New Movie Starring Pikachu Is Just A Hokey Pokémon

It’s got an adorable hero from an iconic media brand who is voiced by a proven box office master at snark. But, somehow, “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” never really gets arresting.

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A neutered Ryan Reynolds tries hard but can’t make this live action-meets-animated movie gel. It’s plodding and listless and really not funny or smart enough. Turns out, you can’t copy “Deadpool” tricks for the PG set. “Pokémon Detective Pikachu ” borrows lightly from film noir crime dramas to create a mystery in a world where humans and Pokémon co-exist.

A young man called Tim Goodman (the terrific Justice Smith) joins with Pikachu (Reynolds’ voice) to search for what happened to the man’s father, a missing detective. The movie’s best moments are those between the scenes, where the Japan-born creatures thrillingly share the same urban space as humans.