Detective Pikachu Is Not A Pokemon Movie
Welcome back to Pokemon Movies in Review, a weekly recap of the entire Pokemon cinematic universe. This week we’re taking a detour from the animated series to re-examine 2019’s Detective Pikachu, the first-ever live-action Pokemon movie and the first produced outside of Japan. Detective Pikachu follows the time (dis)honored video game movie tradition of bastardizing the source material in an effort to appeal to a wider audience. Reasoning that fans will show up either way, movies like Super Mario Bros., Resident Evil, Monster Hunter, and Sonic the Hedgehog have all abandoned the stories and characters of the worlds they're based on. Detective Pikachu left a bad taste in my mouth when I first watched it, and upon a second viewing my distaste for it has only increased. Regardless of whether or not you enjoy the movie, there’s no denying that Detective Pikachu is a poor representation of the world of Pokemon.
Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is a down-and-out insurance agent in his 20s who once dreamed of being a Pokemon trainer. While Tim’s backstory is only vaguely referenced, we can surmise that the death of his mother at a young age led to a strained relationship with his father, which also steered Tim away from being a Pokemon trainer. Tim loses his interest in Pokemon until he learns of the death of his father, Harry. He travels to Ryme City where he meets a talking Pikachu with amnesia (Ryan Reynolds) who is investigating Harry’s death, and the two set off an adventure to uncover the truth of a grand Pokemon conspiracy.
Related: Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You Neutered Ash's Origin Story
Almost immediately, it’s clear that the world of Detective Pikachu is unlike the ‘real’ Pokemon universe in many ways. Ryme City, where
Read more on thegamer.com
