PARTNER UP WITH A LEGEND.

In a city where humans and Pokémon live together, Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) finds help from his father’s Pokémon partner Pikachu in his quest to learn what happened to his dad.

There is some degree of ambition here in the world-building, including visual effects; the filmmakers clearly paid attention to the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). The furry, decidedly Ryan Reynolds-esque detective Pikachu is the Roger Rabbit to Smith’s Bob Hoskins.

Fans will approve, but perhaps few others; the mystery is a nothing burger.

2019-U.S.-Japan. 104 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Rob Letterman. Music: Henry Jackman. Cast: Ryan Reynolds (Detective Pikachu), Justice Smith (Tim Goodman), Kathryn Newton (Lucy Stevens), Chris Geere, Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe. 

Trivia: Danny DeVito, Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg were considered for the part of Pikachu.