Opinions on the Movies

[Lil Brother]

Yes, boys and girls, it's that time again. I noticed the movie 11 thread was getting derailed... so how about yet another "what did you think of the previously released movieds and how do they compare with one another?" thread.

Movie 1: The main thing I like about this one, looking back, is how "special" it was. It got a CD Drama prequel, a TV special sequel, and episodes leading into it (even if it was out in Japan before the episode aired there; it worked better in other countries). It was interesting and a bit more dark than most of the other movies (lab go boom). Good, but not the best.

Movie 2: Probably less complex than the others, but it was a fun ride. Enjoyable, especially if you liked the linear plot. Also, the ending was awesome.

Movie 3: Best of the original five. Gave some background information into the Pallet group, featured a great "villian" character, had Misty and Brock actually participate, and was visually wonderful. I love it and have seen it a dozen more times than any movie should ever be watched by one person.

Movie 4: Usually considered the weakest of the original series, and I have to agree. I like it- especially the thing with Sam- but it still feels like it's... I don't know, not Pokémonic enough. I like it though, don't get me wrong!

Movie 5: Ooh, how the dub changes bother me. I love the dub, but I'm way more harsh on 4Kids for this movie than usual. Don't ask me why. But this is still a really fun one what with the cool soundtrack (I effin' adore the ending theme of the original version) and likeable legendaries. I probably like it more than it deserves.

Movie 6: I'm kinda out out things to say by this point, but I love this one too. XD Max proves how much of a loveable character he's in it, Team Magma reminded us it existed, the climax was great (friggin' Mutant Giant Zombie Groudon), and the soundtrack was kickarse. I honestly didn't like Butler, though. I just couldn't bring myself to think Butler was a good person or deserved a happy life at the end. Let the flames toward me begin!

Movie 7: I've gone from despising this to appreciated it. It had a great soundtrack (I just say that about everything, don't I?), loveable "CotM"s (Sid <3), and a neat setting. Being trapped in an inactive city and aliens flew around kidnapping people? Cool. XD Yeah, the ending pretty much sucked, but the ride was good. Probably my least favorite AG movie, but not my least favorite movie.

Movie 8: I've gushed about how much I love this one and I can't even go on with it anymore. Best one yet, and I'm not just saying that because it's the common opinion.

Movie 9: Why do so many people hate it? The story pretty much dragged on halfway through but the final third with the temple was probably may favorite climax of any Pokémon movie. Sure, always changing who the main character was was probably the major flaw, but I was honestly never bothered by it. This one's tied with Jirachi as my second favorite of the AG movies. Speaking of which, I seriously don't think May and Manaphy's relationship was that similar to Max and Jirachi's. Max and Jirachi had a brotherly/best friend relationship. These two had a mother/child relatioship more similar to Misty and Togepi's... although I also got a teenage sister/loving younger siblign vibe from it too. *shrus* I don't care what anyone says, I enjoy this one. Oh, and great soundtrack, of course.

 

[Habunake]

Movie 5's dub was made worse by the horrid DVD quality. It was evident the most by Pikachu's green lightning.

 

[Geoffrey]

Movie 5's dub was made worse by the horrid DVD quality. It was evident the most by Pikachu's green lightning.

I know, what the hell was up with that, and whose fault was it? Miramax or 4kids?

 

[Cybersai]

Nice thread, Lil Brother. I'm not going to give detailed opinions or anything, but just quick thoughts.

Movie 1: Good. Mewtwo and Mew just have the best backstory for legends.

Movie 2: Good. Nice use of the birds, Misty's biggest movie role, Tracey does nothing, lol.

Movie 3: Good. I loved this movie. Molly and the Unown were great, and the Charizard comeback was shocking at the time.

Movie 4: Meh. Probably the first movie that disappointed me. It had its moments, but I can't say I truly liked it.

Movie 5: Average. Better than the previous, but not as good as the first three.

Movie 6: Average. Good villains and nice to see Max in a leading role, but it had pacing problems and the fake Groudon pretty wasted.

Movie 7: Subpar. Tori + Plusle/Minun + random Munchlax + terrible block robots = what the hell? You didn't even know why the hell Deoxys and Rayquaza started cooperating at the end.

Movie 8: Awesome. Favorite movie.

Movie 9: Ok. About the same or a little less than Movie's 5 or 6 for me. Some pacing problems and a Super Saiyan ending drag it down, but otherwise I liked most of everything else about it.

Haven't seen Movie 10 yet, of course.

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

Movie One: Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Foreshadowing some of the events in the main series was a good move, and the plot at the time was extremely fresh for the anime. Mewtwo has one of the greatest personalities of any character, and you could really feel for him too, and understand his perspective when you learned of his past.

Movie Two: I didn't enjoy this as much. The plot was fairly straightforward, and therein lied the problem. It was too predictable. I liked it, but I consider it a disappointment when compared to some of the others.

Movie Three: Another original plot, and the way that the Unown were incorporated and made responsible for what happened was a good move. I kind of think that it set the stage for Mastermind with a phantom Entei having a true soul. The only low point was Charizard randomly being tossed in. WTF?

Movie Four: It's been a long time since I saw it, but from what I remember it was weak. The best part was the idea behind the Dark Balls. I did like Ash's interaction with Sammy though.

Movie Five: One of my two favourites. While I wish that the colour edits, fossil edits, Annie and Oakley association edits, and history lesson cuts hadn't been made, I still thought it was thoroughly enjoyable. The only occassion where a Pokemon (Latios) swears in the anime (I am convinced that it said "Fuck you" to Latias as the tidal wave closed in).

Movie Six: Not particularily exceptional. I found the plot very strange, and they could have changed the Groudon to an actual Pokemon. Yay for a random wild Flygon.

Movie Seven: It was decent. I found Torkoal's voice change bizarre, but the actual plot was interesting. It began with tons of promise, and ended with a yawn. I enjoyed Tori though, and found his character believable.

Movie Eight: I think I'm the only Pokemon fan who finds this movie just okay. Yeah, the plot was interesting, and the history lesson about the Pokemon Wars, but there's something about this movie that really puts me off. I don't know what it is... maybe Lucario? Is the woman who tried to catch Mew a baddie or a goodie? I've never figured it out.

Movie Nine: One of my favourites, along with five. Good plot, even if it was a little bit of a rehash. Fantastic character interactions, and really nice emotions. I enjoyed how the Rangers were portrayed too, and their presence only makes the Pokemon World seem more realistic to me.

 

[Trevenant]

Something I noticed in the other thread was a good deal of claiming that Movie 9 had an extremely unoriginal plot and was a copy of Movie 6. Technically, most of the Pokemon Movies follow either the Movie 1 formula - clash of legendaries, namely Movies 1, 2, 7, and 10, or the Movie 4 formula - character befriends 'cute' legendary and then trouble is had due to the stupidity of man - Movies 4, 5, 6, 8 (to some extent), and 9. Though 3 and 8 are the ones that arguably break the mold the most.

At any rate, it's just a thought that none of the Movies are that original. I still enjoy them, but the point remains. Also, I know we had at least two or three Generation 2 Pokes advertised during Movie 1. I know I saw Donphan at the very beginning and I think I saw Marill at some point.

 

[cassius335]

Movie 7: Subpar. Tori + Plusle/Minun + random Munchlax + terrible block robots = what the hell? You didn't even know why the hell Deoxys and Rayquaza started cooperating at the end.

Oh, that's easy. Having gotten what they wanted (each other), the two Deoxys apparently decided they couldn't let Rayquasa drown under the block robots and so we see them wading in with forcefields to try and protect it. Rayquasa noticed it's "enemies" trying to help it and was appropriately grateful.

 

[ImJessieTR]

Movie one: Still one of my favorites, since besides Lucario Mewtwo has the best backstory of any character, human or pokemon. Appreciated the dark themes. Painted Mewtwo on my bedroom wall.

Movie two: Prettier, although the large pokemon groups in more recent movies make the Pokemon Stadium animations irritating now. I dislike cut/paste animation unless it serves a point. I liked the song (never heard the original) and the pokeshipping moments. Team Rocket (JJ&M) still had a point.

Movie three: Ties with the originality of the first movie. Kinda like the Dark Phoenix saga for pokemon fans. Kudos to Brock and Misty for participating this time. Thought they kinda glossed over Molly's traumatic experience with the standard "Well, they lived happily ever after" crap. We should one day see how Molly turned out (in my fics she undergoes nervous breakdowns and dies ... lol).

Movie four: Saw Princess Mononoke ... twice: the actual movie, then its Pokemon equivalent. You start to see Rocketshipping get more one-sided. Beautiful song. Cast commentary on DVD a plus (before all we got was some whining about how hard it was to match lip flaps ... ad nauseum). Last time a legendary (or anyone, really) dies and is resurrected (I think).

Movie five: Beautiful scenery and pokemon animations (esp. in groups). Irritating inclusion of Annie & Oakley into Team Rocket ... I had never seen the original but even I knew there was no evidence linking them to my favorite team. Basically, worth watching solely for the Altoshipping.

Movie six: Ick. Animation went to hell. Satan threw it back up. Gave Max something to do ... but I detest cutesy "a boy and his dog" stories. Old Yeller is better (so is Where the Red Fern Grows). Ending theme, though absolutely rocks ... makes you forget just how crappy the movie was.

Movie seven: I would have paid Rayquaza to eat Tori. I hated him that bad. I loved the point blank hyper beam into Deoxys' face. Interesting locale. Humans (besides Tori for his "boy and his glitch" plot) were largely disaster fodder and completely unnecessary. Probably the closest anyone will get to seeing a glitch, though.

Movie eight: Ah, back to quality. Lucario is basically Mewtwo, but just different enough to make it interesting. Lush locales, cool history lesson, another chance for Ash to risk dying ... and, for me, a reminder of Rocketshipping (although it's still pretty one-sided). Wasn't fond of the new VA's when their season started, but a couple of characters in this one were just as dead (why does James barely have any emotion, like he's just barking his lines, when his face clearly shows he's being traumatized by Jessie's fate?). My theory that Ash's father is Goku is starting to make some sense, with all that Aura stuff...

Movie nine: Wasn't too impressed. Haven't bought it ... don't really want to. Like five, it was kinda rehashing movie 2. And yet, we see that Ash really is a "primeape" and his climbing skills are put to some really good use this time around. My theory that Ash's father is Goku is solidifying with Super Ash ...

 

[Habunake]

Whoa...

...I think you got some things mixed up. Movie 8 had the old VA's.

 

[Cybersai]

I think she was saying how the voices in that movie felt flat even compared to the new voices. We all generally agreed Eric Stuarts James was becoming crap as the show went on.

 

[Habunake]

I'm kinda surprised she's mad because Eric Staurt sounded "bored".

Eric Stuart is the king of overreacting.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I think 3 was the best, but my favorite character comes from 2, and I think 4 had the best villian. I know others who feel the same way about my first two points, but I seem to stand alone in noticing how kickass the Marauder was. He started off pretty ordinary, like a typical concieted Rocket, but when he was all "fuck the Boss!" that was the turning point. Ooooh, the fanfics that could be done...and yet I seem to be the only one doing them.

It's funny, a lot of fan-created Rockets are violent and irrational, but there's a completely ignored canon Rocket with the same traits! IS it because he's a traitor? Because as I said, there's so much that can be done with that. And since we're unlikely to ever see him again in canon (although hey, if Bashou and Buson can show up again, anything's possible), well then!

But anyway. You've all heard me expound on the merits of Jirarudan, so I'll skip the whole "why he's my favorite character" stuff.

Movie 3 is awesome. Delia, usually religated to cooking and gardening, gets to show her badass side. Molly is one of the more interesting characters in the series, how she goes from innocent kid to evil mastermind to Unown pawn and back again. And the whole movie has the feel of an 80s fantasy film like Labyrinth or NeverEnding Story.

 

[hyliansage]

*agrees with the people liking movie 3*



Loved the animation and how pretty and colorful so many of the scenes were. And so much action! And Molly is probably my favorite movie-character... Although Mewtwo is pretty high up there too... >__>

And is it just me... Or have they not used that pretty brown for Ash's eyes for a while... Actually... or any of the pretty blendy+lighted colors for anyone's eyes... Like at the end of the 2nd movie... Haha...

I have to say that I didn't really like 6 or 7 as much... I think it was the pacing? :/ Although I DID like Butler and Diane... Even if it was just because they reminded me of FE7's Pent and Louise for whatever odd reason... Even though Pent's hair is silvery-blue and their personalities and relationship are nowhere alike at all... >__<

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I have to say that I didn't really like 6 or 7 as much... I think it was the pacing? :/ Although I DID like Butler and Diane...

Seconded. 6 bored me (maybe because I don't like Max), but Butler and Diane were awesome. I loved their dynamic, and how far she was willing to go to stop him/save him.

Oh, I suppose I should say what my *least* favorite movie was. Not counting 5 since I haven't seen it, it would have to be 9. Nothing but wasted potential. May was wasted, Lizabeth was wasted, Phantom was wasted...

They spend the whole movie building up how important May and Lizabeth are, and what do they do? Keep Lizabeth aboard the sub and LOCK MAY IN A CAPSULE, thereby ensuring they do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING while ASH SAVES THE DAY AGAIN. And WHAT exactly did he save? He kept the temple, which was already underwater, from going FURTHER underwater? That was IT? It would already require a sub to REACH, what would be so terrible about now needing a sub to go in?

And Phantom! It would have, as I've said before, worked better if he had been an ex-Aqua. That would have at least made Kyogre appearing at the end *ironic* if nothing else (it still would have smacked of Deus Ex, but not as *much*). Anyway, Phantom had the dark skin and blue hair of Lizabeth's family, which, as we know from her, are trademarks of the People of the Water. Yet Phantom's never connected with them! And he even has the special PotW bracelet--and it's never said how he got it! Was he shunned? Give us SOMETHING rather than a vague "you don't know what I went through to get this" line that only serves to further DISconnect him from them!

And come on. The guy's the size of a house and you're telling me his strength came from some suit all along? COPOUT for a cheap laugh is what that felt like.

(WARNING: Parrot owner rambling ahead) And don't get me started on his Chatot! ANOTHER mindless mimic even though parrots can use functional language--what better place to showcase another REAL talking pokemon than in a movie? I mean, even if it *was* fairly minor. You'd think a parrot POKEMON could be a friggin GENIUS. And what was up with it abandoning its master so easily? Parrots bond to their owner (or someone close, anyway), and pokemon bond to their trainers, so you'd think a parrot pokemon would have a *really* strong bond to its trainer. But no, it jumps ship--pretty much literally--the second Jackie offers it a hand. Now, if Phantom had been abusing it, I could see, but he didn't.

All in all, would it have killed the writers to follow through on their own stuff?

 

[Yotsuba]

Opinions, opinions...try and do this in as few words possible. I know I'll end up rambling. x_x

Movie 1; Extremely awesome. The idea of natural beings fighting against super clones...eh, it's not exactly new or unique. On the other hand though, it did have a huge point going for it. Build up. Backstory. Not only did the main series foreshadow and refer to it, but we also had CD dramas on the side. We got to hear about Ai and her father, about Mewtwo before it fully matured, we even got to see Mew's connection to Team Rocket! Definitely one of the better handled stories, the others should really get this much attention.

Movie 2; Loved it. So predicatable and so "heard of", but I loved it. Giving the legendary birds an actual purpose other than "being there" was pretty cool. I also really loved how they connected the new generation to the old. Instead of just saying "Look, it's Lugia! OH AND WOW! AND THE BIRDS!" they made it as if Lugia had been there since the beginning. They didn't pull a Kyogre and just say "ok, you're just going to 'be there'".

Movie 3; The feeling was incredibly different for pokemon, but in the end it worked. You had Hanako screentime+backstory, Kasumi and Takeshi doing something, Unown information, Lizardon appearance (and connection to the anime, yay!) and best of all...the fairy-tale-like worlds. Seriously, how could you hate any of that? Nowadays the movies neglect this stuff so much, it's depressing.

Movie 4; Yukinari being the young prof was cool, but otherwise it's one of my least favorites. I just can't get into it. Celebi is cute, but the whole "SAVE THE FOREST!" message has been done to death. It just bored me. I also can't get into those touchy-feely Japanese scenes. You all know the ones I'm talking about. Where the boys sit in the tree and laugh at some pokemon, or where everyone waves at Celebi after being revived, just...ugh! I'm sorry, but just thinking about it makes me laugh. XD

Movie 5; Not too bad. The dub mutilated the original plot, that was painful, but the Japanese version was pretty good.

Movie 6; I know a lot of people look down on it, but I don't care. This is my favorite movie! Not only do I just love Masato and Jirachi individually, but I also love them together. It's just so cute! Also if you want to get technical, picking Masato was probably the best move in the world. Not only did it build upon his character, but it also allowed to writers to touch upon both Haruka and Satoshi. They each had their different views on Masato's relationship with Jirachi, so it was a good way of not leaving either side out.

Movie 7; Tooi was super cute, but so much of the movie was boring. The trailers acted like it'd be more epic than the first movie, but it turned out to be so much wasted potential. Couldn't Deoxys been doing more than searching for a friend? Couldn't some major destruction and fighting occur? Couldn't it have been Satoshi and Haruka fighting at the tower? Couldn't they just have extended the trailer and given us that to watch?

Movie 8; I'm going to get stoned to death, I just know it, but...it was only so-so to me. I'm not exactly sure why, I watched both the Japanese and dub versions (in fact I WANTED to like it since everyone else did), but something about this movie just didn't attract me. I think it was all the Satoshi centered junk. I mean, I like the kid a lot, but in this movie it was like everyone else just didn't exist. It was just him and Lucario. I didn't like that very well.

With the first and sixth movie shorts being exceptions, I've also always hated the "pokemon only" bits. They just seem stupid and boring to me. The eighth movie had a few of those however, so it's no wonder why I wanted to just turn the thing off.

Movie 9; Would've been great had we not had the sixth movie, but since we did...quite blah. Seeing lots of Haruka was nice, and Jackie turned out cooler than I had ever imagined, but...*shakes head* Not my cup of tea. I also wanted to spork Satoshi to death for that ending.

Also more "cheesy Japanese moments" at the end. I burst out laughing when that cheery music started playing and they were all flying around at the end. Seriously, I just can't get into that.

*looks up* Oh ya, I rambled.

 

[cassius335]

And WHAT exactly did he save? He kept the temple, which was already underwater, from going FURTHER underwater? That was IT? It would already require a sub to REACH, what would be so terrible about now needing a sub to go in?

Why do you think there was an energy field in place? Preserve the interior in an unflooded state, maybe? Not to mention that without power, the temple can't rise itself to the surface (or cloak, for that matter)

 

[Maxim Posthumus]

I must say that since AG movies get worse. Mostly because of those rubbish 3D effects.

AG Movie 1 was a bit of rubbish.
AG Movie 2 was better.
AG Movie 3 was worse than 2, but better than 1.
AG Movie 4 was a big piece of garbage (except cameos on the beggining)
DP Movie 1 - I don't really know. Seems to be no good but better than AG4.
DP Movie 2 - I.... won't.... let.... them.... ruin.... GIRATINA!

From older movies - well, all of them were good. My favourite was 5, then 1 and 2 (I like these equally), then 4, then 3.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

Why do you think there was an energy field in place? Preserve the interior in an unflooded state, maybe? Not to mention that without power, the temple can't rise itself to the surface (or cloak, for that matter)

Well, I'm saying that if the worst that happens is a deserted, already underwater building takes on water, it's really not that bad.

 

[Geoffrey]

Maxim, you're saying that you didn't like Jirachi, Lucario, or Manaphy, but you liked Deoxys? Wow, just wow. I never expected someone to be the exact opposite of fan opinion for the AG movies.

Why do you think there was an energy field in place? Preserve the interior in an unflooded state, maybe? Not to mention that without power, the temple can't rise itself to the surface (or cloak, for that matter)

Wouldn't it have been better to just let it sink though? What was the point of even saving it? If they let it sink, it would've been that much harder for a thief to steal the crown.

 

[ImJessieTR]

LOL ... that makes sense ... but then we wouldn't have gotten that "cool" ending.... hm....

I wasn't mad about the voices in movie 8, I was just saying I didn't think they were very stellar (especially James). It all just came across as being bitter their run was over (or, with some ... like Ash ... they were trying too hard to make this HISTORIC).

I also agree that the Masked Marauder should return (preferably, if a TG/TR finale ever happens). Or we find out that Giovanni "took care of" him for being a traitor. That would have been amusing. The lesson being that there are only 3 TR villains worth watching: Giovanni, Domino, MM -- in that order (I don't count J&J because they're only part-time evil).