While it’s unfortunate that a perfectly enjoyable movie like “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” should share a theater with an essentially PERFECT film (*cough*Endgame*cough*), it does easily earn two very important accolades:
A) It is the greatest video game film of all time by a pretty huge margin
B) It is, by an almost equally large margin, the best Pokemon story ever told
This movie accomplished things that the game developers haven’t in over two decades of releases. So here, in no particular order, are 4 lessons the source material could learn from Rob Letterman’s big screen adaptation.
Make the Premise a Little Kinder
Ever since a big budget Pokemon movie was announced, I wondered how they would tell a family-friendly story in a seemingly cruel universe; the average citizen is EXPECTED to capture wild animals to make them fight each other for sport. Pretty rough, right?
Well thankfully, this script establishes early on that for a Pokemon to be captured, said creature must CHOOSE the trainer as well, or in other words, consent. And then there’s Ryme City: a utopia in which Pokemon and humans live as equals. Speaking of the setting…
Make the World Feel Lived In
Everything in this cinematic version is fully realized, from Squirtles being trained as firefighters to the way Loudreds also double as a DJ’s living subwoofer. In almost every single shot, there is a Pokemon doing something adorable and fascinating in the background, and the games have just never reached this level of immersion. Usually the creature is just standing motionless next to their trainer, who in turn is doing nothing but standing around waiting for the main character. Let me remind you, this was in a game released in 2018.
Make Your Main Character Actually a Character
While Justice Smith is drowned out in every scene by the sound of Ryan Reynolds chewing up the digital scenery, the two had something very important in common: their characters were likable. Tim Goodman because his struggle to find his dad is laced with relatable emotional baggage (giving the movie it’s thematic focus), and Pikachu because… well honestly, we’ve known since the first trailer that he was going to be equal parts hilarious and endearing. Compare this to the wordless, faceless, emotionless protagonists in the Pokemon games and… well there is no comparison, actually.
Make a Story Worth Telling
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Detective Pikachu is actually a story, complete with character folly, plot twists, thrilling set pieces, and a heartfelt message about opening up your heart to a world that often makes you feel vulnerable. It’s not the greatest story ever, and at a brisk 105 minutes, they probably could have explained a few of the more confusing plot points a little better. But I was still invested. The Pokemon games accomplish this with the rewarding gameplay loop of catching new Pokemon, leveling them up, rinse, repeat. It’s so ironic that in a genre (RPGs) famous for its complex and compelling stories this series takes so few chances.
Not something they were worried about over at Warner Brothers. The Mr Mime scene ALONE took more risks than the franchise has in 8 iterations.
So take note, Pokemon Company. And while you’re at it, we’d like VR Pokemon Snap, if it’s not too much trouble. But in the meantime, thanks WB for a really entertaining movie.
Before we begin, I wish to make three disclaimers:
LiterallyALL THE SPOILERS AHEAD, so go see it first. Seriously. It’s fantastic. It’s greater than the sum of all 22 of its parts. It’s a three hour movie that doesn’t feel too long. It’s funny, heart-wrenching, thrilling, and the pay-off we all deserve. I cannot say enough good things about it. Faith restored.
Despite how critical I sound, I didn’t HATE any of these moments. Some just worked better than others.
I had to go to the bathroom three times, so if I’m missing an amazing scene, please let me know in the comments.
And now, without further ado, every moment from this epic epic, ranked from “worst” to best.
Before we begin, I wish to make three disclaimers:
LiterallyALL THE SPOILERS AHEAD, so go see it first. Seriously. It’s fantastic. It’s greater than the sum of all 22 of its parts. It’s a three hour movie that doesn’t feel too long. It’s funny, heart-wrenching, thrilling, and the pay-off we all deserve. I cannot say enough good things about it. Faith restored.
Despite how critical I sound, I didn’t HATE any of these moments. Some just worked better than others.
I had to go to the bathroom three times, so if I’m missing an amazing scene, please let me know in the comments.
And now, without further ado, every moment from this epic epic, ranked from “worst” to best.
32) Hawkeye for an Eye- Clint going on a faceless-villain killing spree after his family dies is stupidly cliche
31) One too many Cap Speeches- I hope you like your films like you like your pizza: warm and cheesy.
30) Come and Get Your Concussion- Knocking out Quill to pre-steal the power stone was just kinda funny
29) Bruce Rolls a Natural 20- Convincing the Ancient One to hand over the Time Stone felt a little too easy.
28) Picnic Panic- Watching Clint lose his family was rough, but the mom dutifully serving lunch felt cringe
27) Hulk Snaps- While I enjoyed the suspense/uncertainty that follows this moment, it’s weird that a finger snap is actually required to activate the stones powers, except all the times in the movie when it’s not
26) Iron Man Snaps- For such a hugely important moment, the “I am Iron Man” line felt eye-rollingly forced
25) Time Heist is Botched when Loki AGAIN Steals the Tesseract- What a wascally wabbit. You could practically hear the Benny Hill theme in this scene
24) Nebula Shoots Herself- I feel like the “evil” Nebula went down way too easy for the sake of pacing
23) Thor Goes for the Head- Aside from a clever moment in which you think Thanos is altering reality to defend himself but it’s really the Hulk Buster breaking through the floor, this scene is underwhelming
22) My Self-Righteous Suicide- The cliffs of Vormir is a great motif, but wondering which of the two most insignificant Avengers would successfully kill themselves lacked the punch it should have had.
21) Thor Abides- it’s nice that Valkyrie gets crowned the “king” and all, but the new role feels out of character
20) Tony and the Intergalactic Facetime- Paper football is cute, and Tony’s goodbye felt appropriately emotional
19) Iron Dad- this film’s packed to the brim with father/daughter moments, but “Love You 3000” is a good one
18) Let Me Guess, He Turned into a Baby- who doesn’t love a “working out the kinks” tech montage?
17) Scott Reconnects with Cassie- Checking the wall of the dead, and finding her alive? Instant tears
16) America’s Ass- Cap fighting his past self wasn’t surreal enough to stop him from ogling his own butt. Nice.
15) Tony Invents Time Travel- It had been way too long since we had a “Tony does his homework” montage.
14) Every Time Brie Larson entered the shot like a literal shooting star- I will never get tired of her entrances, especially sporting her new do.
13) The Funeral- The Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart is also proof that we love RDJ even more than we realized
12) That 70’s Show- Giving Tony the father/son talk he always deserved/needed was touching, and Steve’s creepy Jim Halpert impersonation sets the movie up for that incredible final shot
11) Passing the Torch/Shield- Old Cap made me so happy, but passing the mantle to Sam? Even happier. Hope it made racists everywhere uncomfortable
10) Emaciated, Stir Crazy Tony DESTROYS Boy Scout Steve Upon Reunion- Were we really expecting a hug?
9) Professor Hulk Takes a Seflie with Fans at a Diner- the precise moment I knew this movie would rock
8) The Taco- I had a very lousy Monday, but still laughed on three separate occasions when I remembered this masterpiece of silent slapstick.
7) Thor Handles His Mommy Issues- you know a movie’s good when it retroactively redeems DARK WORLD.
6) Elevator Redux- Everything about this scene. The tension. The parallelism. The way Steve defeats the entire platoon with a single, sly “Hail Hydra” is both really smart writing and a nod to fans of the comics & films.
5) The Future is Female- suspend your disbelief and realize that this gorgeous, empowering team-up moment is a giant middle finger to all the dude bros who review bombed Captain Marvel. Plus, there’s a freakin’ pegasus.
4) Cap Proves He’s Worthy- the most thrilling, shocking, satisfying, and important fight in the whole film. My whole theater got chills.
3) Thor Really Lets Himself Go- Fat shaming aside, seeing Thor bicker with kids on Xbox Live and belligerently request a Blood Mary is yet another believable, endearing, & hilarious reinvention of the character. The only thing that would have made it better would have been the addition of Darryl as a third flatmate.
2)The Gang’s All Here- I never thought they could pull it off, but when the resurrected heroes, all several thousand of them, return from the dead to fight Thanos’ army, it ACTUALLY felt surprising, moving, and most importantly, earned. Spider-Man’s instant kill. Black Panther emerging from the Lion King sunrise. That look on Hope’s face. IT’S ALL SO DAMN GOOD!!!
1)The Dance- Maybe it’s because I’ve always been Team Cap, but what a perfect way to close a perfect film. I cried tears of pure joy.
I’m just as excited for Endgame as you are. Maybe even more so, as I’ve successfully avoided every spoiler, trailer, and interview they’ve released. But at some point, one of two things will happen to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
1) The general public’s interest will somehow never wain and the literally never-ending-story will achieve an almost Biblical sense of cultural gravitas.
Or
2) Fatigue is going to set in eventually.
Someday soon, the Marvel movies will generate so much income that they will also begin to generate their own responsibilities and boundaries. These films have made more money than several dozen countries do in a year, and so many livelihoods and jobs rely on their success that, for the sake of the common good, a formula will be derived to make these movies as accessible and profitable as possible.
And unfortunately that’s just not a very good way to tell stories.
The warning signs have been visible for awhile. Marvel even announced sequels for characters we’re supposed to believe are dead, for Pete’s sake! If that isn’t the best example of studio getting in the way of story, I don’t know what is.
DC has enjoyed no such crippling success, and thus have, on occasion, made more interesting, relevant movies as a result.
Whereas the “phases” of the MCU were planned out so far in advance that their stories lagged behind social norms, Patty Jenkins beat Anna Boden to the punch two years early when she crafted the first female lead in modern comic book filmography (and it was a darn good movie too!)
Which brings us to “Shazam!” being in theatres at the same time as “Captain Marvel,” which is either ironic or appropriate considering how familiar you are with their namesakes.
And I’m shocked to say, DC came out on top this round.
Both films are not quite perfect, in that they both feature some questionable acting and drag at different parts of the script. But whereas CM was cursed to live in the looming shadow that is Endgame, “Shazam!” Is free to explore more interesting, complicated, and important storylines. While it’s being advertised as a big-budget action-version of Tom Hanks’ “Big,” it is actually a heart-wrenching, inspiring, shockingly honest portrayal of the foster care system, warts and all.
And yes, it’s also very, very funny.
One gets the sense while watching “Shazam!” that it’s actually ABOUT something. That there’s a theme, a message, and a moral to be learned here. Nay, that such things are the point of the movie’s existence, and such clarity of purpose has not been felt in the Marvel mythos for many, many years.
And that’s why, I’m shocked to say, I’m kinda more looking forward to “Joker.”
