I was planning to go see The Intruder yesterday when I realized how poor the ratings were for this film. It is suffering from a paltry 5.4 score at IMDb currently. Pokemon Detective Pikachu had a rating just north of 7, so I decided I would "call an audible" and go see Pokemon instead. The theater was packed. Mostly parents with children. This is definitely a film aimed at that audience, perhaps alongside adults who grew up with Pokemon. I was an adult long before Pokemon hit the scene, so I probably didn't "get" a lot of the references. But the film wasn't that bad.
Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is a loner. He grew up on Pokemon, but has lost interest. The loss of his mother along with the gap created when his father went to work as a detective at the Ryme City Police Department have left him untethered. When his father is killed in a car crash, Tim is summoned to Ryme City, where he reluctantly begins investigating his father's death. He is aided by his father's former partner, Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds). With the aid of an intern (Kathryn Newton) from the news media, Tim unravels a plot to merge humans and their pokemon counterparts. Tim finds redemption in his effort to save Ryme City, coming to terms with his own unhappy childhood.
The writing credits include a list of a dozen or so writers, to include the creators of Pokemon. It is a hodge-podge list of writers with little experience. All things considered, they did okay. They salted an otherwise hackneyed coming-of-age story with a bit of humor and made the film engaging for the target audience. If you are expecting originality, you are not going to find it here. It is somewhat milquetoast on an emotional level. The characters are okay, but feel forced at times. Some of the dialogue was good. Overall, the writing was mediocre.
Ryan Reynolds seems to be enjoying his romp into odd characters. He is brilliant as Deadpool. I also like him as Pikachu. Reynolds has mastered tongue-in-cheek delivery. He is definitely a strong anchor for this film. I haven't seen much of Justin Smith's previous work. I don't think I would have cast him in a lead role, but he holds it together. He doesn't have a strong presence, but was tolerable. I liked his reported sidekick Newton much better. She seems a bit vanilla, but she was fairly strong in this film. Even in a limited role. The casting had plenty of room for improvement. Bill Nighy was well cast and offered a veteran presence.
Pokemon Detective Pikachu is rated PG. The target audience is adolescents, so this film needed to be PG. The film doesn't have much objectionable. There is the mandatory crude humor for this target audience. The type of crude that is funnier than crude. The type that will probably drive parents nuts later on, but at least it is tame stuff. There is a bit of action and some danger, but nothing over-the-top. The film navigates the MPAA with ease. This film is fine for all ages. Run time is one hour, 44 minutes.
I wasn't expecting to see Pokemon Detective Picachu. It was a last minute decision when I realized how poorly rated The Intruder is. I am not disappointed in this film, because I had low expectations going in. The theater was packed with young people. It was hard to find a seat at the matinee. This film appears to be doing decent at the box office. I thought the pacing was good and the characters unique, although the acting was average and the story unoriginal. Overall, I can't say it was a waste of time. I was mildly entertained. 6/10.
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