Pokemon Detective Pikachu

Satoshi Tajiri’s popular 2016 Nintendo mobile phone video game sent children (and adults) out into the real world to capture Pokémon (i.e., Pocket Monsters), fictional creatures with special skills, such as psychic powers, electric shocks, or sleep-inducing songs. Taking plot points from the game, this story is set in Ryme City, a wondrous experimental world where humans and CGI Pokémon live in relative harmony. Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) is the son of private investigator Harry, who is believed to have died in a fiery car crash, although his body was never found. Arriving in the neon-drenched metropolis, Tim finds his dad’s former partner: cuddly, coffee-guzzling, yellow Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds), who suffers from amnesia and whose snarky, smart-alecky voice only Tim can hear. With the help of cable-news intern Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton), billionaire Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy), and his son Roger (Chris Geere), they are determined to find out what really happened to Harry. Is the culprit Mewtwo, a beastie created by gene-splicing and DNA engineering to be the ultimate fighting machine? Or does the mystery go deeper? There are loads of Pokémon characters on hand, including Psyduck, an excitable quacker who induces headaches; Jigglypuff, a diva chanteuse; Cubone, who wears the goth-like skull of his dead mother; and Charizard, who spurts fiery dragon breath. Director Rob Letterman’s frantic fantasy-adventure is squarely aimed at millennials who are familiar with the cast of characters. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Creating the World” (22 min.), “Mr. Mime’s Audio Commentary” (3 min.), and “My Pokémon Adventure” with costar Justice Smith (2 min.), as well as an alternate opening (2 min.), a “Ryan Reynolds: Outside the Actor’s Studio” segment (2 min.), and the music video “Carry On” by Rita Ora and Kygo. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Detective Mode” pop-up track that features behind-the-scenes footage and trivia during the movie, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a reasonably entertaining film.] (S. Granger)