Official Rating: PG
If your father apparently died in a car crash but you find his Pokémon partner still alive, what would you do? You could adopt the Pokémon, try to find your father, and ultimately end up uncovering a plot to upend the world by fusing people with their Pokémon! Welcome to Ryme City, where people and Pokémon live in harmony without Trainers, battles, or anything you would consider typical in a human-Pokémon relationship. Built by Howard Clifford, a self-proclaimed visionary icon, it revolutionizes the affiliation between humans and these amazing creatures.
Tim Goodman, the son of a famous detective, travels here to say goodbye after the above-metioned crash. Instead, he finds the above-mentioned Pokémon, who is an adorable, tough-talking Pikachu that only he can understand. Heading out together, they discover that an important figure of the city is illegally experimenting on the creatures with a serum that makes them go wild. Eventually, this unravels into a greater conspiracy involving the founder of Ryme City, the changing of Pokémon as we know them, and one of the most powerful Pokémon known to fans: Mewtwo.
Good Parts: Seeing Pokemon as they would be in real life is really neat. The tech of the world is likewise fascinating. There is an interesting avoidance of battles not typical for anything in Pokémon. The Home Alone gangster movie appears in a scene. Great cinematics and excellent acting are featured within. Everyone plays the part he seems most fitted to and famous for. There are many instances of humor. The power of hope is a key element in the theme of the film, as Tim and Pikachu persist in their efforts to find Harry Goodman. Longtime Pokémon fans will notice several easter eggs. The musical score is terrific, adding a lot to the tone of the scenes. And Mewtwo is a fascinating Pokémon. Everything is excellently done, from the story to the appearance to the appeal.
Religion: None, unless you take the utterance of "sweet mother of Arceus" as a religious reference(Arceus purportedly being the Pokemon that created the world).
Violence: At the very beginning Mewtwo escapes its laboratory and Tim’s father’s car crashes. When Tim, who doesn‘t have a Pokémon at the beginning, tries to catch a Cubone, the catch fails and the creature chases him, unleashing a Bonemerang(a Pokémon attack). After he and the Pikachu meet, they are chased by a horde of serum-crazed Aipom. Even though Pokemon battles are forbidden in Ryme City, there is an illegal fight club. The sequence containing it can get intense, much more than battling in the video game is. A Mr. Mime is threatened via pantomime. (Slight spoiler)Mewtwo is captured with some kind of painful-looking electrical devices. At the climax there is a tremendous battle, as may be expected from Legendary Studios(They also made many kaiju movies). It’s terrific if you like that sort of thing. However, it’s a lot for a city where battling is illegal.
Sexual Content: Does a Pika-butt wiggle count? During the Aipom chase scene, Pikachu comments that they seem to be attracted to Tim’s increasing nudeness, as he has to remove his pants to escape when the Aipom grab them. Pikachu is rather flirtatious, taking advantage of the fact that no one but Tim can hear him. Most notably, Tim has a crush on Lucy, a junior investigative reporter who helps them out quite a lot. Pikachu gives him mini-lectures on how to talk to women. The (male)owner of the illegal fight club goes shirtless, wearing only a coat on the upper area. Nothing really breaches the bounds of decency, however. This is PG after all.
Language: Lucy’s boss is harsh, delivering his advice with condemnation and ridiculing her sense of fashion. There’s a few insults and quite a few questionable words. The Mr. Mime “tells“ them he can shove it, God’s name is used in vain twice by two characters and “damn” and “hell” are each heard once, surprisingly by the innocent-looking Pikachu. Be sure to know that just because a Pikachu says something doesn’t mean you should, too.
Supernatural: Mewtwo’s powers, although really cool, are of an unspecified origin and terrifyingly strong. No real issue, but unknowns are unknowns.
Other: Two problematic father relationships occur, one distant, one hostile. Tim doesn’t like Pokémon at the beginning because his father spent more time with them than him. The Clifford father-son issue is similar. Tim’s mother has died prior to the events of the movie. Pikachu pees a little with excitement(off-screen). A suspenseful sequence occurs when the team visits the Pokémon genetic research lab. They are chased by Greninja and have the ground upended under their feet because they were walking on GIANT Torterra. A comment is heard on climate change. Pikachu nearly dies from the Torterra altercation. Mewtwo’s appearance and voice can be disturbing. Poor Pikachu leaves the team at one point, believing that all he does is hurt the people who need him. A Ditto behaves weirdly and hostilely.
Summary: Combining great cinematography, brilliant acting, a great story, and terrific creatures, Detective Pikachu is definitely worth a watch. Those who have been Pokémon fans will greatly enjoy seeing their favorite creatures, and those who don’t even know what Pokémon are can still enjoy this movie. At its core it is the story of a father and son, who finally realize how much they mean to each other, reconcile the past, and move forward in partnership into the future. It can be enjoyed by anyone. Score 9/10
Addendum: If you don’t know what the Pokémon specified in this article are, here is a handy picture gallery.
Cubone
Torterra
Mr. Mime
Aipom
Arceus
Mewtwo
Pikachu
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