Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened

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.

I had heard really bad things about this movie and how it was so bad even pokemon fans resented it. Being one myself, I can certainly agree with everybody. As bad as the pokemon movies have been before, they never really did anything to get the mythology wrong. In the first movie, it's clearly established that Mewtwo is one of a kind but now here's another one. I guess other scientists did the same thing? Wouldn't that make her Mewthree? Even for a short movie, it's pretty padded. I guess the animation is nice, but that's about it. As someone who personally thought the original was mediocre at best, I had no choice but to hate this. It's the worst thing that ever had the pokemon name on it.

Team Rocket serve no purpose, but it doesn't really matter. Ash, Iris, and Cilan don't serve any purpose either! The fight scenes are just monotonous with Mewtwo and the head Genesect just flying around for too long. There are so many pokemon movies, you get to the point where you just can't reprise old stuff and that's just what this movie was. There's even a scene where Genesect gets between a blast with the head Genesect and Mewtwo, directly lifted from the original movie! Mewtwo can Mega Evolve. Why would she need to do that? Why does she keep going back to her original form? I think even the people who worked on this movie admitted this was a gamble and knew people wouldn't like it. If a idea seems bad, just don't make it. *1/2

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.

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-

The Pokemon movies can get pretty formulaic, but I still like to see them because the animation gets a humongous upgrade from the anime series (although that rift diminished in the spectacular XY anime series). This movie sees Ash and co. exploring a Central Park-esque Pokemon Hills. Trouble looms, however, as a group of Genesect are set on making Pokemon Hills their new home, disrupting the Pokemon ecosystem and potentially the power plant beneath it that runs the city. It's up to Ash, Cilan, Iris, the Pokemon Hills director Eric and Mewtwo to put a stop to it.

The Genesect's motivation at the beginning of the film is clearly established; they've been fossils for 300 million years and have been woken up by Team Plasma and weaponized. This is clear enough, but having the Team Plasma scientists play a bigger role could have greatly enhanced what is a middling entry in the series.

Mewtwo's appearance in this film is understandable given that they wanted to advertise its mega form. What was unnecessary, however, was erasing the relationship Ash and Mewtwo built up through two movies plus several other appearances.

The way Mewtwo and Genesect's conflicts were resolved were also very unclear. Overall, this is a passable film and one I'd put around the middle of the Pokemon pack. It didn't take full advantage of its unique setting, but it did shed some light on Genesect, a Pokemon that even in the games is very mysterious.