La película Pokémon: Genesect y el despertar de una leyenda

This was a fairly decent Pokémon movie. This is hardly up there with the best ones, but it's at least a vast improvement over the fiasco that was "Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice."

I thought the premise was kind of interesting. I liked the dynamic with the Genesect having been created the same way that Mewtwo was. Not a bad way of using the cliché of machines created by humans turning into monsters.

The animation and GCI are top-notch, and the scenery is really nice in a setting that is based off Manhattan. The action scenes were also pretty good, and it was nice to see Ash's Charizard again.

However, there are lots of flaws. Of course, I didn't think there was any need for another movie involving Mewtwo, and I have no idea why Mew has a female voice in this film. It was kind of strange how Mewtwo just suddenly started caring about humans during the climax of the film.

The baby Genesect was kind of annoying with it constantly repeating "I want to go home" over and over. The script has its weak spots and some scenes are kind of strange. Also, there's Iris and Cilan.

While not everything in this one measures up, this is still a mostly satisfying addition to the series. Not really a must-see, but still worth a look for Pokémon fans.

RATING: B-

This Pokemon movie is pretty good. It had a good plot, good themes and good animations. There were many kinds of Pokemon from older generations. Kids are sure to enjoy Ash's adventures and Pikachu's heroics. However, I hated Mewtwo's voice, personality and character design. It's definitely not the same Mewtwo from the Pokemon movies back in my day. They would've been better off leaving Mewtwo out of the movie. Also, I wish Cilan had gotten more screen time. Cilan is my favorite character. He is funny and has a great personality, but they made him run off somewhere for 1/3 of the movie. The movie was too serious.

Not sure exactly what bug bit Nintendo's Pokémon studio but their string of features during the Unova region just hasn't hit the mark in entertainment. As mentioned in the previous entry, it seems like things are just on auto-pilot. The stories tend to feel repetitive despite trying to appeal to their current fan base while expanding on the foundation when the anime began. There's even been callbacks to certain things but it just hasn't been enough to feel like anything new is really being done. Unfortunately, this entry is very much the same again with only slight variations in different places. It's possible the production crew thought this story would get more viewers' attention because it involves a familiar face other than Ash, but that would be the only familiarity.

Once again handled by the Yuyama and Sonoda duo, this film finds Ash, Cilan and Iris headed to another city looking a lot like central park of New York City. Inside the park is a sanctuary where Pokémon of several regions live together. Meanwhile far away a group of 300-million-year-old telepathic Pokémon called Genesect are searching for their home. Thinking the area Ash and company are in reminds them of it, they begin attacking everyone so they can claim it for themselves. At the same time, Mewtwo who can relate to Genesect's feelings gets involved in the situation too. Really it's not that good of a story for several reasons. For one, it's just not engaging. Genesect was apparently resurrected by scientists and no longer trusts humans. See how Mewtwo understands? But even after all that Mewtwo has from its previous experience, it too doesn't trust or like humans. So no one's learned anything then.

Let's also not forget Mewtwo began the whole concept of telepathic English speaking Pokémon (other than Meowth). Genesect is just another copy of those usual things to be expected. Aside from finding their home as its repeatedly mentioned, there isn't much else to really get behind for these new Pokémon. Making things even worse is how botched Mewtwo is as a character. Upon meeting Ash again, Mewtwo recalls nothing of what it went through with Ash from the first movie or when it crossed paths with Ash after that. Unless this is a new Mewtwo, which makes no sense. Where's the continuity? So much for Ash promising they wouldn't forget what they experienced together several movies back. Making things even more confusing is whether this is actually the same Mewtwo from before. Reason being the voice is totally different and Mewtwo can now transform into another form. When did this come about?

There really are more questions now than from before. Miriam Pultro who now voices Mewtwo is okay in her delivery, but because the original performance was different it is very jarring. This also seems to be Pultro's only voice acting credit to date. The same could be said for Samia Mounts who voices the Genesect who befriends Ash and company. However, voicing the lead Genesect is Scott Rayow who does have experience doing anime dubs before and even in Pokémon. Then there's Eric who is Ash and friend's tour guide through the park voiced by Jake Paque. The character is useless as he tries to fix the tech being destroyed by the fighting Pokémon. Somehow he's the only one working among all other park employees. It's almost pointless to have this character.

Voice acting in general is fine though as usual. Even Team Rocket gets lines this time, which is cool. Animation was also an equally good looking component. Featuring bright colors and fluid movements there isn't much that needs correcting either. Cinematography was credited to Tatsumi Yukiwaki in their first Pokémon project although, like everyone before them, no idea what it's used for. Finally, the music composed by Shinji Miyazaki believe it or not felt a little more noticeable this time. The tracks heard in this feature feel a little more heartfelt despite the connections not fully being there. But like always there was no domestic release so the album is again unattainable locally. One day, maybe one day they'll get a rerelease. That's all there is to it though.

Regular components like the animation and voice acting are kept the same. Music even picks up some but the story in general is still bland. Continuity is also very confusing with the changes made to Mewtwo.

POKÉMON THE MOVIE: GENESECT AND THE LEGEND AWAKENED (2013) is the seventeenth Pokémon movie and the last one in the "Best Wishes" ("Black and White") series that's been running on TV in Japan since 2010 and in the U.S. since 2011. This time the regular protagonists' adventures take them to New York City and a brand-new Pokémon sanctuary established right in the middle of Central Park in the heart of Manhattan, making this the first time the Pokémon crew has traveled to this reviewer's hometown. It's much more of a solid action-adventure than usual for these movies, with far more Pokémon-vs.-Pokémon action than we've seen in a long time. In fact, the main characters of Ash Ketchum and his ever-present Pokémon sidekick Pikachu take something of a back seat here as the formidable MewTwo, a talking cat Pokémon created in a lab and first seen in the first Pokémon movie 15 years ago, takes on the major fighting role as he seeks to protect other Pokémon from the invading Genesects, a party of five extinct Pokémon recreated from fossils in yet another lab and then set loose on a destructive path into the world. One of the Genesects disdains fighting and laments that it just wants to go home. It soon bonds with Ash and his party and paves the way for some climactic mediation with the Red Genesect, the ruthless leader of the invaders.

MewTwo is quite a powerful creature and makes for a good match against the Genesects. Their fights dominate the film, although the other Pokémon in Central Park threatened by the invasion stand up for themselves as well, especially a muscular Feraligatr, a bipedal alligator-like Water-type Pokémon who bravely leads the resistance. It's quite a stirring sight to see an army of wildly different Pokémon fighting back entirely on their own initiative. Most of the Pokémon counterattacks take place under Central Park inside a massive power station which serves as a new nest for the Genesects. Meanwhile Red Genesect and MewTwo take to the skies over Manhattan and have some spectacular nighttime battles, slamming into high-rise buildings with alarming force. The action culminates in a high-speed trip to outer space for MewTwo and Red Genesect that leads to an unusual and highly suspenseful finale.

There's only one new human supporting character in the cast and that's Eric, the caretaker of the sanctuary, Pokémon Hills, and apparently the only one on duty when the Genesects threaten the power station and cause blackouts in parts of the city. Eric comes up with the solution that satisfies the Genesects' ultimate needs, so he plays a major role, but there isn't a lot of downtime for Ash and his friends, Iris and Cilan, to socialize with him, other than a quick meal of hot dogs, a "local specialty," as Eric tells them. Team Rocket, the series' set of regular, hapless villains (Jessie, James, and Meowth), plays a greater role in this film than they have in any of the last few films, although their efforts, as usual, come to naught.

The production design of the New York backgrounds is breathtaking, with shots of Central Park and the towering Pokémon Hills complex arising from within sprinkled throughout the film and seen at all hours of the day from afternoon to dusk to nighttime to dawn. (The story pretty much takes place over the course of a single day and night.) There is one shot of Times Square that perfectly captures the 21st century BLADE RUNNER-style configuration of giant screens and moving images arranged in sprawling formations that shower light on the area 24 hours a day. This isn't TAXI DRIVER's Times Square. The only significant difference from the actual Times Square is the predominance of Japanese lettering. (Truth to tell, the film never actually identifies the city by name.) Also, Central Park is a highly unlikely place to build a power station, particularly one that, according to Eric, powers the entire city.

This is the last movie in which we'll see Ash's "Black & White" companions, Iris and Cilan, since they're leaving the series as Ash moves into a new season, "Pokémon XY." I, for one, won't miss them, since their schtick has changed very little since they were first introduced over two years ago, with Iris constantly berating Ash for being "such a little kid" in that grating voice of hers (at least in the English dub) and metrosexual Cilan constantly waxing rhapsodic by means of forced foodie/cooking metaphors to describe everything he sees. (Too bad Cilan doesn't simply stay in New York, since he and Eric seem to hit it off.) Where are Misty and Brock when we need them?

I happen to enjoy the annual Pokémon movies and while I think the best of them are found among the first seven (up to and including DESTINY DEOXYS, 2004), there've been some good ones in the last few years, with this film standing out as one of the better ones. If I have any criticism it's that it doesn't give Ash and his friends a scene where they get to explore New York and see some of its famous sights. A tourist sequence would have made this outing just perfect.

The movie was released to theaters in Japan on July 13, 2013 and was first shown in the U.S. in an English-dubbed version on the Cartoon Network on October 19, 2013. It was released on DVD here on December 3, 2013, marking the shortest period of time ever between a Pokémon movie's Japanese release and its arrival in the U.S. In the past, I'd been accustomed to seeing the Japanese version of the movie well before its U.S. release. As of this writing, my Japanese video store in Manhattan still hasn't gotten the Japanese version.

The movie is about Mewtwo helping the Revived Genesects find peace. Ashs shows up and the rest is history.

Its a better movie in terms of quality, story and action.

Mewtwo's voice was horrible. Ash is still cringy. And Pokemon is still very kiddie.

Verdict: A rare good pokemon movie that is not worth watching again.