Film Review: Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

"So You’re A Talking Pikachu With No Memories, Who’s Addicted To Caffeine..."

For those who happen fall into my particular age group, the original worldwide boom of Pokémon during the 1990's was something of which defined an entire generation of die hard fans eager to collect each and every rare trading card, every cutely designed and easily swallowed toy, and for me personally, play their way through absorbing Pokémon contests on many different modes of video game consoles as they developed from the brick-esque solidness of the Nintendo GameBoy to the high-tech, high definition box of tricks which make up the market today. With big screen adaptations of popular video games famously not faring too well with both critics and the box office when released upn eager audiences, recent years have at least attempted to bring some respectability to the transition, with Assassin's Creed and Warcraft my own particular cinematic saviours, and what we have with Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a movie which although is by no means perfect, is most definitely a fan pleasing, visually satisfying solid work of child friendly drama which managed to make me laugh and gasp in awe at the world in which I was treated to, and even for someone with only a basic understanding of the Pokémon universe, was a movie which passed the time rather splendidly. 

Directed by Rob Letterman, a filmmaker with a knack for successfully cultivating generic family adventure movies in the ilk of Goosebumps and Gulliver's Travels, Detective Pikachu boasts not only one screenwriters but four, and whilst nowadays it can be usual practice for a movie to have a whole army of different thoughts being put onto paper, Letterman's movie undoubtedly suffers as a consequence of such a decision, with the central murder mystery narrative not exactly worth the time or effort come the final revelation in which every left turn greets us with a twist which even the softest of minds can see from around a mile off. Where the film does overwhelmingly succeed however is in the world in which the narrative plays out, with its' Blade Runner esque, neo-noir futureworld featuring enough neon lights to short circuit most counties whilst beaming with cute Pokémon at every corner which resulted in many of the fellow cinemagoers rightly exclaiming their delight at witnessing their favourite digital characters materialise upon the big screen. With a well designed leading Pikachu featuring the comedic tones of Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool 2) and a well meaning, optimistic sensibility, Letterman's latest is by no means a classic, but with enough positive elements to pass the time nicely, Detective Pikachu is another step in the right direction for big screen video game adaptations. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Blockers

"Our Girls Are Not Thinking Things Through. I'm Going To Stop Them..."

Directed by cinematic first-timer Kay Cannon, whose previous credits lie solely on each of the screenplays for the highly successful Pitch Perfect trilogy, Blockers is a ripe, rude and well-meaning coming of age American comedy which features Leslie Mann (How To Be Single), Ike Barinholtz (Snatched) and John Cena (Daddy's Home 2) as three out-of-touch parents who attempt to thwart their respective daughter's plans for prom night after discovering a "sex pact" between them whilst generously snooping on their online, social media based conversation. With Bad Moms showcasing that preconceptions regarding American comedies sometimes shouldn't be entirely faithfully adhered to at all times, Blockers is yet another fairly successful U.S based romp which not only manages to mix a heartwarming soul with well-worked elements of ludicrous comedy, but also develops its' characters of both generations to a telling degree that each works as an individual rather than a two-dimensional caricature, and even if at times, the narrative dwindles into a wacky mix of saccharin sweetness and silliness with a runtime which overplays its' hand for at least twenty minutes longer than necessary, Cannon's movie is a solid and enjoyable directorial debut. 

With Cena's Mitchell playing hilariously against type, with his imposing, muscular demeanour being offset with a personality which cries at the first flicker of emotional weakness and favours tucked-in chequered shirts and easily mocked crew cut haircuts, and Leslie Mann's Lisa Decker ferociously abstaining against anything to do with her daughter's ascent into adulthood, it is left to Barinholtz's Hunter to steady the ship, with his character heeding the warning of the consequences of his fellow parents' actions, even when his own strange, sometimes excruciatingly awkward personality promotes him as the worst father figure type imaginable. With big-screen newcomers, Gideon Adlon, Geraldine Viswanathan and Kathryn Newton (Lady Bird) as the troublesome trio of teenagers eager to rid themselves of their sexual innocence, their superb chemistry also aids the film's sense of appeal, particularly in regards to their familiar and overly contemporary use of youthful language and prom night experiences, and with the movie balancing all of its' characters with empathetic ease, Blockers is the type of movie which yes, is of course not the most original or entirely captivating in history, but for a hundred minutes swing, is wickedly enjoyable and earns kudos for featuring the best naked BDSM game scene in comedy history. Yeah, that's the selling point if ever there was one. 

Overall Score: 6/10