Despite some hiccups Pokémon: Detective Pikachu can’t seem to overcome, there are moments when the film truly soars...

| Jul 14, 2024

For hardcore fans, it might be everything you’ve ever wished for, but for fans of the 2000s Pokémon, who stopped following the franchise (...) the numerous Easter Eggs and references might not be enough to overcome the undeniable narrative issues.

| Original Score: B- | Jul 24, 2023

Detective Pikachu is a great time that is well worth watching in the theater if for nothing more than it’s gorgeous visuals. It’s a film that you can take the whole family to and everyone will find something to enjoy.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jan 22, 2023

Detective Pikachu generally works and is a reasonably enjoyable, fun film. Considering what has happened with video game-based films in the past, that's high praise at this point.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 18, 2022

Pokemon Detective Pikachu ultimately exists to perpetuate the media empire, and to that end, it's less interested in characters than in selling its brand to children.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 3, 2022

Detective Pikachu was not meant for someone like myself but I can admit that the film is highly entertaining despite its flaws. The film makes sure to provide tons of fan service that will be appreciated by the masses of Pokmon fans across the country.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 18, 2022

A really great, well-executed movie.

| Sep 29, 2021

There's a lot to like about Detective Pikachu and it's genuinely funny. Final third syndrome doesn't totally ruin the enjoyment, but when you try and force most of the plot into 20 minutes, it rarely ends well...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 17, 2021

Kids who don't know any better will probably like it; the parents who are stuck taking them are in for a slog.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 9, 2021

Pokémon Detective Pikachu has a purpose - to indulge fans - and it does so with gusto. Anyone else would be better served by choosing almost any other movie.

| Feb 18, 2021

An emphasis on spectacle rather than charm and story.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jan 31, 2021

Like its live action-animation hybrid predecessors, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu has the distinct smell of a cult classic.

| Jan 29, 2021

Pokemon Detective Pikachu might not do the human characters justice, but it absolutely nails all the Pokemon.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 27, 2021

It's a delight for fans to see how immersive this world actually feels.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 10, 2020

Pokemon fans will be delighted at the visual interpretations of a beloved franchise, but the pervasive mildness of it all makes for an easily forgettable production.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Dec 7, 2020

Detective Pikachu is actually a good kids movie, both succeeding at entertaining kids and giving them a good life lesson while entertaining any adults watching as well.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 23, 2020

It's a movie so strange that Rita Ora popping up in a bizarre cameo as a scientist wouldn't even crack a list of the top ten weirdest things about it.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 15, 2020

The makers of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu have done something wise, which is to create a film version of the media/toy franchise that is mostly accessible even to those of us who have zero connection to the phenomenon that is Pokémon.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 28, 2020

[T]he experience isn't so much linear as it is downright circuitous, stranding its nuggets of fuzzy joy in a script that fails to blend world-building with forward momentum.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 27, 2020

I am extremely bored by this Rob Letterman Pokémon film adapted by the 'Detective Pikachu' video game. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4/10 | Jul 24, 2020