look as cartoonish as the Pokémon creatures. Basically, it is mission
impossible for the VFX artists to realize them in the live-action canvas. But unsurprisingly,
they did it. Pokémon roars into live-action life still the cute, lovable and badass
creatures of the cartoons, but with an added grounded edge that lends
credibility to the idea of Pokémon walking amongst humans in the real world.
Detective
Pikachu’s
excellent work with the Pokémon creatures extends beyond just their look. Surprisingly,
the movie attempts to humanize them a bit. In that case, this is possibly the
most ethical portrayal of the creatures in the franchise’s history. It is such
a weird thing to say about a movie from a franchise with questionable ethics. It
is easy to draw parallels between Pokémon battles and animal cruelty, the idea
of catching Pokémon with Poké Balls and animal imprisonment. In the fans’
defense though, that’s kind of where the fun lies. Also, Pokémon reflected a period of time when those serious subjects
aren’t as talked about as it is today.
In typical Pokémon fashion, Detective
Pikachu still contains the odd few Pokémon
battle and Pokémon catching sequences. But in this movie, Pokémon creatures serve a
far bigger purpose than just being pets or chickens in a coop fight. In a way,
humans kind of see Pokémon as their colleagues. Here, the creatures have one
thing that the anime franchise didn’t have, or even to a certain extent, too
afraid to embrace: free will. Like how the anime and video game reflected the past
times, Detective Pikachu reflects the
present.
Look no further than this movie’s
version of Pikachu. Not the same electric yellow creature of the past, here,
Pikachu transforms into the archetypal noir character, this grizzled, hard-boiled
detective hell-bent on finding his partner’s killer. Also, he acts as more of
human’s mentor than a pet, offering Tim wisdom on the ways of being a
detective.
But there’s a lot more Pokémon here
who’s been granted free will. Jigglypuff is entertaining people as a karaoke singer. Heck, even Mr. Mime is a police
informant. It’s silly but it’s true. And Mr. Mime contributes to perhaps the
highest point of the movie. The scene involves Tim and Pikachu interrogating
Mr. Mime. Obviously, it’s a difficult task with Mr. Mime’s goofy, prankster personality
and, like every mime, his refusal to use his words to speak his mind, which
makes for a scene filled to the gills with comedic gold. At the same time, it
grants the filmmakers with a unique way for the Pokémon to display their powers
without having them always fight to the death.
Beyond the creature effect, Detective Pikachu’s attention to
world-building should not go unnoticed. Like in its source material, this movie
takes lots of notes from film noir, in particular tech-noir, in the way the
filmmakers construct the main setting Ryme City. Ryme City here looks like a
city that would fit right into Philip K.
Dick’s adult, tech-noir world.
There’s nothing glossy or sugary about its
cityscape. It feels so lived-in, almost dirty, filled with Philip K. Dick-styled dull concrete buildings and hologram. Rob Letterman also has an eye for detail when staging the interior shots,
a lot of which takes place in dark spaces with the single conspicuous spill of
light. It’s a small, minor thing to look, but important in selling the noir-ness
of the visuals.
Also central to the audience’s enjoyment
of this Pokémon-meets-noir mash-up is
Henry Jackman’s original score. Detective Pikachu just could not have picked
a better composer to evoke nostalgia-tinged fun and excitement than Jackman himself. His 80’s-90’s sensibilities
from his last two movies the Predator
(2018) and Ralph Breaks the Internet
(2018) is carried over to this one, imbuing the background music during the Pokémon actions with a synthesized
flavor so reminiscent of the video game.
If it’s determined by the screenplay
though, then bad news, Detective Pikachu
is a missed opportunity. This movie is plagued with the same problem as other
live-action adaptations of animated properties: its flat, boring human
characters. Yes, people don’t go to a Pokémon
movie to see the human characters. At the same time, if the studio is going to
make more of these live-action movies with the human characters being central
to the Pokémon’s adventure, the least
the writers can do is the make them interesting. What’s the point of making a
live-action adaptation if the human characters are just going to be a useless
spectator? Unfortunately, the human characters here feel more like a useless
spectator than an interesting human being. And also unfortunately, Justice Smith’s lead human character Tim
Goodman belongs in that same category.
Tim is a main character with such a compelling
back story that’s let down by the script’s bland characterization. In theory, what
he is going through is something that anyone can easily relate to. The pain of
losing a father isn’t a stuff of fantasy movie fancy. The fact that a movie can
make something as close to home as paternal loss so distant is baffling. The
way Tim conducts himself here doesn’t resemble a son who is going through paternal
loss. Rather than feel like there’s an emotional weight on his shoulder, Tim just
comes off as a guy who acts like finding his father’s killer is some fun,
meaningless adventure. Because he doesn’t give a damn about finding his father’s
killer, the audience doesn’t give a damn about Tim Goodman. Without any
emotional resonance to cling onto, it’s hard to relate to his character. And
no, shots of Tim’s tear-streaked face are not a strong enough proof of
emotional resonance. Rather than paint Tim as a human, what those shots only do
is paint him more as an overdramatic wimp.
Easily the most interesting human character
here is Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton),
a TV station intern/wannabe reporter that Tim has a crush on. Even without any back
story or character development, Lucy has the X-factor that the main character sorely
lacks: personality. Yes, she walks and talks like a 1940 film noir reporter
than a real person, leaning on camp as part of her charm, but at least her personality
is so broad and ridiculous that she’s far more memorable than Tim ever was. The
only downside though is that she’s not in the movie that much.
Also, as a story, Detective Pikachu seems stuck in a quandary. On the one hand, they
are eager to make a film noir for kids, and on the other, they are eager to
make a straight up fan service-y Pokémon
movie. But ultimately, they couldn’t make up their mind in regards to what kind
of movie they really want to make. It remains a mash-up of two disparate
elements that never coalesce as a whole, lacking the commitment to be credible
enough as either a film noir or a Pokémon
movie.
As a film noir, the movie falls short in
terms of intriguing twists and turns. It relies way too much on conveniences to
help unravel its central murder mystery plot. Tim and Pikachu, the movie’s two
lead detectives, barely have to do any of the hard work since the screenplay does
it for them. Really, any time they re “investigating”, it’s just them stumbling
across hologram footage that tells them all the information they need to know. Granted,
it keeps the proceedings moving at a nice, brisk pace. However, in a noir
sense, that comes at the expense of retaining the genre’s intrigue and
complexities.
As a Pokémon
movie, the fan service-y Pokémon actions
are too few and far between. Yes, it’s a world littered with hundreds to
thousands of Pokémon creatures. At the same time, the ones that mattered in the
narrative can be counted by hand, while the rest are merely meaningless Easter
eggs that make people go, “oh, it’s this Pokémon, that Pokémon” only to later forget
within seconds. Yes, it’s got some Pokémon battles, brought to life by Letterman’s sweeping, energetic
direction and the high-quality live-action animation. At the same time, those
scenes only come intermittently rather than constantly. Its exploration on Pokémon
catching though fares much worst. For a franchise with a motto like, “Gotta Catch
Em’ All”, there’s not much catching going on. A Poké Ball makes only one brief
appearance in the movie, and that’s during Tim Goodman’s introductory sequence.
Other than that, the only time Pokémon catching is ever mentioned throughout
the movie comes from Ryan Reynolds’
Pikachu singing the Pokémon anime theme
song.
There’s no denying though that Detective Pikachu belongs to Ryan Reynolds. He is right at it again with
an effortlessly funny, magnetic performance, this time behind the mic, as the
titular character Pikachu. Like in the Deadpool
movies, Reynolds’ performance stands
out due to the fact that he’s not really acting or even trying to. Ryan Reynolds voices Pikachu like, well,
the way Ryan Reynolds would voice
Pikachu, bringing more of his real-life persona to the character, which is just
what everyone expects. It’s going to
take awhile to adjust to Pikachu, who used to have that “Pika Pika” squeaky,
high-pitched voice, now having a Deadpool voice. Once people adjust to that
though, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. And the movie really has Reynolds to thank for his snappy
wisecracks, impeccable comic timing and confidence, keeping the proceedings as
fun and exciting as possible even if the overall product isn’t always the case.
It is rather unfortunate that the people
surrounding Mr. Reynolds give flat
performances. Detective Pikachu’s
co-lead Justice Smith tries to lend
some emotional weight to the feeling of grief Tim Goodman is going through as
well as the comic sensibilities when he delves into the insanity of being the
only one who can hear Pikachu speak. At the same time, he can only do so much
with a flat character. And in an aspect that matters most in buddy movies like
this, the chemistry between Smith
and Reynolds seems like a mismatch. Far
too many times, Reynolds was baiting
Smith with funny set-ups that end up
falling flat because Smith doesn’t
have the same quicksilver wit and snappiness that his co-star brought to the table.
CONCLUSION:
Pokémon
Detective Pikachu
is occasionally fun thanks to the stunning creature design, retro score and Ryan Reynolds’ humorous turn as
Pikachu, but fails as a live-action adaptation with unmemorable human characters
and a story that couldn’t juggle the noir and Pokémon aspect.
Score: 6/10.
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