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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Avengers: Endgame Will Have Different Tone Than Infinity War, Despite Being Filmed Concurrently

Avengers: Endgame Will Have Different Tone Than Infinity War, Despite Being Filmed Concurrently
Black Widow in Endgame

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in perhaps the most exciting time in its ten year life. Three Phases of movies will come to a head when Avengers: Endgame arrives in a month, and the stakes couldn't be higher. The Russo Brothers will follow up with the surviving heroes after the harrowing events of Infinity War, which saw Thanos succeed in his quest and wipe out half the galaxy with the snap of a finger. It's a brand new world, and according to the Russos, the blockbuster will have a wholly unique tone.


With Captain Marvel in the rear view and only a month left until Avengers: Endgame finally arrives in theaters, the Russo Brothers can finally start getting chatty about the film's contents. While obviously still keeping their cards close the chest, the brief trailers and occasional statements are enough to keep the fans satiated for this final stretch. Joe Russo recently spoke to the big differences between Endgame and its predecessor, saying:



I will say that the movie is definitely unique in tone. It has its own spirit that’s different than Infinity War, which is why I was keen for us to separate the movies. Of course, we’re handing off narratives and it’s been serialized over 22 movies. But, it’s different tonally than Infinity War and it is told from a different point of view. It was important for us in our minds as film directors to separate those two because we do not want to make the same movie twice, and ways that you can differentiate films are through tone and point of view.





Now this is exciting. Because while Infinity War and Endgame were filmed largely simultaneously, it looks like the duo of directors were careful to give each movie its own respective tone. The first movie was a massive ensemble project that followed Thanos as the protagonist, while the sequel appears to be focused on the survivors of The Decimation, and the bleak world they inhabit.


Joe Russo's comments to Box Office Pro further show how methodically he and his brother Anthony approached their pair of Avengers movies. It's this attention to detail and artistic vision that allowed the directors to balance such a huge mass of characters, and craft Infinity War into a project that exceeded expectations.


The tone Joe Russo referenced is something very obvious in the Avengers: Endgame trailers, so moviegoers should already see where the blockbuster is going. Things look decidedly dark, as the galaxy is left to pick up the pieces after half of all life perished. And with all of the OG Avengers still alive and well, smart money says there will be a great focus on the likes of Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, And Hawkeye/Ronin.




All will be revealed when Avengers: Endgame arrives in April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Monday, August 31, 2020

Standout Moments From Beyoncé’s Homecoming Doc We’re Crazy In Love With

Standout Moments From Beyoncé’s Homecoming Doc We’re Crazy In Love With
Beyonce as Coachella in 2018 during homecoming documentary

As Netflix has grown in popularity over the years, the streaming service has been getting in formation with all kinds of exclusive content to keep us on the couch, whether it’s award-winning films and TV such as Roma and Black Mirror, Noah Centineo-led rom-coms or reality television such as Queer Eye. The scrolling potential is endless and it can often be a mess to sift through. But every once in a while, the streaming giant delivers us an unforgettable gift, and this time it’s from pop superstar/angel Beyoncé.


Whether you were one of the lucky fans in the crowd of Queen Bey’s Coachella epic last year, caught the YouTube livestream broadcast or vaguely heard about the event after the fact, all the buzz surrounding it makes it one of the few concert experiences that begs to be immortalized.  Beyoncé transformed music festival expectations by turning what could have been a simple concert set into a mighty showcase of an icon’s 22-year career. Homecoming allows Netflix users to relive the event and look behind the scenes into just how the vocalist pulled it off.


The documentary is packed with memorable moments that make it spectacular, and it’s time to unbox the highlights to the left, to the left:




Her Regal Entrance


With the pound of a drumbeat, Beyoncé makes a powerful entrance to the Coachella main stage dressed in a Nefertiti-style get up, stunning the eyes on her and commanding her acclaimed status as a queen. The powerful introduction sets the stage for the caliber of performance we’re about to see as a giant pyramid full of 200 performers (including dancers and a “university” orchestra) are unveiled at center stage.


Beyoncé makes a second grand entrance at the top of the pyramid after the band hypes her up, and the crowd’s response is unlike any other. They are yelling “Beychella” before the phrase is even announced as a new iteration of “Crazy In Love” starts to play.


It’s quite the sight to behold as the singer delivers some near-perfect vocals, while dropping moves with her army of dancers. As the cinematography flips between Beyoncé in her first and second weekend performance and the amazed crowd, it’s clear the concert was orchestrated with a cinematic experience in mind all along.




Homecoming’s Concept


In between the concert, Homecoming also takes it back to the rehearsal stages of the performance, which was a massive, almost year-long undertaking by the artist. The pyramid of performers behind her, donning sorority letters of yellow and pink, signify the college experience Beyoncé never had due to her time on Destiny's Child. She’d always wanted to go to a HBCU and Beychella became a way for her to create this community she’d dreamed of.


Since her headlining had the historical significance of being the first African-American woman to get top-billing for the festival, Beyoncé took that title to heart in everything that she planned. She personally picked dancers and musicians who could represent looks and backgrounds that have been dismissed in the past on that grand stage. Beyoncé’s concept for Homecoming really shows her character of taking the opportunities given to her and putting every ounce of effort into it and giving her fans and family something to be proud of.


Another star of her status would have taken the easy way out and done a performance already decided upon from their tour or just belted out their greatest hits. Homecoming really shows to both casual listeners and fans of her just what goes into the product we often see in her music, videos and performances, and it’s as massive of a project as it looks at the end of the line.




Her Post-Pregnancy Comeback


Another unexpected bit we learn from Homecoming is just how much of a sacrifice and personal journey putting on this show was for Beyoncé. The artist has asserted herself as a very powerful woman over the years that her own personal challenges can go by the wayside. In this documentary, she gets candid about how the preparation for Beychella was an emotional trial for her, as she had just given birth to her twins Rumi and Sir when she started up plans for the Coachella performance.


Beyoncé spoke about the immensely difficult pregnancy she had, which concluded with an emergency C-section. Learning the dance choreography for a two-hour show she was leading as her body was recovering and adhering to a very strict diet (which looked like it only consisted of apples?) so she could do the performance was an incredible point for the artist to make in his documentary, because wow, did she pull it off.


She also talked of her struggles to be away from her newly born children and 7-year-old Blue Ivy during practices. Her vision of having her “homecoming” back to the stage after her pregnancy – which had her miss her first chance to headline the year before is a beautiful theme that gives viewers a new perspective on her attention to her career.




The On-Stage Reunions


Over halfway through the show, fans were already over the moon with the show Beyoncé was putting on for them, but then this happens: the trio that started it all reunite on stage looking like Charlie’s Angels. Homecoming captures the reaction of the audience really well here as fans in the crowd get emotional and devotedly sing along to “Lose My Breath,” “Say My Name” and “Soldier,” with the original members of Destiny’s Child who look badass as ever strutting the stage side by side.


It’s a nostalgic moment for those who have followed Beyoncé from the beginning and clearly an important one to the artist too whose smile especially lights up stage when beside her girl group sisters for the number.


Before Destiny’s Child hit the stage, her famous hubby Jay-Z also came onstage to duet “Deja Vu” with her in a sweet moment between the two that had their chemistry beaming on stage in a way we don’t always see between the two of them, especially after the singer belted out angry tunes of his past infidelities prior. In another cute moment to cut the overwhelmingly beautiful dance numbers and pop tunes is when Beyoncé’s sister Solange also comes on stage to bust some moves with her during the bridge of “Get Them Bodied.”




All in all, the Beyoncé film is a highlight in of itself as it showcases an incredible feat by the singer on that Coachella stage last year that will be talked about for years to come. The singer beautifully captures her memorable set, opens up about her behind-the-scenes prep and leaves a whole lot of heart on that stage. There are so many more moments I’m not over yet. Did you see Beyoncé’s Netflix movie? What were your favorite moments? Sound off in the comments below.

6 Heath Ledger Stories That Show What Kind of Actor He Was

6 Heath Ledger Stories That Show What Kind of Actor He Was
Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You

It's been more than a decade since Heath Ledger passed away and it's impossible to know where the actor would be in his career today if he were still alive. One of his last roles was as The Joker in The Dark Knight, and it went on to become the stuff of legends. People still talk about the effort that Ledger put into the character and how he delivered what's said by some to be one of the greatest performances of all time.


But Heath Ledger was in plenty of other movies before The Dark Knight, and by that point in his career, he had built up a reputation for himself as a serious-minded and very professional actor. He tackled each role by doing research and preparation, fully inhabiting whatever character he was playing. It was said that he locked himself away for a month to prepare for whatever part he was playing. As such, there are some memorable stories about his days on set and not all of them have to do with Joker. Here are six stories that remind us how great an actor Ledger was.


He Didn't Work For A Full Year To Avoid Typecasting


Heath Ledger's first Hollywood movie, 10 Things I Hate About You, introduced him to American audiences, where it didn't take long for people to fall for him as a teen heartthrob. He plays the steamy bad boy in the teen rom com, but Ledger wasn't interested in repeating himself. The only offers that were coming in after the film were for similar roles, so Ledger ended up refusing to work for an entire year until something different caught his eye. Looking back on his career, it was definitely something he succeeded at doing. He played everything from Bob Dylan to a stoner surfer dude to a Revolutionary War soldier to a clown-themed super villain. That's as varied a career as you can get.





He Kept A Joker Diary To Get Into Character


Heath Ledger turned down playing the title character in Batman Begins, but he was director Christopher Nolan's first and only choice to play the Joker in the sequel. Ledger signed on for the role before there was even a script, and part of how he prepared for the part was that he kept a diary of twisted images and things that he thought the Joker would find funny (AIDS was apparently one of them). Ledger wouldn't stay in character when not filming, so he would keep the diary with him and use it to get back into character before the cameras started rolling. Apparently, the actor was able to get into character quickly, and had no problem being chummy with the crew in-between takes (while he was still in full make-up and costume).


He Did All His Own Stunts In The Patriot


Tom Cruise doesn't own the monopoly for doing your own stunts. Case in point, Heath Ledger did all his own stunts for the Revolutionary War action-drama The Patriot. That means he handled stunts such as horseback riding, firing muskets, close-range combat and working with Mel Gibson all on his own. That's mighty impressive considering the movie had a heavy emphasis on action and could be pretty physically demanding; more than one tomahawk is thrown in this movie. One can only imagine the lengths Ledger went to while preparing for the non-combat scenes.


He Nearly Broke Jake Gyllenhaal's Nose Kissing Him So Hard


One of Heath Ledger's most significant and popular films is Brokeback Mountain, in which he and Jake Gyllenhaal star as cowboy lovers. In the movie, the two actors share a passionate kissing scene and reportedly, Ledger almost broke Gyllenhaal's nose because of how hard he was kissing. Additionally, he and Gyllenhaal would kiss off-screen for co-star Michelle Williams, who felt that it would help her get into character. Williams was dating Ledger in real-life at this point, so she felt watching him kiss someone else would really get her into her character's mindset.





He Asked Christian Bale To Punch Him In The Face For Real


The Dark Knight's interrogation scene is one of the most well-known in the movie, as Batman truly begins to realize the madness he's facing. The Joker isn't a foe he can just punch into submission because the more Batman beats him, the more he likes it. Heath Ledger was apparently getting into it, too. Christian Bale said that Ledger was egging him on to really punch him in the face, but Bale understandably wouldn't do it. After all, it looks just as good with a fake punch as it would with a real one. Bale commented that Ledger was so committed to the role, that he was cracking the tiles in the room because of how hard he was throwing himself around.


He Wore The Real Skip Engblom's Clothes For Lords Of Dogtown


In the film Lords of Dogtown, Heath Ledger plays Skip Engblom, the owner of a surf shop and promoter of a local skateboarding team in Venice Beach. To get into character, Engbolm's wife let Ledger wear some of her husband's clothes. Keep in mind that this movie took place in the '70s, so Ledger was wearing some authentically old and groovy clothes. Additionally, the real Skip originally wanted Ledger to play him in the movie and got his wish! And then the actor was wearing his clothes, so it was a double whammy.


It's sad to think that we'll never get another Heath Ledger performance, but the actor certainly left an impression on those he worked with in the short amount of time he was on this Earth. I doubt Christian Bale will ever forget that a man dressed as a psychotic clown asked him to punch him in the face as hard as he could. Based on comments from directors who worked with Ledger, he was a deeply observant and intelligent actor who throw himself fully into a wide range of roles. Ledger rarely repeated himself and it's safe to say that he avoided his fear of getting typecast. At least we have these memorable stories to remember a great talent.




8 Differences Between the Animated and Live-Action Dumbo

8 Differences Between the Animated and Live-Action Dumbo
Dumbo 2019 Danny Devito Colin Farrell

Warning: SPOILERS for the new Dumbo are ahead!


Last weekend, Disney released the latest live-action remake of one of its classic animated films. This time the spotlight shined on Dumbo, who first appeared in 1941. Directed by Tim Burton, the new Dumbo fell short of expectations at the box office and received mixed reviews, so it hasn't caught on fire like many of Disney's other remakes. However, what sets Dumbo apart from those films is that it isn't afraid to deviate from the source material.


Not since Pete's Dragon has there been a Disney remake that changed so much from original movie. You can argue that Dumbo had to make those changes because the cartoon was only about an hour long and some of its elements haven't aged well. Regardless, the remake is really different from the original and most of the changes make it an improvement. Here are eight things that the new Dumbo did differently from its predecessor.




More Emphasis On Human Characters


1941's Dumbo was all about, well, Dumbo. Even though Dumbo never spoke, thanks to the power of animation, audiences were still able to identify with him because of how expressive he was. Plus, he had a small cast of animal characters to speak for him and to keep the plot moving. For his live-action debut, Dumbo is photo-realistic, which means its harder to base an entire movie around just him because he can't be as expressive. So, you need human characters to interpret Dumbo's feelings. Colin Farrell stars as World War I veteran Holt Farrier, who returns home to the circus to raise his two children, who become the caretakers of the newborn Dumbo. The original Dumbo only really had one human character, the ringmaster, who is played here by Danny DeVito.


No More Talking Animals


Seeing as how the remake is a mostly grounded take on Dumbo (excluding the whole flying elephant thing), the film made a decision not to include any talking animals. Dumbo never spoke anyway, but that meant no sassy elephants and no Timothy Mouse, Dumbo's sidekick. The latter is probably the most notable exclusion, but Timothy's role as Dumbo's emotional support is fulfilled by the Farrier children, so there's no real loss from a story perspective. Timothy does still have a cameo as a mouse being trained to perform in the circus. Another benefit of this approach is that the film doesn't have to deal with the talking crows, who in the 1941 version were a racial stereotype of African Americans. (The lead crow was actually named Jim Crow!)


Almost The Entire Plot


1941's Dumbo is barely over an hour long, so a modern day remake would naturally have to reenvision most of the original to fit a two-hour runtime. Additionally, most of the original is just Dumbo going through various shenanigans while trying to reunite with his mother until he learns to fly in the final five minutes(!!!) of the movie. So, a lot of the plot is entirely new to the remake. About the first 30 or so minutes of the movies are the same before the remake deviates from the path. Once Dumbo becomes an overnight sensation, theme park mogul V.A. Vandevere buys Dumbo's circus and brings it to his Dreamland amusement park so that Dumbo can be his star attraction. From there, the film is about Dumbo preparing for his debut while the Farriers hatch an escape plan after learning that Vandevere isn't such a nice guy.




Dumbo Doesn't Get Wasted


Probably the most memorable sequence in 1941's Dumbo is "Pink Elephants on Parade," in which Dumbo and Timothy (accidentally) get drunk and have a trippy hallucination of dancing pink elephants. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but no, a baby elephant doesn't get wasted in this movie. In fact, the remake makes a very quick nod to that when a clown offers to give Dumbo a celebratory drink and DeVito snaps "No champagne near the baby." However, this doesn't mean that the pink elephants don't make an appearance. In the remake, they are massive bubbles that are conjured at Dreamland before Dumbo's big act. They don't play their trumpets like horns, but it's a satisfactory sequence that doesn't leave Dumbo with a hangover.


Dumbo Is Born The Old Fashioned Way


Rather than have Mrs. Jumbo be pregnant and need to explain to kids how babies are born, the original Dumbo had a stork deliver the baby elephant to his mother. It's actually really cute, but the live-action version obviously wasn't going to go that route. Nope, Dumbo is born the old fashioned way. The actual birth isn't shown, but Dumbo shows up about 10 minutes into the movie. The movie does have another nod to the original when the pregnant Jumbo spots a stork right outside her cage the night she gives birth to Dumbo. Dumbo's father is a no-show in both versions.


Uh, Someone Dies


Dumbo is about as light of a kid's movie as you can get, though, it can be really sad in places. However, no one ever died in the original, which you can't say about the remake. Early on in the film, there's a mean circus worker who hates Holt because of... reasons, and he especially seems to hate the elephants. With Holt in charge of the elephants, the worker tries to jeopardize him during Dumbo's very first show by agitating Jumbo and setting her loose in the big top. It doesn't help that everyone was making fun of her big-eared baby, but Jumbo inadvertently knocks over one of the supporting columns during her rampage, and it crushes the worker. The movie whizzes by this and no one sheds a tear for the guy, but it's still pretty weird to say that there was death in a Dumbo movie.




Jumbo Is Sold From The Circus


The inciting incident in Dumbo is that his mother is imprisoned after she attacks people for making fun of her son. She's chained up and locked away in her own cage, which happens in both movies. However, the remake goes a step farther and sells Jumbo back to her original owner, truly separating her from Dumbo. Thus, Dumbo tries to become a circus star in the hopes that his act will raise enough money to buy back his mother. Jumbo is later sold to Vandevere and reunites with Dumbo when he arrives in Dreamland, but Vandevere decides to send her away and have her killed so that Dumbo won't have any distractions. In the original, Jumbo stays in elephant jail and is simply let go once Dumbo starts flying.


Dumbo Is Released From Captivity


Perhaps nothing highlights the differences between the two movies and the decades they were created than the ending. At the end of the original film, Dumbo learns to fly and is reunited with his mother, living a life of luxury at the circus as a superstar. The remake goes in the exact opposite direction. The Farrier family and the circus performers decide to help Dumbo and his mother escape Dreamland after learning Vandevere will kill Jumbo. Realizing that Dumbo shouldn't be forced to live a life of captivity performing, the Farrier's get Dumbo and Jumbo on a boat to East Asia, where the two can live in freedom. The film ends with Dumbo soaring above a herd of elephants and the circus flourishing with no animal captivity.


The Dumbo remake made a ton of changes to the original, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The original is less than perfect, and if Disney was gung-ho about redoing it, then a lot needed to be updated and changed. Again, Dumbo doesn't fly until the last five minutes of the original, which is INSANE. The remake has him airborne relatively fast, which is an example of a change that was for the better. While none of these changes necessarily make Dumbo a better movie, they certainly don't hurt it.



Marvel Comics Won't Kill Off Characters For Shock Value (Anymore), Chief Says

Marvel Comics Won't Kill Off Characters For Shock Value (Anymore), Chief Says
Wolverine dead tombstone Marvel Comics

In the Marvel movies, death has not always been permanent. Before he really died in Avengers: Infinity War, Loki had faked his death twice by that point, and now, thanks to time travel shenanigans, he might not even be dead anymore. However, the fickle life and death of superheroes isn't just a movie thing. It originates from the comics, which often kill superheroes for publicity and bring them back down the road. Marvel Comics Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski hopes to change all of that.



I don't want death to be used to boost sales or to use as a shock value so people go 'Oh my God, Johnny Storm is dead!' or 'Wolverine is dead!' knowing that they're going to be coming back. If we choose to do it now, we're going to add a little more weight and permanence to the situation.



In an appearance at a Swedish conference (via ComicBook), C.B. Cebulski said that Marvel was moving on from the shock value approach to character death. If someone dies in the comics now, it will have more weight and will likely be permanent. Whether this means no more major characters will die is unclear.




Both Marvel and DC are known for killing off major characters, only to resurrect them some time later. It's just the standard of the trade, but it's likely long past the point where it has any real effect on the readers. After all, why get sad Wolverine died when you know he's going to come back in a year or two? Marvel clearly understands this, and is looking to change the trend.



You know, death is a part of comic book universes, particularly a part of the Marvel Universe. Every character has been killed off and come back at some time or the other. We always say there are two characters that will never come back and that's Gwen Stacy and Uncle Ben. We even said back in the day that Bucky would never come back and now we have the Winter Soldier.



However, just because death was less than permanent before doesn't mean that Marvel didn't treat the decision seriously. Cebulski also went into detail on how Marvel comes to the decision to kill a character.





But the process of killing off a character is not an easy one, and a lot of people think death is something that we don't take seriously in the Marvel Universe but it really is. There's a lot of debates that happen because if a writer suggests that we should kill a character, it always has to be story driven first. It can't just be for shock value and normally it's a discussion that we have between first the writer and the editor and then the writer and the editorial team, so the process of killing off a character really is a group decision, and it's made always with the best story in mind.



Comic book characters having been coming back to life ever since the infamous "Death and Return of Superman," so I'm curious why Marvel is only now trying to alter its approach to death. The movies heavily influence the comics, so I wonder if the reaction to the most likely permanent deaths of Iron Man and Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame had any sway in the decision.


We'll find out soon enough if Marvel Comics will keep to its word here. In the meantime, keep track of all the big movies coming to theaters with our 2019 movie release guide.



Sunday, August 30, 2020

Roman Polanski’s Wife Isn’t Happy About Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Roman Polanski’s Wife Isn’t Happy About Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming directorial effort Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is his “love letter” to Los Angeles as he plays and tinkers with the city's happenings in 1969, with a focus on the film industry’s state and the infamous Manson Family murders. Roman Polanski is at the center of both these subjects. At the time, the director had just found success with his film Rosemary’s Baby when his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was brutally murdered by Manson’s cult following.


Roman Polanski will be portrayed in the film by Polish actor Rafal Zawierucha alongside Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate. The couple look to live next to fictional film star Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Fact may be being mixed with fiction in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle Seigner has shown her discomfort with his presence in Tarantino’s flick. Check out her words, translated from French by THR:



I am just saying that it doesn’t bother them [in Hollywood] to make a film about Roman and his tragic story, and make money with it… while at the same time they have made him a pariah. And all without consulting him of course. How can you take advantage of someone's tragic life while trampling on them?





The French actress and model is angered by the inclusion of her husband’s personal life in the highly-anticipated Quentin Tarantino movie which recently premiered at Cannes to high applause.


Emmanuelle Seigner also touches on Hollywood’s making him into a “pariah”, likely a reference to the Academy kicking him out of the Academy last year for his 1977 rape charges. Roman Polanski fled the United States in 1978 after pleading guilty for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, and hasn’t since returned to the states.


Seigner added that she is not attacking the film itself, but pointing out the “bothersome” move by Quentin Tarantino not to approach Polanski about his depiction in the film. Tarantino recently commented (prior to her words) that he is a huge fan of the director’s work, particularly Rosemary’s Baby.




Roman Polanski was briefly shown in the latest trailer for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The movie will also include portrayals of Bruce Lee, Steve McQueen, film producer Marvin Schwartz (played by Al Pacino) and so forth. Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate looks to be central to the story of the film, making Roman’s portrayal also important to the events Tarantino wanted to explore.


Emmanuelle Seigner’s words do spark a continuous debate between Hollywood and the people they’ve depicted over the years. Should the real figures being used as a source of entertainment be consulted or compensated in order for their appearance on screen to be allowed?


Once Upon a Time in Hollywood comes to theaters on July 26.



New Detective Pikachu Trailer Shows Off Gyarados And Mewtwo

New Detective Pikachu Trailer Shows Off Gyarados And Mewtwo

For the very first live-action Pokémon movie, Detective Pikachu, the obvious choice was made to kick things off with the ultra-cute and ultra-popular Generation I, electric-type Pokémon Pikachu, who is basically the mascot of the franchise. He’s the most recognizable, but far from the only Pokémon out there though, and fortunately for those fans that want to see some badass Pokémon alongside Pikachu, the latest trailer for Detective Pikachu shows off Gyarados and Mewtwo. Take a look:


Wow, how awesome does Gyarados look? The water/flying Pokémon that evolves from the useless Magikarp looks absurdly huge and awesome here. And Mewtwo looks every bit as powerful and enigmatic as he did in 1998’s Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back. In addition to the Pokémon we’ve glimpsed in the previous trailers, I think I also spotted a Pidgeot giving Pikachu a ride.


Pikachu may get top billing, but Detective Pikachu clearly isn’t holding back on giving fans all the coolest Pokémon that they’ve always wanted to see in live action. I imagine spotting all the Pokémon in this movie is going to be quite the task and may be like trying to spot all the pop culture references in Ready Player One. Gotta catch ‘em all! This movie is going to make so much money.




Detective Pikachu is making a brilliant and bold choice to not give in to the temptation to try and make the Pokémon look ultra-realistic. Unlike something like Sonic the Hedgehog, which appears to be (we haven’t seen the final look yet to be fair) attempting a realistic lightning-fast humanoid hedgehog, Detective Pikachu is adapting the Pokémon to the big screen and maintaining the looks fans have grown up with and loved since the mid-'90s.


The nice thing about this latest trailer and what we’ve seen so far is that while seeing all these awesome Pokémon is the selling point, the story and the character interactions also look to be a ton of fun. The interplay between the gung-ho Lucy, played by Kathryn Newton, Justice Smith’s completely out of his element Tim and Ryan Reynolds witty Pikachu is delightful and hilarious.


Poor Tim trying to be smooth and failing spectacularly is great as Ryan Reynold’s Pikachu then rips him for it. Detective Pikachu will get people in the door with the Pokémon, but this relationship is critical to keeping them entertained after that. Thankfully, it appears to be a unique and funny buddy cop dynamic, with Pikachu as a snarky Sherlock Holmes and Tim as an awkward and insecure Watson.




Detective Pikachu opens in theaters on May 10. Check out our 2019 release schedule to see the biggest movies headed your way this year and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news.

 

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