review provided TJ
Title: Pokemon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama
U.S. Distributor: VIZ Media
Release Date: Dec 3, 2013
Format and Length: DVD; 70 min
Genre: action/adventure
Industry Age Rating: TV Y7
Overall Personal Rating: C
Similar Series: Other titles in the Pokemon universe
Synopsis:
A group powerful ancient Pokemon has been resurrected by Team Plasma. The Genesect escaped and destroyed the Plasma laboratory and flew off in search of their home. But what they once knew as a pleasant lake had, over the years, turned into a cold mountainous region. Believing they had been deceived by other living things, they fly off to find a place they can call home, ready to destroy whatever may already be there.
Back in the City, Ash, Iris, and Cilan arrive at Pokemon Hills. Professor Oak had gotten them in to take a tour before it opens to the general public. Wandering around the facility, Ash comes across a Pokemon that he had never seen before. Discovering that the Genesect can talk, and that all it wants is to go home, Ash promises to help it find its home. The other Genesect show up and, believing Ash to be a threat, immediately attack him. Mewtwo arrives just in time and protects them from the blast.
It seems the Genesect that Ash found was there because there are flowers in Pokemon Hills that bloomed around its original home. Because the flowers are the only thing they found familiar, the Genesect begin running out all the Pokemon in Pokemon Hills and begin building their nest there. Because the Genesect leader refuses to believe that anyone else wants to help it, a fierce battle between it and Mewtwo ensues that will determine the fate of the Genesect and Pokemon Hills.
Commentary:
I really wanted to like Pokemon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened. I wanted it to be like the Pokemon movies that I grew up with and loved. But there were so many places where it just fell short of being good. The biggest example is the setting of the movie. It was never made clear what Pokemon Hills actually was. The way it was talked about made it sound like a zoo, but they always refer to it as “the facility.” So is it a zoo? Maybe an adoption center? Or even a Pokemon retirement home? What is it that Ash is trying to save?
Other than that, there were three major problems with this movie. The first is the dialogue. The dialogue was awful. It is a Pokemon movie and it does deserve to be cut some slack for being a children’s show. But it is really hard to look past the fact that there were only around ten lines of actual dialogue and everything else was just a character stating things that were blatantly obvious.
The second problem with Pokemon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened is Team Rocket. They just did not need to be there and it really seemed like they were put in to fill time. They almost had a purpose: they end up dropping a Rocket launcher into Pokemon Hills. Half the movie later, it gets knocked loose and starts falling and Pikachu saves a Genesect from being hit by it. The weapon gets knocked into a hallway and it seems like that would come into play later. Its a Rocket Launcher in a zoo. That is a huge firehazard. But no, it never comes up ever again.
The final problem is the lack of continuity. There is no mention at all of the huge events Mewtwo caused back in Pokemon the First Movie. Yes, that movie was fifteen years ago, but if the same iconic character is going to be used, shouldn’t there be some mention that it and the protagonist have met before? At the Pokemon Center Nurse Joy even states that she has never heard of Mewtwo. Even if it is in a different region, the events surrounding Mewtwo’s first appearance threatened the entire world, everyone should know about Mewtwo. It would have been simple to fit at least one mention of it into the movie, the backstory they gave Mewtwo in Genesect and the Legend Awakened just barely conflicts with how the First Movie ended. Just minor tweaking would have fixed this entire problem.
One thing that was enjoyable about Pokemon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened was the music. It was lighthearded pop music about friendship, but it was bouncy and it would make a great karaoke song to just belt out and have fun with and embarrass yourself.
Overall Grade: C
There was too much wrong with Pokemon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened to call it good. Between awful dialogue and no cartharsis relating to Mewtwo, the redeeming qualities the movie has just can’t save it.
