Starring Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith

Directed by Rob Letterman

Legendary, in cinemas now

When his estranged father, the ace detective Harry Goodman, dies tragically in a brutal car crash, Tim must leave his comfortable life of insurance sales for the innovative Ryme City – where humans and Pokémon live as equal, without Poké balls or Pokémon battles – to settle his affairs. However, upon discovering Harry’s former partner, a Pikachu with an unusually broad vocabulary, and a terrifying new drug circling the city’s underground Pokémon battling circuit, Tim realises his father may not be quite as dead as he had thought.

As a complete Pokémon novice, never tempted by any version (even during the Pokémon Go mania), I expected to be That Person™ in the cinema whispering a stream of questions to my boyfriend. Luckily, I didn’t have to: the world of humans and Pokémon was artfully crafted, detailed in such a way to be realistic without seeming clunky. Accordingly, the film managed to touch on several pertinent issues, such as animal welfare and genetic modification, without preaching or dampening the excellent, all-encompassing humour.

Reynolds’ Pikachu was wonderful, bringing his characteristic, slight-absurdist hilarity to an otherwise profound quest for a lost loved-one and a sense of self; but my heart must go to Psyduck, a relatable figure who would literally explode if his stress-level got too high. A broad range of beloved Pokémon made their live-action debut, with animation surprisingly less unnerving than I would have assumed; recognisable even to myself were the fabled Charmander, Squirtle, Gengar and Jigglypuff.

Verdict: A riotous romp through the fascinating universe of Pokémon, Detective Pikachu will charm and enthral both the amateur and the fanatic. 9/10

Sophie Simpson