Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019) Film Review: The Best Film Based On A Videogame

With all of the "Sonic" movie clips all over the place with the early digital release, I reminded myself of a better film that was based off a video game. "Detective Pikachu" follows Tim Goodman, a young man who is summoned to Ryme City, where Pokemon and humans live together in harmony. Learning of his father's death, he goes to his apartment to find a Pikachu that's able to talk to Tim. The two pair up as they realize that there's a big conspiracy revolving around the whereabouts of Tim's father, a purple gas that enrages Pokemon, and a Mewtwo. I'm not the biggest fan of the "Pokemon" franchise, but I respect it for what it is and the cultural impact. I found it really strange that the movie itself is based on the "Detective Pikachu" game, which was not even released in the U.S before the film was greenlit. However, despite all of these aspects, I enjoyed myself watching the movie. I will say though that the mystery itself isn't the strongest suit of the film. Not only is it easy to figure out halfway through the film, but the villain's plan is just so over-the-top and stupid that it's laughable. I will go more about the villain later, but man, it's really dumb. I will say though that the journey surrounding the mystery is pretty enjoyable as the characters go into various settings and scenarios.The tone is actually handled really well. It knows when to have fun and allows younger viewers to enjoy it, but it also takes itself more grounded and serious than the typical kids film. It's perfect, as the majority of the fanbase are older audiences to begin with, which offers a great balance unlike the "Sonic" movie. This is also applied to the humour, as there's both slapstick moments and adult jokes for each demographic. There's also no annoying pop culture references, much like flossing and celebrity name drops in "Sonic".

The titular character of the film, Pikachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, steals the show. Reynolds actually works as the voice of the electric mouse-like creature and is basically playing himself as a PG-13 Deadpool without the 4th wall breaking. Although this can go against the film as it just makes the character too much like Reynolds, I don't mind the choice for him as the role and his involvement brings out some great line delivery. Justice Smith as Tim Goodman is a bit generic story-wise, but has some good energy and expressions to work off of Pikachu. He does channel an enjoyable Shia LaBeouf-esque performance to him that honestly kind of works for the character. I also like the trait of Tim being almost uninterested in Pokemon, as he lost his passion of being a trainer years ago. It makes him a bit more interesting than the numerous trainers in the franchise who do it for the glory, fun, etc. Lucy Stevens is a very generic love interest for Tim though as the typical investigative reporter who wants the story of the century. I will give them credit that they didn't force them to kiss or become more romantically involved, instead keeping them as friends for the meantime. The last character to mention is Howard Clifford, played by Bill Neighy, who founded Ryme City and is the CEO of Clifford Industries. Howard is of course the bad guy, as he plans to place humans inside of Pokemon in order to evolve as a whole, with him placing himself in a Mewtwo. I would have been fine if he just wanted to get rid of his disability and become one of the most powerful beings in the world, but his plan of turning people into Pokemon is so laughably underdeveloped that it makes no sense. Like, not all Pokemon are equal or even as powerful as others, so why would someone want to turn people into a useless Pokemon like Metapod or Magikarp? On top of that, seeing Mewtwo speak with his mouth is uncanny and should never be repeated. There are some smaller side characters such as the police chief and Howard's son, but they aren't really important and are just cliche roles that we've seen in plenty of mystery films. I also won't discuss the Pokemon as characters, mainly because they aren't developed in any way. I will say that the personality traits of the numerous Pokemon are retained and that we will have our favourite ones and least favourites, much like the selection in the games as a whole. Overall, the acting is pretty standard for generic roles, but Reynolds and Smith actually do pretty good jobs.

Rob Letterman takes directing duty with his background of two mediocre Dreamworks films and two average Jack Black CGI comedies. Although I'm not a fan of his previous works, this is clearly his best film to date. This is mainly due to bringing Ryme City to life in a colourful, yet realistic way. Letterman clearly tried to emulate a neo-noir feel to the film as the nighttime and illuminated scenes are bursting with colour. The city feels alive and at times, real, due to the well-designed sets. There's also some decent action sequences such as the fights between Pikachu and Charzard, as well as the final battle between Mewtwo. Heck, even the fight between Tim and Ditto was pretty creative and fun as well, although he should have been dead when he got punched by Machamp. The cinematography by David Mathieson is a mixed bag. Although he captures some nice establishing shots of the city and the set-pieces while fitting in the Pokemon in the frame as well as having some good action shots, there's a lot of shaky cam in his scenes. I believe this is due to this film being the first one he has worked on with CGI characters, as his filmography shows that he mostly stuck to live-action film rather than hybrids. The music by Henry Jackman is decent as he attempts to create an original score that doesn't fully emulate famous tunes from the games while also sounding like they came from the franchise, but it does get too generic at times in the action sequences. Still, there are some nice tracks with the scenes of Tim visiting Ryme City, both day and night. The visual effects and the Pokemon designs are the highlight for the fans though as the creatures are brought into live-action. With heavily detailed textures of fur, feathers, and scales, there are some Pokemon that look really convincing and almost physically on-screen with the human actors. However, there are times where some of the creatures aren't rendered properly and look fake with a key example being Mewtwo. While Mewtwo is a great Pokemon in general, he just doesn't look good in live-action due to his alien-like design. Regardless, Letterman did a great job directing his best film yet and I can't wait to see what else he's planning to make.

"Detective Pikachu" might be the best film based on a video game, but it's not perfect by any means. The mystery is easy to figure out, Howard's villainous plan is pretty stupid, Lucy is a really generic love interest, there's a good amount of shaky cam in certain scenes, and the CGI at times doesn't work out well on certain Pokemon. However, there's a lot of good stuff in this film. The tone and humour is perfectly balanced with appeal to both kids and adults, Reynolds and Smith are really good as the comedic duo of Pikachu and Tim, the Pokemon themselves are fully accurate to their personalities and designs while looking great at the same time, the action sequences are good and fun to watch, Jackman's score fits pretty well with the franchise outside of the generic action music, and Letterman's directing helps bring Ryme City and Pokemon in general to life in a live action setting as well as his inspirations from the neo-noir genre. The majority of films based on video games are usually mediocre at best. "Detective Pikachu" was not only the one to break the mold, but is currently the best film of that caliber by far. It has its issues for sure, but they aren't as bad as many from the past decade have been. I hope that more adaptations are on par or even better than "Detective Pikachu" as it's quite clear that the filmmakers and studio cared very much for this film with the amount of money thrown in and getting the right people in front and behind the scenes, unlike the many cheap cash-grabs that have occurred in the past and are sure to come in the future with the success of this and "Sonic the Hedgehog".

Verdict: 7/10. Good, but could have been better. It's a perfect stepping stone of the evolution of video-game movie adaptations, not the end of the journey.