For the very first live-action Pokémon movie, Detective Pikachu, the obvious choice was made to kick things off with the ultra-cute and ultra-popular Generation I, electric-type Pokémon Pikachu, who is basically the mascot of the franchise. He’s the most recognizable, but far from the only Pokémon out there though, and fortunately for those fans that want to see some badass Pokémon alongside Pikachu, the latest trailer for Detective Pikachu shows off Gyarados and Mewtwo. Take a look:
Wow, how awesome does Gyarados look? The water/flying Pokémon that evolves from the useless Magikarp looks absurdly huge and awesome here. And Mewtwo looks every bit as powerful and enigmatic as he did in 1998’s Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back. In addition to the Pokémon we’ve glimpsed in the previous trailers, I think I also spotted a Pidgeot giving Pikachu a ride.
Pikachu may get top billing, but Detective Pikachu clearly isn’t holding back on giving fans all the coolest Pokémon that they’ve always wanted to see in live action. I imagine spotting all the Pokémon in this movie is going to be quite the task and may be like trying to spot all the pop culture references in Ready Player One. Gotta catch ‘em all! This movie is going to make so much money.
Detective Pikachu is making a brilliant and bold choice to not give in to the temptation to try and make the Pokémon look ultra-realistic. Unlike something like Sonic the Hedgehog, which appears to be (we haven’t seen the final look yet to be fair) attempting a realistic lightning-fast humanoid hedgehog, Detective Pikachu is adapting the Pokémon to the big screen and maintaining the looks fans have grown up with and loved since the mid-'90s.
The nice thing about this latest trailer and what we’ve seen so far is that while seeing all these awesome Pokémon is the selling point, the story and the character interactions also look to be a ton of fun. The interplay between the gung-ho Lucy, played by Kathryn Newton, Justice Smith’s completely out of his element Tim and Ryan Reynolds witty Pikachu is delightful and hilarious.
Poor Tim trying to be smooth and failing spectacularly is great as Ryan Reynold’s Pikachu then rips him for it. Detective Pikachu will get people in the door with the Pokémon, but this relationship is critical to keeping them entertained after that. Thankfully, it appears to be a unique and funny buddy cop dynamic, with Pikachu as a snarky Sherlock Holmes and Tim as an awkward and insecure Watson.
Detective Pikachu opens in theaters on May 10. Check out our 2019 release schedule to see the biggest movies headed your way this year and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news.
