Pokémon Detective Pikachu Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

1. The Fast Pacing & Snappy Runtime

No matter the film's many, many flaws, they're ultimately much easier to accept given its general rat-a-tat pacing and mercifully brief runtime.

Clocking in at just 104 minutes, Detective Pikachu hits the ground running and moves fast - Pikachu shows up about mid-way through the first act, and then we're off.

Though the exposition is lazy and excessive, it's nevertheless speedily raced through for the most part, with Letterman leaping from one set-piece, scenario or location to the next before tedium can ever really begin to set in.

Coming off the back of the three-hour Avengers: Endgame, a blockbuster that gets in and out in barely over 90 minutes (sans credits) is really quite refreshing.

Fingers crossed that the sequel might also boast scripted invention to match its snappiness, though.