For the past few months I started to get into the Pokemon anime again. I saw some of the original series when it came out on Netflix which was a decent look from the past. After that, I decided to watch the first 14 episodes of Pokemon: Black and White which was also on Netflix which I hated -especially Ash's female companion in that series, Iris. Finally, I looked at the latest version of the show, Pokemon X&Y/ XY&Z which is surprisingly good enough that it hooked me back in. With all of that said, I figured it was time that I looked at an old friend that I haven't seen in heaven knows how long; that being this film. But with that, also came the idea of maybe going through all 18 Pokemon movies. Do I plan to review every single one? ...kind of. I have the mindset to do that, but I think it's possible that I'll reach a point where I'll just want to watch the movies and not really want to talk about them. We'll just have to see as I go through them all. Until then, I shall kick off this possible Pokemon movie reviewing marathon with Pokemon: The First Movie.
Plot: A group of scientist discover the DNA of the rarest Pokemon, Mew and clone it to create Mewtwo. But when Mewtwo awakens and learns that the scientists plan to treat him as a lab rat, he unleashes his psychic powers and destroys the laboratory and everyone in there. Shorty after, Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket and convinces Mewtwo to work with him so he can hone his powers. But when Giovanni tells Mewtwo that he's using him for his own personal befits (a remarkably stupid thing for him to do in retrospect), Mewtwo escapes and plans revenge against humanity. Months later, he begins carrying out his plan by inviting numerous Pokemon trainers to come to New Island and challenge him while causing a terrible storm meant to destroy the world. Among the invited trainers are Ash and his friends Brock and Misty, and it's up to them and Ash's trusty Pokemon partner, Pikachu to stop Mewtwo.
This was the only Pokemon movie I ever saw growing up. I think it was because my brothers and I were a little so obsessed with Pokemon that our parents didn't really allow us to see any of the other Pokemon films that came out later before they eventually banned us from watching the anime. Yeah, we were that obsessed...or at least I certainly was. As a kid, I loved this movie. I though it was an awesome, epic Pokemon adventure to say the very least. I think it was also what got my brothers and I officially hooked into the franchise. Now that I am an adult however, I still sort of like it but mostly out of nostalgia while also being aware that it is very dated.
The best part of the movie for me as a kid, which is sadly the most dated part of the movie now is Mewtwo. Back in the day, Mewtwo was praised as the greatest being ever put into the Pokemon franchise, and we loved him for it. This was because the film succeeded in establishing Mewtwo as a terrible unstoppable force that can destroy buildings in seconds, create devastating storms and defeat other Pokemon with just a wave of his arm (under the exception of Mew). Even his fortress in New Island and especially his theme music gives this menacing presence that this a being of unmatched power. Back then, kids would be okay if they never became Pokemon Masters either by catching every single Pokemon in the video games or by collecting all of the trading cards as long as they had Mewtwo in their party. With that said however, time hasn't been kind to how he impacted fans. Not to say that people no longer like him or anything like that. But because this is only the first movie and Nintendo had many more Pokemon to create in the less then 18 years since it came out, Mewtwo has sadly become less interesting. Back when this movie came out, there were only 155 Pokemon known (if you count Snubble, Maril, Donphan and Togapi), and none of the other 154 created as big of an unchallenged presence in how powerful they are like Mewtwo had. But now we have all of these other all-powerful legendary Pokemon from Lugia and Ho-oh to Xerneas and Yveltal, that have ultimately made Mewtwo just a member of a special group of Pokemon and that's basically it. Bottom line, some of this still somewhat held up from watching it again, but it's no longer the same after four (going on five) more generations of Pokemon.
Growing up, I have also discovered that the plot for this is is very flawed. Mewtwo's motivation is understandable, but at the same time something about going from everything that happened with the scientists and Giovanni to deciding to carry out this specific plan to destroy the world seems a bit of a stretch. On top of that however, the film has a message against violence that makes no sense - especially since this is a franchise that revolves around Pokemon fighting. The film also surprisingly leaves out/glances over important elements of the story. For example, there apparently is a scene that shows the scientists finding Mew's DNA and why they were making Mewtwo in the first place which is deleted from theaters and from DVD copies, and yet apparently (according to The Nostalgia Critic) it is in the VHS copy of the movie. Uh...why in the world is this left out apart from the VHS copies? There's also the subject of Pokemon Tears that plays a part in the climax of the movie but is barely mentioned at the beginning, making the whole thing seem like it came out of nowhere because they didn't establish it properly. Some of the dialogue I think I recall thinking they were dumb even when I was a kid. The best example is when Team Rocket plan to break into Mewtwo's base through a sewer and Meowth says "I think this plan's all wet."
If there's anything else to add, I will say that it was a little nice seeing some of these old characters and remembering the days where characters like Misty and her Togepi and Psyduck were all over the place. However, Ash makes me a little embarrassed that I dressed up as him for Halloween back in the 4th grade because we was (though not entirely) a wimp back in the early days of Pokemon. Also I still enjoyed listening to the Billy Crawford version of the Pokemon Theme song, and I can't help but like Don't Say You Love Me by M2M.
And that's my review for Pokemon: The First Movie. If this movie still holds out for you, that's great. I wish I had that mind set even after so many years of not seeing it and looking at better things. As it is however, I may technically like it just out of nostalgia, but otherwise acknowledge that this film has become tragically dated simply because it was the first of many films to come that contain powerful menacing beings like Mewtwo, and even then has a noticeably flawed story. Unless you never grew up with Pokemon, I at least recommend this if you grew up with it just for the sake of nostalgia.
Rating: 50%
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