I used to be addicted to the Japanese GPS-aided mobile game Pokémon Go. In fact, I once tripped over a dodgy bit of paving stone and smashed my phone because I was so intent on capturing a Jynx (stupid paving stone). My point is, you don’t have to be a kid to be seduced by this multimedia franchise, which has been around since 1996 and is about to add a lot of money to its coffers.
The first live-action Pokémon (the creatures are CGI but the humans are for real) is full of impressively intricate landscapes and makes wonderful use of Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds, as the voice of the franchise’s mascot, Pikachu. Reynolds is in his element when allowed to be goofy, and this stuff is nothing if not surreal, especially in the second act.
Humans and Pokémons live side by side but can’t hold intelligent conversations with one another. When youngster Tim (Justice Smith) learns that his estranged detective dad has been murdered, he becomes entangled in a mystery that involves a millionaire (Bill Nighy, good fun), a scientist (Rita Ora) and, last but not least, his dad’s fluffy partner, Pikachu.
Pikachu, whom Tim can understand perfectly, is suffering from amnesia. He also drinks endless cups of coffee and seems to be a fan of Seinfeld. On noticing that Tim’s bedroom is crammed with Pikachu merchandise, the little tyke says: “Are you going to turn me into a lampshade?” Nor is he the only decent character. A self-defeating thesp called Mr Mime deserves his own movie. As in cult flop The Happytime Murders, noir tropes are recycled. The difference here? The gags are actually pretty funny.
