POKEMON THE MOVIE: MEWTWO STRIKES BACK EVOLUTION EARLY REVIEWS ARE NOT LOOKING TOO GOOD

With the success of Detective Pikachu at the box office and two new games on the way, the Pokemon Brand appears to be at its highest peak in years. Now the Pokemon Company are looking to keep the money train going with the release of their latest CG animated movie, Pokemon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back-Evolution in Japan. The problem, however, early reviews from this side of the Pacific aren't looking too hot. ​

I absolutely adored the original Mewtwo Strikes Back movie back in 1998 that left me with fond memories of Ash, Pikachu and the rest of the gang's battle with the mighty legendary Pokemon, Mewtwo. So I wasn't the biggest of fans with the idea to remake the movie fully in computer-generated animations. Maybe it is nostalgia, but similar with all of Disney's recent remakes of their classics, looking at the trailers it always appeared to me that something was missing. Currently, Animation in Japan appears to be going through somewhat of a CG Renaissance as seen with other high budget animated movies (like the gorgeous looking new Lupin the Third movie) and admittedly, despite not liking the art style of the film initially, it has grown on me. However, the trailers also look like a soulless corpse that was only resurrected out of greed. 

the 2019 remake vs the 1998 original

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​Luckily, that was only the trailers and, I hold hopes that my opinion will change once I got to watch the full movie myself. However, poor early reviews from well-respected publications, IGN & Anime News Network are once again stirring up fears that my initial judgement may be right. IGN gave the film a 5 out 10 stating that the movie's  "animation is nice, but doesn't fix the original movie's biggest problems". A sentiment backed up by ANN which also states that the movie "Fails to add anything to the original, stiff character animation, inconsistent commitment to realism in textures and effects".

To read the full review by both publications you can click here for IGN and here for Anime News Network. Pokemon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back-Evolution is already out in Japan and as at this time of writing this article without an official Western release. For more CG animated movies from Japan, check out the latest trailer for Lupin the Third CG movie.