Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution
POKEMON MEWTO STRIKES BACK - EVOLUTION - NETFLIXFor the first time in a Pokémon film, Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution switches to a fully CGI style of animation, unlike the traditional hand-drawn approach taken in previous animated Pokémon films. Where there are some minor changes to specific plot points, the biggest selling point for this being a new movie is clearly the art style.
Such a drastic change in animation apparently helps the film stand out in the grander context of the twenty-two animated Pokémon films currently in existence, but not necessarily for the best reasons. While the landscapes and Pokémon themselves survive this transition rather well, it is the characters that really suffer. The overall style of CGI tends to go for a more video game approach, however, the characters feel like an uncomfortable blend of realism and video game that falls somewhere in the uncanny. From the eyes to overly rendered hair, these models feel completely out of place and void of any of the likeability or nostalgia that should be derived from a Pokémon remake.
The voice acting is competent enough, wisely using actors already established in the franchise who might feel overall comfortable in the roles. It undoubtedly fails to hit the spot by enforcing nostalgia onto the audience through these voice-overs – it is the remake of a classic story, after all. Despite audiences possibly being used to Sarah Natochenny voicing Ash in the later seasons, seeing our favourite characters from such an early point in their adventure highlights the need for their old voice actors. Hearing someone else try to fill those shoes is a less vivid experience both for fans who watched the later seasons and those who dropped the show before the switch of voice actors.
These forced comparisons to the classic movie hurt not only the effectiveness of the voice cast, but the story in its entirety. Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution might have some small clever plot updates, but it overwhelmingly feels like a step-down from the original film. The first few Pokémon films do carry to some degree actual genuine emotion and substance. Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution unfortunately simplifies the story focusing on hitting all the major moments in more of a shallow greatest-hits-list sense, rather than actually focusing on point to these scenes.
Instead of providing anything new or impactful, Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution constantly feels like it is simply going through the motions, being a shell of the original film it is based on. The new CGI animation might make it stand out but fails to give an actual reason for Pokémon fans to check this film out. It doesn’t draw creatively from the original, so the purpose of the film remains unclear, and is the case with so many of the modern-day remakes. Unless seeing a different but overall worse version of animation is extremely appealing, there is nothing in Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution that demands attention or deserves audience’s time. Even more so, when there is so much greatness currently streaming out there.
POKEMON: MEWTO STRIKES BACK - EVOLUTION is streaming exclusively on NETFLIX February 27th
