Jul 23, 2021
A remake of a movie made 23 years ago, which didn't need to happen, but honestly isn't that bad, albeit, missing a few key components that Pokémon fans may have loved in the first movie.
[STORY] - 6/10
(INTRO)
From beginning to end, the entire story is at least "mostly" based off of the original 1998 movie, and removes some elements that added a sense of emotional depth and structure that this new movie does keep mostly in tact, but seems to follow a more streamlined storytelling path that just makes it a real slog fest to watch, compared to every other Pokémon movie.
(CONTINUITY/CHANGES)
There are actually some welcome
...
changes to the story with certain Pokémon being replaced, like golem being swapped out for a drowzee, since electric types aren't that effective against ground types.
Team Rocket actually looks intimidating in this movie, which is in my opinion, something that is really appreciated, and instead of being a gang, or group of thugs, they're presented and seen as a proper organization.
One big change to this movie seems to be the removal of most of the "sensitive" scenes, such as one near the end (which i won't say in case you've never seen the original), where there's a group fight, which was removed completely in the remake; and for that ones that "have" seen the movie, it's a shame to see something memorable like that removed.
Another, which I can state since it's near the beginning, is when the professor who's working on Mewtwo, has his daughter in a pod right next to Mewtwo....well, she's gone, unfortunately, which, at least in my opinion, added some key emotional value to the movie.
(TL;DR)
If you were to review the movie by itself, not even taking the original into consideration, while it does keep quite a few elements from said original, it still manages to have an unpleasantly linear design to it, but it's still alright.
[ART] - 6/10
By all means, the CGI in this movie isn't bad, it's actually pretty good at times, but has a very robotic design to it that, while looking "good", and especially for character designs which look a little awkward at times.
It completely misses the appeal that something like 2d animation seemingly has, and fails to capture in this remake, especially when it comes to emotions, which, in this format seems to either be overly dramatic or not feel right at times, but seems to at least capture the expressions of Pokémon quite well.
[SOUND] - 6/10
(MUSIC)
Not too many complaints here, albeit, if you've listened to the original you'll notice some "key" music missing from this movie, where as with the original it had a bit more solemn or sad soundtracks when needed, this one doesn't seem include it often, if at alll.
While the music itself isn't that bad at times, the choices for scenes could've been a little better, with it feeling too up-beat or just not doing its job for the scene.
(FX)
Effects-wise, a selection of very factory made sounds but most seem to at least attempt to mimic ones from the original, which is appreciated.
The sound team tried their best to give the effects a bit of "impact" behind them, if that makes any sense, to further emphasize what's happening in the scene.
(VOICE)
The original cast isn't all here, but honestly doesn't sound too different.
One thing i will point out is, with certain characters their lines are missing a certain delivery for scenes that require it, so it won't come off as impactful or just feel out of place, but most of it is fine.
[Characters] - 6/10
Honestly, the characters aren't that bad, and are what you expect from a Pokémon film.
The villains in particular really hit it off well, especially Giovanni, which had a surprisingly well done performance.
[Enjoyment] - 4/10
It's not that I didn't enjoy the movie, but from someone who's seen the original and watched the remake, it just seemed like an unnecessary edition to the Pokémon movie line; but it wasn't bad, just less enjoyable to someone, and probably many others who've seen the original and may not have cared too much about this cgi remake.
I could've gone without seeing it, but it's not horrible.
Total: 5/10
If you've never seen the first Pokémon movie, i highly advise watching the older version, it still holds up.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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