Pokémon Detective Pikachu - 3.5/5

Let's begin by setting my Pokémon fan status - it is zilch! I have never watched an episode of their tv show, played the game or ever even participated in Pokémon Go! Having absolutely no interest in the franchise, I decided to diversify my taste in film by giving this a go. The lead actor was a person of color - Justice Smith and the secondary actor was a female - Big Little Lies' Kathryn Newton. Ryan Reynolds was voicing Pikachu, and if you find him funny, you will love his take on this cute fur ball. It all seemed like a good formula. Seeing the trailer and seeing how cute the Pokémon looked in live action made me slightly interested. What made me commit was the series of reviews that all gave it a positive rating. While majority of these critics are probably straight white men whose opinion on things would be different to mine, I still thought of giving this a try. I was pleasantly surprised at how well made this was. The story has been set up in a Zootopia/X-Men style tone. Pokémon are creatures who we need to learn to get along and live with humans and there is an evil person trying to make Pokémon evil so their integration into society makes it hard for them. If we were look at the movie closely, there is definitely a subtext of racial segregation and colonisation. These themes have been explored before in other kids movies, but it's always good to keep seeing it brought back to the surface over and over. The film length was perfect as well and I was not bored one bit. You can wait for this on DVD or watch it at the cinemas, either way - it's worth a try - at least to see the very adorable live-action Pokémon creatures.