The Film…
The Players…
Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Chris Geere and Bill Nighy, with Ken Watanabe, Suki Waterhouse, Paul Kitson, and all of your favorite Pokémon.
The Plot…
Ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner: a Pikachu with a flair for solving mysteries. They’re uniquely equipped to work together. Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, so they join forces to unravel the tangled mystery.
Between shots of espresso, natch.
The Rant…
Okay. Let’s get this out first. I’m quite the Pokémon enthusiast. Got a lot of the old Game Boy games (EG: Red, Blue, and Yellow), lots of cards from back in the day when I was a trainer at Pokémon League, and just enjoying fiddling around with Pokémon GO on my iPhone whenever I get bored. Sometime actively hunting the critters in nearby parks. I’m not much for battling with GO. Just trying have fun with the “gotta catch ’em all” ethos.
Also this: I did not let my Pokémon fandom affect this installment. Despite my reverence for the franchise I love curling up with a movie rather than hunting down these virtual, extraordinary creatures. The games are indeed fun, but this a movie blog first, so keep your Pokéballs in your pockets for now. We can go frolic some other time.
Still I will catch all the Legendary Birds someday, dammit.
Ahem. Movie later. Gaming now.
A lot of gamers don’t get the appeal—or outright mock—what makes the Pokémon franchise fun. Apart from the thrill of the hunt and a pseudo RPG element one cannot ignore that HUGE bestiary waiting to be nabbed. I also believe that what irks serious gamers is that anyone can play Pokémon. Young and old alike. At the outset on the original Game Boy versions to get the most out of the game was the cable link between friends. This was well before online console gaming, but collaboration was the key to better hunt, raise and battle Pokémon. This ethos spilled over into the TCG, and that’s where I’m coming in with that whole social commentary thing RIORI is designed/notorious for. Heck, other Pokéfans might’ve been there, too. I hope so.
Here’s a story: centuries ago I was a substitute teacher, and you might know what that entails. An attempt to teach the bored kids the lesson plan the teacher proper left on the desk, failing and pulling out the video stack to watch some Disney movie again. Yawn for the kids and for me, but doing so did reduce the possibly of knife fights. This was middle school in the early aught’s. I’m only partially kidding.
Anywho at lunchtime kids were allowed to mess around with their Pokémon cards; trading, playing, talking trash. The usual kid sh*t. Then I was mostly ignorant of the game, but was curious about what the kids were all about and why the took the TCG so seriously. I leaned over their table and asked what the big deal was.
One snotty kid said frankly, “Why don’t you learn how to play?”
Challenge accepted.
I learned of a Pokémon clinic at my favorite toy store, Zany Brainy. Sadly it is no more. Regardless they specialized in “smart” toys. LEGOs, science sets, 3-D puzzles and mini robotics. It was the kind of place you had fun by just browsing, kinda like a library, but with more crystals to grow. Not all toys are meant for kids. I often thought some parents used their kids to shop there for cool stuff for their own time. “Really Dad? I need a rock tumbler?”
I brought my then g/f to the clinic. She was curious, too…as to why her b/f was amped to learn how the play the TCG with all those weird creatures. The trainer was named Steve. I remember that much, and am forever in his debt. He was young, a high school student that worked part time at the store (lucky). A lot of kids and their ‘rents were in attendance recalling that “anyone can play this game” ethos. At the time I was fresh out of college and trying to find some social activities. Maybe that snotty kid sensed something. Like Mom and Dad and kids we all needed to blow off some steam with some fun game that offered up quality time as well immerse oneself in a world, an escape from the daily grind. Heck, isn’t that what games—board, video and/or card)—are meant to do? Cheaper than craft beer, and kids don’t care for that. Again sub teacher then.
Young Steve’s enthusiasm for the game was infectious, and he spent aforementioned quality time with the kids teaching the game. I was intrigued. Sounded like a lot of fun, and I was already fan of strategy games. I’m lousy at chess but I could hack this game. Time to get some cards.
Long story short every Tuesday evening at a local game shop I showed up for Pokémon League to play the game with kids, teens and grown-ups alike. I eventually earned enough gym badges to become a Master Trainer, which granted me the role of how to show newbs how to play the game. Just like Steve did. It was fun. It was social. It was free, save buying cards. And a booster pack of seven new cards only cost five bucks back in the day. Much cheaper than the video game analog.
Full circle. The following story I recall quite clearly. Remember that sub teacher thing.
One evening at Pokémon League I ran into a kid I subbed for one of his classes.
“Hey! What are you doing here?”
“To play some Pokémon! Wanna battle?”
We sat down at a table and fussed with our decks.
“You really like Pokémon?”
“Sure. It’s fun. Let’s flip (a coin to see who goes first).”
As we played we chatted about this and that, but mostly about the trials of middle school. I was that sub after all. It was safe ground.
He politely griped how tough 6th Grade was. In 5th Grade everything just came to him. 6th grade was different. His teachers demanded more. He was rather frustrated. I could relate, and recounted my times in middle school. Some things never changed. As we slapped our cards down he asked me for some advice. 12 years old and quite earnest. I suggested he talk with the teachers at the end of the day about his concerns. Even if it led to nothing, and least he would come across as caring to how get his grades up. Like he cared.
He said thanks and I beat him 3 to one. I gave him a holofoil Zapdos as a friendly gesture. I already had three of them.
Towards the end of the night he told me he was happy we played together, and I asked for a rematch next Tuesday. All of other kids I subbed played at the League. I had since earned the rank of Master Trainer (like Steve, remember?) Got to teach kids and their moms and dads the mysterious appeal of Pokémon. Never did catch a lot of names. All I wanted to do is have some fun, and I mopped the floor with them, in good cheer. And more often than not I gave up schooling secrets.
That’s it.
What is it about these card games that are immediately social? Poker nights, bridge clubs, Pokémon League. I don’t know really, but it’s a good thing. Pika.
How it all worked was kinda a mystery. But it did work, however mysteriously…
The Story…
Tim Goodman (Smith) once fancied himself as a skilled Pokémon hunter. That all changed when his detective dad Harry (Reynolds) moved away to pursue his career on the Pokémon beat in distant Ryme City. In sum, Tim got dumped over Pokémon, and has holstered his Pokéballs ever since. But not the grudge.
Ryme City is a metropolis designed by multimillionaire philanthropist Howard Clifford (Nighy) for humans and Pokémon to coexist without all the malarkey of catching, evolving and especially battling these curious creatures. Small wonder why Harry took the post. Nothing is ever how it seems, though.
Harry went missing, under unusually unusual circumstances.
So Tim heads out to Ryme City in search of any clues as to where dad went. Instead of any leads he stumbles upon Harry’s Pokémon partner. A Pikachu with a big mouth and an addiction to coffee. Turns out he’s been sweating over his partner’s whereabouts, too. So Tim and Pikachu take up an uneasy partnership to find what the hell happened.
Not long after Tim has taken up a spazzy association with this gabby electric mouse two things occur to him:
One, this Pikachu speaks and understands human.
Two, this Pikachu speaks and understands human?!?
Tim might be messing with the balance of Pokémon and human here, but family is family…even if it considers a clumsy, electric mouse with a love of Harry and a big yap.
Could be worse. Tim could get brained by a wild Cubone. Again.
The Breakdown…
Movie sign! Who wants churros?
Pikachu was first and foremost a mystery. The creators of the movie wrapped the tale around a very simple device all mysteries have: nothing is as what it seems. Pikachu also used another favorite mystery trope in tandem with the latter: looks can be deceiving. That metric was all over the film; what we saw was not what we got. Not really. Even I had a few moments of “what’s really going on here?” I tend to go off the mark when compassing one flick to dissect another, but sometimes an easy movie parallel—I think—drives the plot et al in a skewed fashion. Maybe some smart comparisons could be made.
*burp*
That was deep.
An example of how (strange) looks can be deceiving David Lynch’s The Elephant Man crept into my brainpan. No, really. Both flicks had a certain flair regarding the eye of the beholder. Yep, Pikachu is cute and fluffy, but…well…
Oddball director Lynch’s Elephant Man was a loose biopic about Joseph Merrick, an 19th Century British gentleman afflicted with a terrible, deforming disease. He was considered an ignoramus monster and no better than a circus freak. His condition was/is known as Recklinghausen Disease; neurofibromatosis. Simply put the bones of a human refuse to stop growing resulting in massive calcified tumors that render the victim so crippled as to impede speech, eat and evacuate normally and appear like a total defiance of nature. Below is a snap of Merrick from Victorian England:
Ouch. Small wonder why he was misunderstood. Despite his condition he became the toast of London High Society. Yeah he looked weird, but he was also charming, witty, eloquent and above all unique. He had a photographic memory, meaning he could quote Shakespeare and/or the Bible on the spot, a romantic and became a BFF to the Queen with his grace. Not bad for a man who looked like a creature out of some Bernie Wrightson comic.
If this high-minded example come across as too…high-minded, then shaddap. The stirring tale of Merrick was a fine example of how looks can be deceiving. Pikachu was virtually besotted with that tenet. Nothing was what it seemed. Consider how fast Tim got over this manic Pikachu speaking human, and dedicated to unwinding the case about where Tim’s dad went. Consider the scenes in the lab where the angry Myutu REDACTED and its captors. Consider even Lucy’s Psyduck pal had some secrets. And Mr Mime sure had a lot of pressing, albeit silly secrets. And what was with Ms Norman’s blank stare? It’s elementary, Mr Watson. Looks don’t matter, but with a mystery afoot it sure screams nothing is as what it seems. Stir the pot, keep the audience engaged, make another fresh pot of coffee.
I’ll see myself out…
Alright, like I said above, my affection towards Pokémon won’t play much on this installment. Sure, it was cool to see them beasties rendered in CGI (what took so long?), but save Pikachu and a few other Pokémon necessary to the plot they mostly were just wallpaper. Very cool wallpaper, but overall eyewash and digital extras. Still how can you make a movie called Detective Pikachu without a supporting cast? Non-human cast that is. Doubtless Pikachu‘s appeal aimed for a specific audience, plus those who enjoy Ryan Reynolds’ comic antics (like K, God bless her). In the endgame all the razzamatazz fit the bill, but more on that later.
After the first act I decided that some real Pokémon fanboys built this movie. There are tons of Easter eggs scattered hither and yon all over Pikachu. No garish slobbering, mind you. No twisted fanboys like the kind you might see at gaming stores with a mandatory stick of deodorant at the door. Instead we got nods to the audience who may have been Pokémon fans, but also folks who just enjoy a simple mystery/adventure movie. Respectful execution, and not smearing Nintendo all over the screen. Just a bit of nudge-nudge-wink-wink to the fandom of the franchise and the curious Reynolds fans. I’d like to believe the producers took a shower on a regular basis. They might have even used shampoo.
I loved the CGI, but save Pikachu (and maybe Myutu) the pixelated Pokémon again were just extras. Maybe as a sop. Tim and Pikachu were the stars of the movie, and Reynolds take on Pikachu was simply presented as Tim’s haggard buddy. After a time with Ryan’s voice talent our electric mouse eventually became a supporting character, and the movie was just a basic who dunnit with funny Holmes and Watson banter. However Tim and Pikachu were both Watson: clueless. Might explain why the flick fared under par. Pikachu wasn’t one of those anime eps where Pokémon galore drove the story…such as they were. I saw a few and they were naked commercials. Nope. It was a fledgling tale of mystery. Accessible to all, not unlike the card game. Here, apply some Axe to your pits. You reek of popcorn.
To me that absence of overemphasizing the presence of Pokémon turned fans off. This was not a trad Pokémon flick. It was a routine crime caper in the best way. Recall The Great Muppet Caper. Like that. Pikachu was a polite police procedural, a genuine mystery, Abbott and Costello humor and some cool action scenes. This was kinda like a G-rated Lethal Weapon, minus any firearms. Just toxic gas. Plot point, the Maguffin and that’s all I’m gonna set free. Deal.
All the acting was—for lack of a better term—sprightly. Despite how serious the case of missing Harry was, which lead to the deeper plot, Pikachu never lost its feeling of boink! Consider Scooby-Doo and Shaggy as Pikachu and Tim as analogues. They needed some metaphysical Scooby Snacks to follow the trail. A lot of hiccups. Stories thrive on conflict, even fast and loose like with this lark. Not all conflicts in stories are relegated to The Godfather or Goodfellas. Sometimes it can just be The Waterboy clashing with the devil, Mama. Conflict can be silly, but no less engaging. Don’t let me go on about pacing, despite Pikachu had some good pacing. Light, breezy and shut up.
No shocker, but Pikachu was a brisk romp through any city solving any mystery, junior style. Barring the hat it was all about stumbling over clues rather than the game being afoot. Scooby-Doo territory, but with meddling Pokémon (EG: crazed Aipom, kind Bulbasaur, and sinister Myutu) instead of dopey kids. Everything with Pikachu was airy and polite, which was a good thing. Despite the flick circled around a niche audience, it was accessible to all. No gatekeeping. Quite the opposite; Pikachu might’ve been a gateway drug. Not for just possible Pokémon fans, but for those who may be curious about the movie mystery genre. I said above, Pokémon games are for all and slathered with fun. Pikachu was designed to be fun, and no gnashing of teeth as with an early Chris Nolan movie. Rather a whodunnit. Some movies are not designed to win an Oscar. Pikachu defiantly didn’t, and all for the better. Kick back and relax and follow the trail.
I really dug the sets, BTW. Heck this was never a topic I’ve ever addressed here. We’re not talking Blade Runner or Brazil territory, with all their reflections and portents. Nope. Ryme City stank of familiarity, another trick of the tale. The skyline tasted like every major we’ve ever seen, either online or on some sidewalk. It added to the mystery; the sh*t could be going down anywhere (save Clifford’s penthouse. More mystery there). Ryme City was a pretty and ugly labyrinth of knowledge and trouble. When Tim and Pika discovered an underground Pokémon battleground the allure of stable Ryme City fast became another swamp hiding beneath the sunshine. Recall the very first Superman flick where Lex held passive sway in Metropolis’ underworld. With that looks can be deceiving also, just like how Miss Teschmacher was so fragile REDACTED. Even the subways don’t run on time.
I know, I know. I’ve been beating this mystery horse one too many times, but again the whole nothing is as it seems trick holds fast with Pikachu. It was not a commercial, as most non-believers may have suspected. It was a dopey mystery story with the expected Reynold’s motormouth delivery and Smith doing his best Jack Burton. It was simple fun for a bit, and not requiring a whiteboard and marker to explain why Oppenheimer was such a great movie. Barbie was probably pissed off being dismissed, but so was Pikachu. I figured Patterson’s movie was just brushed off due to its core audience. Shame.
I claim that we need more flicks like Pikachu. A cinematic version of Clue (again). Something disposable and fun. Yeah, I dig Pokémon, but I—maybe we—like a silly adventure more that seeing that Pikachu try to fart lightning bolts all over a torqued up Charizard.
The Verdict…
Rent it or relent it? A mild rent it. Like a the games this film inspired was a simple, satisfying, junior mystery. Nuthin’ fancy, for good or ill. Pika!
The Musings…
- “You’re a hallucination!”
- Why does Tim’s mobile phone resemble a Switch?
- “Well that’s a bad guy car.”
- Pikachu was rendered hyper emotional, kinda like Reynolds’ usual delivery. Smart move that.
- “There’s nothing casual about this.”
- I feel like dusting off my GBA.
- “It’s going to be okay.” Famous last words.
- The deerstalker thing. In Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories our favorite sleuth never wore a hat of any kind. I figure this trademark headgear was made canon when Sir Basil Rathbone portrayed Holmes for the first time on screen. Our quirky detective made his appearance with The Hound Of The Baskervilles, and he nailed the character so well…heck Holmes now wears a deerstalker regardless of Doyle. That and the hat looks nifty.
- “Let’s get a coffee.”
The Next Time…
The Proposal Sandra Bullock offers Ryan Reynolds (back again) isn’t indecent. Just freakin’ idiotic.
That being said who’s up for some Betty White action?