Legendary Pictures' Detective Pikachu (May 2019)

[gottatalktothefake]

What time should we expect reviews by tomorrow?

[Chris55]

What time should we expect reviews by tomorrow?

They go up tonight. Forgot the time.

[cloverfan98]

Saw it tonight and loved it! Great acting, dialog, and humor. The Pokemon all looked great and the effects were terrific.

[MikeSTZillak]

Is Mewtwo more like the Japanese version or 4Kids' version?

[Rhedosaurus]

Just curious, Lugia, the ocean dragon-bird Pokemon in this movie?

No.

Hopefully, he's in a sequel.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I just saw Detective Pikachu. Honestly, it’s really good. It had some issues, namely it feels very quickly paced. I wished that some of the Pokémon battles were more actual battles. The end game of the film is a little wtfy, but overall it’s a really solid film, and Pokémon film. I’ll also say that it’s both rewarding and punishing being a serious Pokémon fan walking in because you can sortve figure out what’s going on well in advance. Also, for consistency sakes, it does feel like a movie that could take place within the actual Pokémon game franchise and even within the context of the anime. Not that that matters, but it’s reeally astounding to see a video game movie done right.

High recommendation!

Also regarding the “forest scene”:

Spoiler:

What was up with those Kaiju sized Torterras! Like I get they were doing some genetic expiremental, and I liked that, but damn were they big. It sortve felt like a nod to the Legendary Company making a lot of giant creature films.

Added in 1 minute :

Just curious, Lugia, the ocean dragon-bird Pokemon in this movie?

No.

I won’t say too much but Lugia does appear

[gottatalktothefake]

Spoiler:

So I heard Red cameos, what does he do?

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

It seems like the people who like this film really like it, I was surprised by how mixed the reviews are. Still gonna see it opening day.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Spoiler:

So I heard Red cameos, what does he do?

I suggest going into the movie not hoping for too much any specific things character wise related to the games. Just enjoy it as it’s own thing.

Spoiler:

I think maybe he might been in a brief scene where it shows a big Pokémon battle in a large stadium. He doesn’t really do anything but throw out a pokeball in that regard.

And yeah Mr. Goji Watch, I really liked the movie but it does have its issues. Still it accomplished everything it wanted to do and more. I’ll talk more about these things once others on the forum have actually seen the movie.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

The one thing every positive review, and a few mixed ones, have talked about is how wonderfully the film sucks you into the world of Pokemon.

[LSD Jellyfish]

The one thing every positive review, and a few mixed ones, have talked about is how wonderfully the film sucks you into the world of Pokemon.

Unfortunately that also makes you want to see more. I wish the film was longer and I’m already very excited to see the sequel. While the film has a satisfying amount of Pokémon, especially considering the daunting amount of Pokémon in existence, it does make you hungry for more. There’s some noticeable fan favorites that can easily be inserted into a sequel.

[SoggyNoodles2016]

it seems someone's leaked the full movie

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

I know it doesn't mean shit because I'm just spreading second-hand knowledge but a friend of mine that I really trust heard this was "fucking great and had tons of heart." I'm gonna end up eating crow once an old post of mine where I say this is gonna suck or something gets quoted but that early word and trailers really do inspire confidence.

They were right. 8/10, best blockbuster of the year so far. Makes Endgame look even more like made for TV garbage. Really charming film, dialogue was witty, fantastic chemistry between the actors, some bad editing and pacing here and there but man does the world suck you in. Beautiful film, loved the look brought out by the director and the DP, there are some really good bits that are wonderful to take in. Letterman got some really great stuff out of his cast and the world he put them in. The beginning is weak but man the heartwarming theme is really built up. Video game kino.

[gottatalktothefake]

Just saw it, it was alright.

[GojiDog]

Just got back from seeing it.

I am saying this as someone who is not a fan of Pokemon, never played the games (outside of Smash Bros.), and thought the show was annoying when I was a kid.

I liked this movie.

It has problems, but where it really shines is in the world it creates and in bringing the creatures to life. They really do look like perfect renderings of the Pokemon designs and they fit into the world flawlessly. I also like the Detective noir story vibe to it and I wish they had dived even further into that aspect of the film to be honest.

And of course, Pikachu is the star. He's adorable and funny, and Ryan Reynolds' voice turned out to be a perfect choice.

So as a non-fan, I had a good time. I imagine die hards are going to lap this up, but who is to say.

[Tytyvyllvs]

Saw this last night - it's a fun, weird film, though some issues with pacing and a couple of other things held it back from being a great film, for me.

The Pokémon were all amazing thoughout, though, and it was fun looking out for all the references to other Pokémon media scattered through the film.

Hoping that we get more live action Pokémon in future - this was a strong enough start for me!

[Gojira-Fan]

I still haven't seen this yet, but does anyone else think it's weird that this movie debuted so low? Pokemon is the world's biggest media franchise and the trailers generated a lot of hype on social media. 54 million dollars is a lot of money for sure, but compared to other recent blockbuster movies that must be disappointing for WB.

Avengers: Endgame is certainly partially to blame (I'm guessing the majority of people who have still not seen it came out to see it this weekend which combined with people wanting to re-watch this climatic event movie). Pokemon's popularity with the youth and millennial (people in their 20's) demographic was not enough to get people to see the movie. I'm guessing that Endgame might lose the top spot next weekend and so Godzilla should be safe.

This movie might have good legs, however. Aquaman only debuted to 67 million in the U.S., but went on to gross a billion dollars over a sustained period of time. However, Aquaman didn't have as much competition during the winter months so I wonder if Pikachu can pull off the same thing given summer is the most competitive time of year for movies.

Of course, the box office results aren't everything. I'm glad to hear people are actually enjoying this one. I don't know if I'll be able to watch this one in theaters, however (it's not even playing at the movie theater in my city). I never thought a live action Pokemon movie would come to pass, and I'm glad it's getting good reception since video game movies aren't the most well-received.

[UltramanGoji]

People assume success in one medium = success in another.

Pokemon may be a massive media franchise but it's that way because of the games, primarily. The trading cards, toys, books, cartoons, etc. are all just additions onto that. Interest lies in the games because there's a lot more freedom when it comes to the variety of Pokemon and it allows the player to insert themselves into the world.

A movie takes away almost all of that aspect. The amount of Pokemon is limited due to budget constraints and the human protagonists are not extensions of the audience, just characters in the film. Detective Pikachu was an adaption of a relatively obscure game that wasn't part of the main series and doesn't have a lot of the elements that make those games as successful as they are.

The hype can also be attributed to the fact that most people just wanted to see what the Pokemon would look like in live-action. Once the first trailer came out, interest fell. The film's lukewarm reviews were probably also a factor. I know I was excited to see it in theaters but after seeing most of the reviews, I think I can wait it out until digital. Still interested, but not going out of my way.

[HeiseiGodzilla117]

I finally got a chance to see this movie. It was actually really good. As has been stated before, it really does suck you into the world of Pokemon. It's a little slow at the start and the love interest's acting wasn't quite up to snuff. But other than that, this was a very fun movie and I'm excited to see more. Still crossing my fingers for that Red/Blue movie one day.

[master_of_monsters]

I honestly thought those giant torterras were going to be a groudon for a second