Troy_Campbell Review of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

Colourful, cheery and charismatic - but also lightweight.

[6/10 · 11 May 2019]

Prior to watching this family-friendly adventure, I had never consumed an iota of Pokémon content. I've watched none of the anime TV series or movies, I've never played any of the numerous video games, and I've never collected or played with the trading cards. Of course I knew the absolute basics of this world (I did live through the Pokémon Go phenomena after all), but otherwise I was going into this film with zero expectations, other than hoping for a fun, goofy ride. It delivers... to an extent. The puzzle-to-be-solved plot is meagre and relatively predictable - the twists aren't as "twisty" as Pikachu likes to think - but the light-hearted joy of hanging out with the furry yellow sleuth (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) compensates for it. Reynolds turns his wise-cracking way up, albeit within the confines of a PG rating, making Pikachu the perfect partner for Justice Smith's emotionally anguished Tim Goodman, a young man on the hunt for his estranged Dad's killer. Once together they embark on a collection of set pieces that show off other Pokémon, including a fiery battle with the dragon-esque Charizard, an amusing 'chase' and interrogation with Mr Mime, and a colossal escape from the ground-breaking Torterra. The climactic save-the-city sequence, set in the fictional Ryme City that appears to have once been London, doesn't stick the landing; which is a shame considering the antagonist Mewtwo - a sinister, magical kangaroo-esque creature - is conceptually pretty badass. A colourful and cheery caper that is best viewed with the brain switched off, Detective Pikachu offers just enough charisma and humorous hijinks to satisfy across its runtime.