Pokémon Detective Pikachu

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

I found this weirdly diverting... It's a counterintuitive fit for this character, and I kind of liked that about it.

Pretty well-done, and when it got to the end, the bits that are meant to tug on your heart strings twitch the very top register...

But when the earth begins to shake and villains finally show their true colors things get far less interesting.

The human characters are flat and boring...but Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu saved the entire film, and there's a lot of him...about as good as a live-action Pokémon film could be.

The central mystery of Detective Pikachu is lackluster-and sends a slightly problematic message about people with disabilities-but the production design is an impressive achievement.

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...

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

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.

An emphasis on spectacle rather than charm and story.