Merilly

Detective Pikachu might actually become a case of a movie being so hilariously bad that it's good again.

I think it's hard to take a live-action movie of Pokemon seriously, especially with how terrifying/weird some of them look. However, if they take that to their advantage and actually don't try to be serious about it, it can still be a great and fun movie.

Movies like Sharknado were successful because they were so badly done you had to laugh. But that wasn't the only reason because there are many movies like that and they're just bad. The reason Sharknado was actually enjoyable to me was that you could feel that all parties involved did not take it seriously but rather just as it is: a bad movie with a ridiculous plot and fairly bad CGI. And that makes it good because the moment you feel that, it becomes a parody of itself without trying to be mean or being upset about the fact that it will never be a truly profound piece of art.

If Detective Pikachu does it right, it can also do it like Deadpool. (And not because Ryan Reynolds is also Pikachu's voice actor. This different, a bit less child-friendly image of a caffeine addicted Pikachu is refreshing rather than trying to copy a game.)

Let's be real. Live-action movies based on an anime or games with an anime-esque look have rarely ever worked out, apart from romance dramas perhaps. Having Pokemon, the epitome of child-friendly, translated into such a setting would likely be off-putting if they attempted that with a serious mindset.

The best they can do to appeal to adults (which make up a considerable amount of Pokemon fans even if Nintendo tries to ignore that at times), is to be aware that some of this just looks ridiculous in a realistic style and act on that. And it seems like they actually did that so far. I think there's a reason Detective Pikachu was chosen and not one of the main games or even a movie/the anime series. It's a spin-off with arguably a less grand fanbase while still having a story to follow and the potential to make it adequate for both adults and children.

I think I will actually watch it with the expectation that it will be a horrible movie but also with the potential to be a great horrible movie. And if not, I will at least have seen around an hour or so of a fluffy Pikachu with a Deadpool voice.