Gekijôban Poketto Monsutâ Maboroshi no Pokemon Rugia Bakutan

Part of the reason for the huge financial success of this movie has to do with all the ads which address Pokemon 2000 as the greatest adventure yet (or something like that). But is it?...not exactly.

Pokemon 2000 is entertaining, but it could have been more. Among the things that it lacks are the sense of a journey, the ethereal ambiance of the first pokemon feature, as well as the antagonistic sense of menace which Mewtow provided. On the other hand Pokemon 2000, is probably a better film for a mass audience, because there is more action and humor, but those alone do not make it the great adventure it promises.

Unlike the first movie, this one feels a bit short given the type of premise (one hero must save the world from destruction). Naturally this hero is Ash. In the movie however, he does not do anything so incredible. It felt to me like any other character could have been the hero, because if you get the help of an almost invincible legendary pokemon like Lugia, you don't need much skill. If this had been a slightly longer story, with a little more adventure, Pokemon 2000 would be a worthy film, but it's probably good enough for young Pokemon fans.