POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU

With how big Pokemon still is since it began in the 90s, I'm surprised a film like Pokemon Detective Pikachu hasn't come along sooner. Combining live action with digitally created monsters is something we haven't seen from Pokemon yet and with Ryan Reynolds, a man who could just about sell anything, on board, this film has the potential to open up this franchise to a whole new audience.

When Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) learns of his father's death, he travels to Ryme City, a place where humans and Pokemon live alongside one another, to find answers. It's not long before he comes across an intelligent talking Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds), determined to prove Tim's father isn't actually dead.

Waiting for Detective Pikachu to start, I was sat not knowing what to expect at all, and I don't think I was the only one. Even without knowing much about Pokemon, this film is an immensely entertaining ride, full of plenty of gags and solid action sequences. Kids will love the amount of Pokemon that are scattered throughout to spot while adults can enjoy some of the surprisingly risqué jokes littered here and there. 

Jokes and Pokemon aside, there's a surprisingly emotional narrative to be found, it just chooses to make some major revelations at some rather bizarre times. There's one moment that should have come way earlier than it did and I'll never understand why they decided to leave it until the very end.

Coming to the performances, Detective Pikachu has Ryan Reynolds firing on all cylinders with a fine vocal performance as Pikachu, combining with fantastic visual effects to bring the cutest character of 2019 to life. The human side of the film is where things are found to be lacking a little, Justice Smith not really bringing anything interesting to the role and Kathryn Newton getting nowhere enough screen time to make any impact.

In all honesty, I enjoyed Detective Pikachu a lot more than I imagined I would, Ryan Reynolds being the film's saving grace. He's a smart man really because we all know the next Deadpool film, whenever that may be, will see him making enough references about playing the little yellow guy.

Verdict: ★★★