Jonathan Currinn
Released on 10 May 2019, this Detective Pikachu film has had Pokémon fans around the world excited as Pokémon Detective Pikachu is the first ever Pokémon movie to be a live-action film. It is based off the game of the same name which was released worldwide last year for the Nintendo 3DS.
The film was directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale, Monsters Vs. Aliens, Goosebumps) who also 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 Trucks, Kong: Skull Island, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom). It was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, and The Pokémon Company, in association with Toho Co., Ltd. in a joint venture.
The film is bound to become one of the biggest film releases of the year, especially since it has an all-star cast including Ryan Reynolds (The Proposal, Safe House, Deadpool), Justice Smith (Paper Towns, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Kathryn Newton (Paranormal Activity 4, Blockers, Supernatural), and Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Pirates of the Carribean, Underworld), amongst many other supporting cast including Ken Watanabe, Chris Geere, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Rita Ora, Karan Soni, and Josette Simon. Also throughout the film are plenty of scenes of Pokémon with Pikachu being the main character and Psyduck supporting, we also see a lot of Mewtwo, Charizard, Ditto, Cubone, and Mr. Mime.
Watch The Trailer To Pokémon Detective Pikachu Here:
The film starts off with a car crash before introducing us to our main character, Tim Goodman, played by Justice Smith, who is being peer-pressured into trying to catch a Pokémon in the wild. An upset Cubone is the chosen Pokémon and Tim throws the Pokéball only the light on the Pokéball doesn’t turn green and Cubone soon jumps out and chases Tim. Soon after, he receives a phone call revealing that his estranged father, Harry Goodman, has been involved in a car crash and didn’t make it, so he travels to Ryme City – where Pokémon fighting had been outlawed and where Pokémon live alongside humans uniting friendships like no other. Tim arrives in the city to collect his father’s things; instead, he comes across an intern reporter named Lucy Stevens, played by Kathryn Newton, who is trying to get the scoop on what happened to Harry Goodman, and her Psyduck, as well as Detective Pikachu who used to be the partner Pokémon to his father, and who can actually speak to Tim.
If that wasn’t weird enough, no one else can hear Detective Pikachu, just Tim Goodman, whilst everyone else hears, “Pika pika”. They are attacked by a wild group of Aipom who are under the influence of some purple gas which Tim opened earlier unbeknownst to what it does. They use the vial as their first clue in solving the mystery of Harry Goodman; Detective Pikachu thinks that he is still alive as he believes he was with Harry during the crash, although he’s not entirely sure as he has amnesia.
They recruit Lucy Stevens in their case, and this leads them on to an exciting adventure. One that involved Harry Goodman being hired by Ryme City’s benefactor, Howard Clifford, played by Bill Nighy, who once tried to cure himself of his medical condition, and instead led to creating a harmonious city for humans and Pokémon. Their journey also leads to a laboratory and plenty of high-risk adventures.
Comedy runs throughout the film with Detective Pikachu running off jokes here, there, and everywhere which will certainly have both adults and children laughing alike. It is a fully-fleshed out family film that is one we could watch over and over and over again. The CGI of the Pokémon characters are beyond amazing; every single one of them are adorable in their own right and will have us all wishing that Ryme City was an actual place where we could go and live and have a partner Pokémon, ourselves.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is set to become one of the biggest films of the year and it’s one we absolutely adore. There are still some unanswered questions, ones we are left to figure out on our own – would it be a detective film without unanswered questions? The film is comedic, ingenious, and family-friendly, it’s everything we were hoping for in a Pokémon live-action film and more.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is out in cinemas now. It has also been confirmed that a sequel is already in the works.
