'Detective Pikachu' Exceeds All Expectations! (A Full Review, Very Minor Spoilers)

Vom

livin' in a lonely world
Forum Mod
Member
*is interested in potentially interesting changes*
 

Zero Umbreon

Pyromaniacal sorcerer
Member
Just got done watching this. Long story short, it was amazing. Can’t say why because... spoilers. But go watch it. Seriously.
9/10 Starmies
 

Merovingian

Dead Game Enthusiast
Member
I want to know the changes. Like now.

Just intersperse the spoilers in the actual news.

“Here’s the translation for Mew & Mewtwo-GX. And by the way, the sled was called Rosebud.”

Something like that.
 

hervul

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I think I speak for everyone in the forum when I say I'm more than interested about the changes!

BTW, I noticed what you said about the Treecko shots. But I don't see that as an issue, since I wouldn't expect to see one (or group of) same species only once in real world.
*NEXT LINE MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS"
I was more bothered about the "plot convenience" lines, like how Lucy would always tell Tim "go ahead, I'll catch up" in situations where that was plain stupid.

However, the movie is great. You should all watch it!
 

crystal_pidgeot

Bird Trainer *Vaporeon on PokeGym*
Member
I wanted to know what the distribution of Pokemon were in the movie. It seems I was right in it being a small selection of mons. Not sure why they wouldn't use more. It's not like money was an issue if good impressions were to be made. From what I saw of the trailers, it seems like Pokemon were thrown in for the sake of having them in the scene.
If I may ask, how were inserted into the scenes? Were they just there to have a Pokemon in frame or were their inclusions appropriate? Does anything ever feel like "Here's a Pokemon in CGI! Here, look at it!"?
 

Kent Freeze

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Any thoughts on age appropriateness of the movie? Would it be too scary for younger children (mine are 9, 6, and 4)?
 

The Binder Guy

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Very interesting! I'm glad to see that the film is taking a nuanced approach to introducing Pokemon to a wider audience and that, as he director said a previous Tweet, the film would avoid the dreaded "video game movie" curse! In regards to the film's canon and certain things contradicting its placement with other forms of Pokemon media it should be noted that Pokemon cards HAVE appeared in the early days of the anime (IIRC they were used whenever Team Rocket needed to identify a Pokemon they encounter) but they had to be edited into flashcards for international airings due to laws regarding advertising laws.

And we still don't have any info about what the second card in the movie promo booster pack is...
 

Water Pokémon Master

I like Pokemon more than you! :p
Webmaster
Elite Member
Advanced Member
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If I may ask, how were inserted into the scenes? Were they just there to have a Pokemon in frame or were their inclusions appropriate? Does anything ever feel like "Here's a Pokemon in CGI! Here, look at it!"?
They put a lot of thought into which Pokemon should appear where. Joltik on power lines, Flabebe and Comfey in the forests, etc.

Any thoughts on age appropriateness of the movie? Would it be too scary for younger children (mine are 9, 6, and 4)?
Nah, anyone can watch it!

In regards to the film's canon and certain things contradicting its placement with other forms of Pokemon media it should be noted that Pokemon cards HAVE appeared in the early days of the anime (IIRC they were used whenever Team Rocket needed to identify a Pokemon they encounter) but they had to be edited into flashcards for international airings due to laws regarding advertising laws.

And we still don't have any info about what the second card in the movie promo booster pack is...
That still doesn't explain how Pikachu knew the Pokemon theme song. XD
The promo pack comes with the exclusive Detective Pikachu promo and one random card from the Detective Pikachu set.
 

hervul

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I wanted to know what the distribution of Pokemon were in the movie. It seems I was right in it being a small selection of mons. Not sure why they wouldn't use more. It's not like money was an issue if good impressions were to be made. From what I saw of the trailers, it seems like Pokemon were thrown in for the sake of having them in the scene.
If I may ask, how were inserted into the scenes? Were they just there to have a Pokemon in frame or were their inclusions appropriate? Does anything ever feel like "Here's a Pokemon in CGI! Here, look at it!"?
I didn't feel like they were shoving CGI Pokemon up my eyes. It was more like me trying to recognise them on screen. "Oh, there's a Totodile, did you see it?" "What's that moving on the corner?" Just like in the trailer, things are happening and there are people and Pokemon everywhere in the city.
 

Asrialys

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I wanted to know what the distribution of Pokemon were in the movie. It seems I was right in it being a small selection of mons. Not sure why they wouldn't use more. It's not like money was an issue if good impressions were to be made. From what I saw of the trailers, it seems like Pokemon were thrown in for the sake of having them in the scene.
I think it's a case of The Pokemon Company putting their foot down on what to approve. During the credits, I think there was one listing of Pokemon staff that said something like "CGI Approval." Since the models are based off someone's fanart, I imagine the Pokemon Company not liking certain designs or thinking "this is enough."
 

Silktree

Time Traveler
Member
I didn't notice several Pokemon that did appear. Any more would have done nothing for me.

That still doesn't explain how Pikachu knew the Pokemon theme song. XD
If it isn't just an easter egg, then the anime may be an in-universe show loosely based on Red's journey. It's a nice idea.
 

Lostlorn Forest

Alola is the best region
Member
This was pretty much the only movie this year I cared about seeing. To say the least, I was disappointed. None of the jokes from Pikachu were funny to me, the plot was too simple yet convoluted, the detective work felt sparse and contrived, and only while the credits rolled did it start to look and feel like it took place in the Pokemon world. Pokemon means the world to me, so I didn't walk in looking for flaws, but it just seemed so purposeless. It's reminiscent of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so if you enjoy those you'll like this. But for humor in movies these days it feels like they've neglected quality in favor of quantity. The CGI and visuals never bothered me, and Pikachu is so darn cute, but the characters and the script felt so flat. I don't regret going because I want to support anything with Pokemon in its name, especially at this huge scale, but I can't really say I had fun.
 

crystal_pidgeot

Bird Trainer *Vaporeon on PokeGym*
Member
This was pretty much the only movie this year I cared about seeing. To say the least, I was disappointed. None of the jokes from Pikachu were funny to me, the plot was too simple yet convoluted, the detective work felt sparse and contrived, and only while the credits rolled did it start to look and feel like it took place in the Pokemon world. Pokemon means the world to me, so I didn't walk in looking for flaws, but it just seemed so purposeless. It's reminiscent of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so if you enjoy those you'll like this. But for humor in movies these days it feels like they've neglected quality in favor of quantity. The CGI and visuals never bothered me, and Pikachu is so darn cute, but the characters and the script felt so flat. I don't regret going because I want to support anything with Pokemon in its name, especially at this huge scale, but I can't really say I had fun.

I've heard a lot of people saying this. They said the beginning of the movie was great but started falling apart in the second and third acts. I really think they went in thinking "what if we made Pikachu Deadpool" and went from there. Now part of me wonders how this would have ended up if Danny Devito got the role.
 

Snowy Lilacs

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Just saw the movie tonight. One part I loved was the inclusion of that Detective movie from Home Alone. It was that movie that was playing in Harry's apartment, when Tim first enters.

Ryan was good, just wish he had a little more emotion to his voice during certain points. Like when Eevee evolved in to Flareon, I think he needed to sound a little more excited....I dunno maybe thats just me?
 
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