POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU (2019) Review
Directed by Rob Letterman
I was quite anxious for this film because historically, there aren’t a lot of video-game-turned-movies that really stand out or are fairly made. But when the trailer came out, I though maybe, just maybe, ‘Pokemon: Detective Pikachu’ would be a fun experience at the cinema.
Good thing I was right.
‘Pokemon: Detective Pikachu’ is a delightful and fun adventure movie for the whole family. Fans of the franchise would rejoice for an adaptation worth seeing more than once. While new to the story of these lovable pocket monsters will have their jaws dropping for its high-stakes adventures.
High-stakes emotionally and visually. And that makes the film a proper summer blockbuster. It doesn’t just give the audience what they want, the film also touches some touching issues. Dealing with loss, the film gives the character of Tim, played by Justice Smith depth but it’s taken in a lighter direction that the colorful setting of the film isn’t shadowed.
Ryan Reynolds voicing the bubbly and talkative Pikachu is a delight. He may be Deadpool in our eyes and ears but being a lovable pocket monster may just make us look at him differently. He’s perfect to voice Pikachu.
I’m not sure what I think the film lacks or should have done differently. But the first part of the film feels like the story isn’t as cohesive as it should be. It’s hard to build a world that’s already sacred to some, in a way. But the film definitely caught up on its second act. It’s massive, that even if following the biggest film of 2019, it did, in a way successfully, with visually spectacular scenes.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
‘Pokemon: Detective Pikachu’ opens in Philippine cinemas May 9, 2019 from Warner Bros. Pictures. Rated PG by the MTRCB.