Review: Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a surprisingly solid and satisfying piece of entertainment that should please both those familiar and unfamiliar with the Pokémon franchise created by Satoshi Tajiri as well as the 2016 video game, Detective Pikachu.

Directed by Rob Letterman, who co-helmed Shark Tale and Monsters vs. Aliens, the film predominantly takes place in Ryme City, which is designed as a cross between Blade Runner and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Into this world of massive skyscrapers and vibrant billboards where humans and Pokémon happily and peacefully co-exist enters Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), a 21-year-old insurance salesman who once harboured dreams of becoming a Pokémon trainer until his mother died and he was left with an absentee father. Tim is in Ryme City under unhappy circumstances: he's come to collect the belongings of his father Harry, a private investigator who died in a car crash.

After meeting with his father's friend, Detective Hideo Yoshida (Ken Watanabe in an all-too-brief appearance) and his grumpy Pokémon, Tim heads over to Harry's apartment where he encounters two figures of interest. One is Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton), a plucky junior reporter who believes that there's more to Harry's death than is being revealed; and Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), an adorable yellow fuzzball who turns out to be his father's partner and who has been struck with amnesia. Amazingly, Tim and Pikachu can actually understand and talk to one another, something no other human-Pokémon pairing is capable of doing. The duo soon find themselves exploring Ryme City's underbelly to uncover the truth behind Harry's death.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu delights with the appearances of the various Pokémon, from Lucy's Psyduck, who has a tendency to explode when stressed to an amusingly annoying mime whom Tim and Pikachu interrogate in one of the film's best moments. Reynolds buoys the proceedings with his trademark sardonicism, tossing off wisecracks that never fail to tickle the funny bone. The film does peter out in its final third, when some twists are thrown in the mix and sloppiness in the execution stomps in, somewhat ruining the fun. Nevertheless, the film is an auspicious entry in a potential future franchise.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Directed by: Rob Letterman

Written by: Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, Rob Letterman, Derek Connolly; based on Detective Pikachu by Creatures, Inc.

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Bill Nighy, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe, Omar Chaparro, Rita Ora