Ryan Reynolds is an incredibly funny guy and Pikachu is an amazingly cute Pokémon. So the combination of these two had the minimum guarantee of offering fun to the viewers and despite having a basic script, this package of Pokémon adventure and quirky fun titled Pokémon Detective Pikachu is really fun to watch.
So our hero Tim Goodman is a loner and he stays away from his father. One day he gets a call from Ryme city saying that his father passed away and Tim’s trip to the city to complete the formalities eventually ends up in a scenario where he realizes that his father might still be alive. And Tim also meets a talking Pikachu. The detective mission of these two to find out about Tim’s dad is what Detective Pikachu showing us.
Like I said it is the voice of acting of Ryan Reynolds that lifts this movie from being a basic template film for kids. If you look at it, the climactic portions of the movie are way too eventful and dramatic. The tone and scale of the film shift enormously in that phase and there is a sense of darkness in the theme. But the wit in the script largely through Reynolds’ Pikachu helps the movie cross that phase without making it an exhausting experience. The improvisation of Reynolds makes it a laugh riot in some areas. And luckily this is not a movie simply made for Reynolds’ humor. It has a core story that deals with the emotions of a lonely kid.
Coming to the performances, main man Justice Smith is effective as the loner son Tim in search of his father with whom he never really had that connection. Kathryn Newton as that wannabe journalist was okay. But it was Reynolds who stole the show by managing to place his kind of humor into an innocent looking Pikachu that has a limited range of expressions. His mumbling counter dialogues to Tim’s awkward placement of lines and the reactions to some of the catastrophic situations are truly hilarious.
As I said, Pokémon Detective Pikachu isn’t trying to be path-breaking in any way even after having something like Pokémon at the center of it. The story is pretty generic in that aspect. But Goosebumps director Rob Letterman uses humor to remove the dullness in this predictable journey and with Ryan Reynolds at the center of the action, that isn’t a major task. While I wasn’t that impressed with partially rendered looking antagonist Pokémon Mewtwo, some of the set pieces in the film were pretty solid.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is that somewhat emotional, mostly hilarious popcorn fun flick that you wouldn’t hate while leaving the cinema Hall. Cute Pikachu voiced by a hilarious Ryan Reynolds, isn’t that enough to give it a shot?
Rating: 3/5
Goosebumps director Rob Letterman uses humor to remove the dullness in this predictable journey and with Ryan Reynolds at the center of the action, that isn't a major task.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
