I honestly wanted to like the film. I had hoped for a Pokémon film that was deep, and thought-provoking about life as a way to continue with those themes from “Mewtwo Strikes Back” and “Mewtwo Returns”. I had hoped that this would be a film that brought everything full circle, that Mewtwo will have finally found the peace he had sought and fought for, and used that to teach the Genesect. I was even hoping that there would have been a death in this film—because it's been a long time since Pokémon last had a character die for real, and though it would have hurt me inside as a fangirl, I felt like Mewtwo should have had a Heroic Sacrifice.
What we got instead was a film with a confused identity, a script riddled with plot holes big enough to drive a truck through complete with a Chekhov's Skill that resulted in a cop-out, characters that contributed nothing in the long run, and a main character who should not have existed that it's almost insulting. I could not enjoy the film because all of the above was so directly in my face that I couldn't ignore them. It drove me to the brink of madness when it wasn't boring me to tears or making me angry.
There's a history behind this film that can be summed up as such: Kunihiko Yuyama just felt like having a new Mewtwo. Prior to the film's release, they decided to re-air the first Pokémon movie and its sequel on TV so the new generation of kids would have a better understanding of Mewtwo—a month after the first trailer was released. These stupid decisions may have resulted in the film being currently the second-lowest grossing Pokémon movie.
Regardless, depending on who you are, you may or may not have a problem with the film in the long-run if you are willing to overlook the flaws. Considering one of the main characters is female (albeit poorly executed), that could be appealing to some people. It's only about an hour long, and the film's obviously for fans of Pokémon, so it'll come off as mediocre at best to the average watcher. But the film will either be good or bad to any individual who is a fan of Pokémon and wants to watch 'em all, even though I personally do not recommend this film even if my life depended on it. If you are a Pokémon fan (especially if you are a Mewtwo fan) and you haven't watched this film yet, but still want to even after all you've heard and read, tread carefully.
A Poorly Executed Missed Opportunity
I honestly wanted to like the film. I had hoped for a Pokémon film that was deep, and thought-provoking about life as a way to continue with those themes from “Mewtwo Strikes Back” and “Mewtwo Returns”. I had hoped that this would be a film that brought everything full circle, that Mewtwo will have finally found the peace he had sought and fought for, and used that to teach the Genesect. I was even hoping that there would have been a death in this film—because it's been a long time since Pokémon last had a character die for real, and though it would have hurt me inside as a fangirl, I felt like Mewtwo should have had a Heroic Sacrifice.
What we got instead was a film with a confused identity, a script riddled with plot holes big enough to drive a truck through complete with a Chekhov's Skill that resulted in a cop-out, characters that contributed nothing in the long run, and a main character who should not have existed that it's almost insulting. I could not enjoy the film because all of the above was so directly in my face that I couldn't ignore them. It drove me to the brink of madness when it wasn't boring me to tears or making me angry.
There's a history behind this film that can be summed up as such: Kunihiko Yuyama just felt like having a new Mewtwo. Prior to the film's release, they decided to re-air the first Pokémon movie and its sequel on TV so the new generation of kids would have a better understanding of Mewtwo—a month after the first trailer was released. These stupid decisions may have resulted in the film being currently the second-lowest grossing Pokémon movie.
Regardless, depending on who you are, you may or may not have a problem with the film in the long-run if you are willing to overlook the flaws. Considering one of the main characters is female (albeit poorly executed), that could be appealing to some people. It's only about an hour long, and the film's obviously for fans of Pokémon, so it'll come off as mediocre at best to the average watcher. But the film will either be good or bad to any individual who is a fan of Pokémon and wants to watch 'em all, even though I personally do not recommend this film even if my life depended on it. If you are a Pokémon fan (especially if you are a Mewtwo fan) and you haven't watched this film yet, but still want to even after all you've heard and read, tread carefully.