Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) Review

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)

Detective Pikachu follows Tim Goodman, who, following the mysterious death of his detective father, team’s up with his Pikachu to solve the case and discover the truth about his dad. 

I’ve been making my way back through some old Pokémon games as of late, so it was only right to finally give Detective Pikachu another shot (considering the first time was on a miserable, 20+ hour flight). And it’s safe to say, this was a bit better the 2nd go round, giving us the first live action attempt at bringing Pokémon to the big screen, in what is really a love letter to all fans of the series, new and old. The immediate draw here really comes from the Pokémon themselves though, crafting designs that hold true to their classic looks, while basing their textures on real life animals like the saturated, yellow fur on Pikachu, or the orange, lizard-like scales on Charizard. It really gives them such an integrated, life-like feel that adds to the immersion of locations like Ryme City, that are chock full of Pokémon. 

While it’s hard seeing any Pokémon adaption without Ash, going with Tim does open up the story more for a fresh angle (even if he is a lame protagonist, courtesy of Justice Smith), giving us a pretty nefarious plot that provides for a nice payoff over Harry’s disappearance/Detective Pikachu’s origin, while FINALLY making a hero out of Mewtwo in the process (long overdue). 

We get a reasonable cast too, starring Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Kathryn Newton, Ryan Reynolds, and Justice Smith. There’s something about a Ryan Reynolds voiced Pikachu that oddly works, with his trademark wit and inability to shut up making for a pretty fun character. If only he had a half decent human partner that wasn’t Smith, maybe this could’ve succeeded in being more impactful, but I just never bought them two together.

Detective Pikachu, directed by Rob Letterman, is a pretty niche movie that nonetheless crafts a fun and enjoyable adventure that will surely please fans of the series for sticking true to what makes Pokémon fun, the various Pokémon themselves. 

7.2/10