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Review of Pokémon Detective Pikachu (Henry Jackman)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... only if you have an established affinity for Henry Jackman's merging of symphonic conventions and retro video game-inspired electronics, that atmosphere alone carrying this score.

Avoid it... if you demand a cohesive thematic narrative that integrates with the franchise's existing melodies, the album presentation for this soundtrack especially disappointing.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Pokémon Detective Pikachu: (Henry Jackman/Various) When it comes to the beloved Pokémon franchise, you can either accept the Pokémon universe or you can't, and despite the longevity of the 1990's concept in the video game and trading card realms, a movie like Pokémon Detective Pikachu is destined to be a polarizing event. The Japanese franchise has spawned everything from manga comics to a theme park, but there have been surprisingly few feature films distributed for the concept worldwide. As a 2019 entry, Pokémon Detective Pikachu marked the first such feature to debut in the United States since 2000, and it represents the first foray into live action. As something of a spinoff from the main franchise roots, the Detective Pikachu story dates back to a 2016 video game and is the subject of this film. To describe the Pokémon universe to those disinclined to find any sanity or humor in it would be a waste of time, so it suffices to say that the plot of this film simply involves a human character bonding with one of the plush little monsters in this alternate video game universe. They spend the film searching for clues as to what happened to the human's father in the rather bleak urban environment of game-inspired weirdness, and the ability of the titular Pokémon to communicate openly with the human is a point of interest. After sleuthing and battling through the universe, some commentary about the worthiness of humanity results. For those not enthralled by the concept, Pokémon Detective Pikachu is little more than an asinine diversion for kids and adults with too much expendable time. This crowd will find little to appreciate in the soundtrack for the movie; in fact, without a clearly considered and prevalent connection between this music and everything from the anime series and games that have come before, the soundtrack plays like a disjointed and somewhat cheap product better destined for a video distribution project. Franchise loyalists will find some aspects to like, as there was an effort to incorporate some existing songs and melodies from other Pokémon media into this film. Those references, unfortunately, don't mingle with the original score by Henry Jackman, though, and that alone is a significant disappointment. Jackman and his team of ghostwriters extend the functional personality and general approach of Big Hero 6 and Wreck-It Ralph without really accomplishing a memorable result. The score is thus serviceable but surprisingly anonymous and tedious at times.

The approach of Jackman and his team to Pokémon Detective Pikachu makes basic sense atmospherically. For the live-action environment, an orchestra is added to the base synthetic environment for the concept. The electronics are styled after the same retro elements recognizable from Wreck-it-Ralph, the video game ambience fully embraced in about half the score. The action of this film is largely orchestral, bordering on horror in its dissonant demeanor in most cues of significant weight. This foundational personality from Jackman's team is fine, and it generates some individual highlights that do their best to refrain from parody territory while generating genuine might. The significant downside of this soundtrack is the total lack of cohesive narrative and structural consistency. There are a few themes specific to this score that emerge occasionally, led by a descending rhythmic figure for the location of "Ryme City" that matures nicely in both orchestral form ("Save the City") and in the electronic nostalgia ("Game On"). A somewhat buried friendship theme emerges in "Buddies" and sends the score off with sensitivity (and a nice closing crescendo) in "Together." There's also a wishy-washy environment of otherworldly fantasy and mystery that slows the score at times, heard mingling with the universe's motif in "Embrace" and "Epiphany." The action sequences typically revolve around a fight, and these inconsistent cues sometimes offer impressive symphonic highlights, like the impressive "Greninja & Torterra" cowritten by Evan Goldman. The score's inability to adequately develop its own motific base and refer back to the franchise's existing melodies is its greatest weakness, one that will be fatal for some listeners. Jackman did adapt Junichi Masuda's existing "Red and Blue" theme for the end credits of Pokémon Detective Pikachu, but it's too little, too late and it is not included on the score's album. None of the song placements in the movie that refer back to the franchise's other soundtracks are included on the same album, either. You do get "The Roadhouse," however, the score album's single standout moment of outrageous irritation and potential for derangement. Overall, Pokémon Detective Pikachu lacks the cohesive narrative and genuine heart of the far more effective Wreck-It Ralph scores, seeming like a cheap knock-off of the same environment whenever the electronics are incorporated. Those looking for robust orchestral action may be moderately intrigued by the suspense and action sequences here, but they are too few and too disjointed to merit a recommendation. A better album combining the score with a few songs and the end credits adaptation would have improved upon an otherwise underwhelming experience.  **

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 58:02

• 1. Mewtwo Awakes (1:19) • 2. Catching a Cubone (2:05) • 3. Bad News (1:17) • 4. Howard Clifford (0:56) • 5. Ryme City (2:11) • 6. A Key to the Past (2:06) • 7. Aipom Attacks (1:58) • 8. On the Case (1:26) • 9. Childhood Memories (1:42) • 10. Buddies (1:08) • 11. The Interrogation of Mr. Mime (1:53) • 12. The Roundhouse (1:50) • 13. Pikachu vs. Charizard (3:06) • 14. Embrace (3:07)

• 15. Digging Deeper (3:55) • 16. Unauthorized Access (3:38) • 17. Greninja & Torterra (2:59) • 18. The Forest of Healing (3:53) • 19. Shock to the System (1:19) • 20. Save the City (1:07) • 21. True Colors (2:11) • 22. Merge to One (2:08) • 23. Game On (1:05) • 24. Ditto Battle (2:26) • 25. Howard Unplugged (2:35) • 26. Epiphany (2:22) • 27. Together (2:20)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Pokémon Detective Pikachu are Copyright © 2019, Sony Classical and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 10/5/19 (and not updated significantly since).