Pokémon Detective Pikachu *** (2019, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, voice of Ryan Reynolds) – Movie Review

Director Rob Letterman’s teen action adventure comedy Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019) is much better than expected thanks to inventive scripting and a lively atmosphere, throwing in anything and everything that could possibly make this crazy idea entertaining, plus an appealing central performance as young hero Tim Goodman from Justice Smith, in a good double act with a cuddly toy, Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds). It will be seen as a treat for Pokémon fans but other young audiences should swing over onto its side easily.

Ryan Reynolds’s amusing wise-cracking is the other hit turn, keeping the pot boiling, amid all the over-kill of CGI. Kathryn Newton is okay as the eager-beaver young reporter heroine Lucy Stevens, but Bill Nighy is coasting as the corporate boss Howard Clifford, Ken Watanabe is wasted as police Lieutenant Hide Yoshida, and Chris Geere is weak as the Nighy’s character’s smug Roger Clifford.

It could all be very bland, but thankfully they push the PG certificate as far as it will stretch for action/peril, some rude and suggestive humour, and thematic elements. And it does look smart, no doubt thanks to that scary $150,000,000 price tag.

Nevertheless, it is yet another recent movie that is more of a CGI fest video game event than an actual film.

It is mostly filmed in the UK – the streets of London (incongruously and very obviously), Scotland, Warner Bros Studios Leavesden, Watford, England, UK and Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England, UK, providing lots of work for UK technicians.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Movie Review

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