Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai

Among the Pokémon movies, this one was probably the biggest disappointment for me personally. While the eighth movie had given me high expectations for later Pokémon movies, I never thought the ninth movie looked all that interesting, so when it turned out to be pretty bad, it only shattered my very optimistic hopes that maybe they'd manage to make it good in spite of that. This one, though, I was excited for. Dialga and Palkia screwing with space and time? Awesome! You could make such a cool movie out of that! I went into it thinking maybe it'd be as good as the eighth one - and boy, did it not deliver. What I got instead was just the series' latest Legendaries Randomly Fighting™ movie, with a rehashed plot and a lot of sadly wasted potential. The movie begins with a young man reading from the diary of an architect named Godey (obviously a reference to Antoni Gaudí) about beings that should never meet, initially shown with an ominous glare on his glasses but then revealed to be a kind-looking dork. His name is Tonio, he is Godey's great-grandson, and he is a scientist. Suddenly, the room begins to shake and the monitors in the room begin to give off alarms; an hourglass falls from a table and shatters. The disturbance is because Dialga and Palkia have met and are currently clashing in a pocket dimension full of Unown. After a back-and-forth of attacks, Dialga's Roar of Time hits the pearl on Palkia's left arm and cracks it. The injured Palkia flees, and Dialga follows. In the twelfth movie, we will learn that the reason for their conflict was (yet again) that they each thought the other was infringing on their dimensional 'territory', but for now, the cause remains unknown.

Pokémon: The First Movie

When I took the time to track down and watch both "Pokemon: The First Movie" and "Pokemon: the Movie 2000" for the first time in years, my feelings were swamped with joyous nostalgia tracing back to my younger years. There were times I felt I should have grown up in Japan, because all of my favorite media products came from that great island nation. Godzilla and Pokemon. Those were my two obsessions. Yes, I was one of millions from around the globe who collected the trading cards and checked in on the television show and played the video-games (I still have a soft spot for the N64 game "Pokemon Stadium") and watched the movies when they popped up here in the U.S. Pokemon continued to ride strong in my interests until after a while, when they created more than 151 little fighting monsters and things just bogged down to the point where they were excessively juvenile and just dumb. It was the same syndrome that momentarily struck Godzilla in the 70s. The king of the monsters recovered, but Pokemon didn't. It sank away for me, and many and although Pokemon is still around and still (fairly) popular with the younger generation, it no longer has the cult status it once ruled with. But just because I am no longer swamped with obsession does not mean I cannot still feel the joy of this innocent little saga looking back on it as an adult. Yes, before you question me, I still enjoy the Pokemon movie. In fact, I enjoy both of them, especially "Pokemon 2000." But this review concerns the first one, released in 1999. For those who do not know, there are a lot of Pokemon, but one in particular, called Mew, is the strongest of them all. One day, some fiddling scientists clone from Mew's DNA a newer, stronger beast called Mewtwo: a psychic creature infuriated by how Pokemon seem to have become slaves to humans. And very slowly, he begins to set up a trap to restore Pokemon to what he feels is their rightful place in the world, at the top. Once again we rendezvous with our heroes, as the narrator calls them, from the TV show. There's Ash Ketchum, Misty, Brock, and of course, the little lightning-surged rodent Pikachu. After a prologue revolving around Mewtwo, we dive in with them. There is a lot of advertisement in "Pokemon: The First Movie." It is very much a merchandise exploitation to further the interest of kids in the cards, games, and series. But kids endorse these sort of things. I know, because I remember I did when I was eight or so and saw the movie for the first time. I mean, what kid wouldn't like to have an army of monsters at his command and be able to duke them out with other monsters? It's like having Godzilla and Mothra and Rodan at your command.

Pokémon 4Ever

I just returned from the un-expectantly entertaining Pokemon 4. It is a matter of great wonder to me that others did not find the rich storylines in the film as enlightening as I did. I suppose the unfortunate reality is if a film doesn't cater to the 'lowest common denominator', its success domestically (and more and more in foreign markets) is questionable at best. At first I wish to address the flaws. The animation, as has been pointed out before, is at best sub-par. But where they skimped on artistry in the drawings of the characters, the storyboard simulated camera angles and image composition are superb. The film lover will note the use of techniques from film auteurs such as Orsen Wells (note the second part of the opening scene, which is quite obviously an homage to the master) or Sam Peckinpah (pay close attention to scenes leading up to the first Pokemon Battle and try to tell me you aren't reminded of Straw Dogs). I also thought the sound was pretty crummy. That aside, the film was a pure masterpiece. As in the preceding three Pokemon movies, the story centers on the loveable 'Pikachu'.

Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys

I know I'm in a minority, but in my opinion, this is one of the best of the Pokémon series. It gets things back on track after the underwhelming "Jirachi" movie. The film returns the series to the epic scope and feel of "Pokémon 2000." I loved LaRousse City as the setting. It was very colorful and creative. The story is pretty interesting. Tory being afraid of all Pokemon was a neat idea, even if it got a little annoying after a while. I liked Sid and Rafe as supporting characters. Deoxys makes for an awesome antagonist. He is an interesting legendary Pokémon, and he is also somewhat sympathetic as he is more misunderstood than evil. This is definitely one of the most action-packed Pokémon movies to date. From LaRousse losing its power to the gang battling multiple Deoxyses to the exhilarating battles between Deoxys and Rayquaza to the robot blocks going haywire, it really delivers some excitement. The music score is once again really good and, for some reason, I have a soft spot for the song "This Side of Paradise." The song just gives me a really good feeling. The superfluous Munchlax scenes aside, this is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable entries in the series. I'd definitely say it's in my top 5 Pokémon movies, but not quite top 3. This is a very underrated film that I recommend to any Pokémon fan. RATING: A-