“Pokemon” is a “Frankenstein” parable. An evil scientist has found a fossil of the great Pokemon Mew and extracted DNA. In a gloomy underwater lab, he creates a fearsome clone called Mewtwo. Mewtwo has issues. “These humans care nothing for me,” he gravely intones. “Am I just an experiment?” Apparently, he’s not just the world’s strongest Pokemon–he’s the most existential. Mewtwo turns psycho and invites people who train Pokemon to his storm-racked castle. He wants to build an evil army of Pokemon clones to kill everyone and everything. Ash, Misty and Brock–friendly kids from the TV show–turn up with Pikachu and posse, and set about saving the day, world, etc.
It’s worth giving away a few last-minute plot details just so you know when your kindergartner is going to start crying. In the final battle, Pikachu, that adorable Teletubby wanna-be, gets menaced, then sees his beloved Ash lying dead on the battlefield. You know Ash will somehow be brought back to life. Your kids may not. The movie ends with the obligatory–and mind-blowingly hypocritical–revelation that fighting is bad. This movie is worse.
