Thursday, 28 October 2021

VOD: Pokemon Detective Pikachu (dir: Rob Letterman, 2019)

"All I hear are consonants, and all I see are nipples!"

This bizarre mish-mash actually works fairly well.  By placing the action in a vaguely contemporary live-action setting (with very effective world-building in which Pokemon and humans co-exist), using classic detective/buddy movie tropes to give effective structure and some heft, plus giving Pikachu a very lively and wonderfully snarky characterisation all work together to create an unexpectedly entertaining and off-beat film.  Ryan Reynolds gives a great voice-only performance as the titular Pokemon character, which balances a less-than-convincing performance by Justice Smith as the bereaved son out to find out the truth about what happened to his detective father.  It is well-made and entertaining lightweight nonsense that is far better than would be expected.

 

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