Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens)
	Actors: Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool 1-2), Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy (Shaun of the Dead), Ken Watanabe (Godzilla)
	Country: USA, J, GB, CDN
	Genre: Animation, Polar, Adventure
	Conditions of visioning: 16.09.2019, in-flight entertainment, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: After his dad, a detective he barely knew, dies in a car accident, Tim (Smith) travels to the big city to wrap some things up. There, Humans and Pokemons live in harmony. He will soon meet his dad's Pokemon which he can speak to, and discover an evil plot.
Review: I missed the Pokemon video-game craze by a few years, I was just a little too old to ride it (and a Sega guy rather than Nintendo). But I remember it very well, my brother played it and I know the basics: the tournaments, trainers, underdog Pikachu, even the big bad Mewtwo. I think the movie talks to this audience, the one that played the game when it went out and is now in its thirties, but also to different generations that may have played different versions of it during the years, including the addictive Augmented-reality Pokemon Go. In fact the movie is also an adaptation of a 2016 video game. The movie nicely treats the whole tournament story into the past, giving just enough backstory for the newbies, and then moves on to a different thing, a sort of Adventure-Polar-Comedy-Superhero movie. The talking pet plot reminded me of Ted, probably thanks to the voice of Ryan Reynolds and the few dirty, definitely not children-suited jokes he managed to place. The World-building is fine, probably better if you are nostalgic of when you played the game in your youth and recognize the variety of Pokemons shown on screen. The story is not too bad, except for a few major loopholes that pulled me out of the movie, most importantly (spoiler, highlight to read): how did the kid not recognize the voice of Pikachu?!? In the end not as bad as one could have feared for another adaptation of video game that seems to come too late and drowned in many other (The Angry Birds Movie to quote just one).
Rating: 5 /10