Pokémon was a major facet of the childhood of anyone that grew up in the 2000s and watched television. It premiered in the U.S. in 1998 with the first season “Indigo League.” It came on every day and there were always new adventures to experience with Ash, Misty, Brock, and of course, Pikachu.
If you somehow are not familiar with the franchise, it is essentially an adventure following Ash Ketchum, a ten-year-old boy who dreams to be the best Pokémon trainer. Pokémon are these beings that resemble animals, but mostly with strange powers and physical features- some even showing signs of higher reasoning and communication. It was a great little time killer before school or after. Pokémon has always been immensely popular, spawning card games, graphic comics, encyclopedias, and several video games.
Earlier this year, a spinoff game was released for the 3DS titled Detective Pikachu. The player plays as Tim Goodman, the only one who can understand what the detective Pokémon is saying. For comparison, it is like the gameplay of the Professor Layton or Ace Attorney series.
It was well-received by the masses and is praised for its “humor, twists, and a sassy electric rodent” On Metacritic, the game has a solid 70 Metascore, but on IGN the game ranks an 8.2 out of 10 while Amazon reviews hail the game at an 8.4 out of 10, bringing the average rating to a 3.9/5. One might not consider this to be that high of a ranking, but it was high enough for someone to fund a Detective Pikachu film.
Yes, a film. A live-action one at that. It stars Justice Smith as Tim Goodman and fan-favorite Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu. There is some excitement revolving around the film that is set to premiere in 2019. However, it can’t be denied that there’s something bizarre about the CGI of the film.
Watch the trailer and see for yourself.
See? There’s something off-putting about seeing Pikachu with texture. Was Pikachu always a furry Pokémon? Ryan Reynolds’ signature comedic tone shines through the character of Pikachu. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up for debate. Surely to fit the “sassy electric rodent” ideal, Reynolds has all the sass (as we can see in any role he plays) required.
In my opinion, I think the entire concept of a manly Pikachu is a little strange. When I first saw the trailer, I thought that some obscure fandom on Tumblr had somehow come together to produce a film for their own amusement. I thought this might have been a fan-made production and Ryan Reynolds is known to be silly, so I thought maybe he was just playing along, but this is an actual film. Well, I will watch this movie later and return to write my thoughts.