Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director/co-writer: Rob Letterman, Roadshow Entertainment.
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy.
It maybe regarded as mundane, but that’s the winning formula for Pokemon Detective Pikachu. Hollywood’s latest attempt to swirl an unnecessarily cute moppet craze into box-office gold succeeds well.
The urban-fantasy-mystery film was written by Letterman (Shark Story, Monsters Vs. Aliens, Goosebumps), who additionally co-wrote the screenplay alongside Dan Hernandez (1600 Penn, One Day At A Time), Benji Samat (1600 Penn, One Day At A Time) and Derek Connolly (Jurassic World, Monster Vehicles, Kong: Cranium Island, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom).
It is the first live-action Pokémon film has Reynolds staring as the voice and facial motion capture of Pikachu.
Based on the Pokémon franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri and serving as a loose adaptation of the 2016 video game of the same name, the adventure set in a fictional city in which humans and Pokémon co-exist.
When ace detective Harry Goodman mysteriously disappears, his son Tim (Smith, Paper Cities, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) embarks on a journey to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu (Reynolds, The Proposal, Protected Home, Deadpool), a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth.
Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces on a thrilling escapade to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City — a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side-by-side in a hyper-realistic live-action world. They encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.
The story promotes cooperation, bravery and relationships, highlight how even the seemingly inexpert can make an impact.
