It has been a while since I have written a review of a movie completely aimed at kids. That is exactly what Pokémon Detective Pikachu is. There is simply no way I would ever see this without my kids. As a result, I need to look at this movie through a unique lens. I can't concern myself with whether or not this movie was worth my time. It is more a matter of the experience being worth my time. For me, that involves a very simple formula: my children's enjoyment + the creators throwing adults a bone or two + not insulting my intelligence (too much) = how much it was worth my time.
So did Pokémon Detective Pikachu have enough of those elements to make it worth my time?
First of all, both my 11 year old daughter and 14 year old son really enjoyed the film. My son and daughter seemed to like it for different reasons. My daughter loved the jokes and cuteness factor of many of the Pokémon. My son was drawn in by the surprisingly good action and all of the inside jokes about the different Pokémon. On the way to the theater, he was recounting all of the facts he knew about some of the most bizarre Pokémon in the universe. He was especially thrilled to tell me about one that wears the skull of his dead mother as a helmet. When that one showed up in the movie, he immediately grabbed my arm and said "See. I told you". He also enjoyed hearing Deadpool's voice emerge from a fluffy little mouse/bear thingy.
Because the movie is about a detective, there had to be a mystery to solve. Due to the fat that the movie is rated "PG" and the target audience was most likely children younger than my own, they had to keep the mystery very simple. Although there were no huge surprises for someone who has a nearly fully developed brain, it was still fun seeing how the writers were going to get to their destination. I was actually impressed that my son and I were each surprised by two different events in the movie.
So we can give the movie a high score for the kids' entertainment factor.
Now onto throwing adults a bone. This is the gigantic fork in the road. If hearing Deadpool's voice coming out of some cute, fuzzy, tiny creature, makes you giggle... then you will enjoy your 90 minute stay. If you think his voice is like nails on a chalkboard... you are in for an excruciating 90 minutes. Ryan Reynolds' voice is the big gimmick. Although the special effects are quite impressive and the Pokémon seem to blend in seamlessly into each scene, that will probably not be enough to keep Reynolds' hating adults awake. There were enough jokes and amusing situations to make me chuckle or smirk for the majority of the time.
How about insulting my intelligence? Because the movie is rated "PG", I had to give this one quite a bit of leeway. Actually, while I am on the subject of the rating, it is important to note that there were some very minor curse words in this movie. Deadpool Pikachu did say "Hell" and "Damn" a couple of times. Because my kids are old enough to have heard far worse on the playground, I did not really care. However, parents of young kids might be a bit taken aback by this language. Now back to respecting my intelligence. The mystery is very simple. They also made sure to explain it very thoroughly so that kids would not have to ask their parents what was going on every two seconds. It was simple but fun. I'll count that as a win. The real problem was the acting. Justice Smith is NOT AN ACTOR. He has no business being in a movie. His acting made the Motley Crue cast look like potential Oscar winners... and they were laughably bad. I am convinced that in order to not draw attention to the fact that Smith was so terrible, the director made poor Kathryn Newton "take a little off of her fastball" to not make Smith's horrendous "performance" stand out even more than it did. luckily for this movie, Smith is not essential. He is simply a vehicle to allow the Pokémon to do their thing. The ride was worth my time.
Number of times I fell asleep: 0
Number of eye rolls: 3 (Justice Smith's acting is that bad.)
Number of face palms: 2 (Please see above.)
Number of times I checked my phone: 0
Number of times I said "That's ridiculous": 0 (Rated PG Pokémon movie... the whole thing was ridiculous. )
Did my children like it: Yes. I was actually surprised by how entertained my teenage son was.
Would I see it without my kids: No chance
Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: Matinee if you want to experience a day out with the kids. Otherwise just rent it later.
