Part of me still can’t quite believe Detective Pikachu is a real movie that’s happening. Not because it’s ridiculous that one of the most popular characters in the world has a film all his own, it’s just damn strange to hear the ultimate Pokemon voiced by Ryan Reynolds. And Ken Watanabe is in this, too! How does that compute?? But it’s real, the trailer is here, and you know? It looks just damned crazy enough to work.
Take a look at this thing. The cyberpunk feel of Ryme City, where the story takes place, looks like something out of Akira or Blade Runner, and that’s just weird. But it works for this place where Pokemon and humans live together in harmony, and that’s where Detective Pikachu puts on his deerstalker hat and solves some crimes. He’s teamed up with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom star Justice Smith in helping to find the latter’s missing father. If you’re able to get past Pikachu sounding like Deadpool this is actually quite a lot of fun. I just don’t know if it’ll be possible for people to get beyond that voice.
Here’s the synopsis: The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to communicate with one another, Tim and Pikachu join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City—a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world—they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.
Directed by Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) with Kathryn Newton, Reynolds’ Deadpool pal Karan Soni, Bill Nighy, and Suki Waterhouse co-starring, Detective Pikachu opens May 10th 2019.
