First Take: Detective Pikachu- guess you really do have to catch them all

SYNOPSIS: In a world where people collect Pokémon to do battle, a boy comes across an intelligent talking Pikachu who seeks to be a detective.

Video game adaptations are an incredibly difficult genre of film to master in terms of pure nostalgia and fan service- nine times out of ten, they ain’t that good. Just look at Warcraft, Tomb Raider, hell, even the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog film to see the level of quality we’re talking here. But Pokemon: Detective Pikachu feels like the combo breaker this genre has needed, as it is a really enjoyable film.

Rob Letterman is the man behind this latest game-to-film adaptation, and having experience with animated films in his past, as well as in-camera work on 2015′s Goosebumps, he is able to blend the CG and live action very well, creating a 1 hour 44 minute release that is very well paced for audiences both young and old. Working to a script he co-wrote with Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit and Derek Connolly (with a story treatment from Hernandez, Samit and Nicole Perlman), the film has humour, fan service, and nostalgia in equal measure. It’s shot very well by John Mathieson, and as he always does with these video game films, Henry Jackman kills it with his work on the score- there’s just something about hearing the old school Pokemon theme being played by a full orchestra.

Then, we have the performances. Taking the lead is Justice Smith, who is very believable with the role he’s got here, and paired up with Kathryn Newton, and a supporting cast that includes Bill Nighy, Rita Ora (yes, seriously), Ken Watanabe, Suki Waterhouse and Chris Geere- but the reason why this film is so enjoyable is hidden within Pikachu, because Ryan Reynolds is on form as ever. Yes, it is a very Deadpool-esque role. But still, he is able to create a very nice character for a younger, more PG audience, and that is something to be applauded.

THE VERDICT

Detective Pikachu is one of the more enjoyable video game to film adaptations that has been released- knowing that it dethroned Avengers at the box office here in the UK, it has a fairly good chance of attracting audiences in over the next few weeks. And it properly deserves it too.

RATING: 4/5