Review - Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back Evolution (2019/2020)
Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, I just watched the CG animated movie Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution. The movie was released theatrically in Japan in 2019, with an English dub direct-to-Netflix released in February of 2020. The film is a complete remake of the original Pokémon film: Mewtwo Strikes Back, with two main differences: a change in animation style, and a change in voice cast and dialogue.
The movie starts with the discovery of a fossil belonging to the ancient Pokémon: Mew. A group of scientists take the fossil back to their lab, and with it create the all-powerful Mewtwo. And much like in the original Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo has something of an identity crisis, and destroys the lab he was created in, killing all of the scientists in the process. Team Rocket leader Giovanni arrives, making Mewtwo an offer of partnership. After working together for weeks, Mewtwo truns on Giovanni and escapes, declaring war on humanity.
We then see Ash Ketchum, along with Misty and Brock, stopping for lunch, only for another trainer to challenge Ash to a Pokémon battle. After an impressive battle, Ash, Misty, and Brock are invited to a gathering on New Island hosted by the world's greatest Pokémon trainer. Ash accepts the invitation, and the three head for the ferry at Old Shore Wharf. Meanwhile, a storm kicks up, stirring up massive waves, hurricane winds, and torrential rainfall. This causes the harbormaster, Miranda, to cancel all boats for safety, including the ferry to New Island. However, trainers Corey, Neesha, and Fergus, using their Pokémon, head out to New Island regardless, as do Ash and the gang. At first, Ash and the gang travel on a boat shaped like a Lapras, driven by a disguised Jessie, James, and Meowth of Team Rocket. After the deception is discovered, Team Rocket is flung from the boat, as are Ash, Misty, and Brock, who arrive at the island thanks to Ash's Squirtle and Misty's Staryu.
Upon arrival, Ash, Misty, and Brock are guided by a servant of the mysterious host to the palace. It is here that, after mingling with Fergus, Corey, and Neesha, they learn that their mysterious host, the world's greatest Pokémon trainer, is none other than Mewtwo. After making his intentions clear, and releasing his servant (who turned out to be a missing Nurse Joy from a nearby Pokémon Center), Mewtwo summons three clone Pokémon from a recreation of the lab that was destroyed at the beginning of the film: Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. Mewtwo challenges the trainers to a battle in an open-air arena that was already set up, and Ash, Corey, and Neesha, with their respective Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise, accept the challenge. After getting thoroughly spanked by the clone Pokémon, the Trainers' Pokémon are all taken, including Pikachu, by Mewtwo, where they are all cloned by Mewtwo's cloning machine. Ash, not willing to let Mewtwo take Pikachu from him, ends up destroying the cloning machine, releasing all of the clone Pokémon, and freeing the originals from Mewtwo's Pokéballs.
Upon returning for a showdown with Mewtwo, Ash and the Pokémon are introduced to Mew, whom Mewtwo engages in battle with to prove how powerful he is. Mew, however, does put up one hell of a fight, leading to an all-out brawl between the clone Pokémon and their originals, which the Trainers are powerless to stop. After all of the Pokémon are too battered to keep going, including Pikachu who refused to fight his clone, Ash charges at Mew and Mewtwo, getting caught in the crossfire of their psychic blasts, and turning to stone in the process. Ash's sacrifice causes a commotion, leading all of the Pokémon to cry, with their tears bringing him back. Mewtwo realizes that it's not how one comes into being, but what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are. Mewtwo takes the clone Pokémon away, and erases the memories of the events that just occurred from everyone else that witnessed it. The movie ends with the storm ending, and Ash and the gang head off to continue their journey.
Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution is, from start to finish, the exact same plot as the original Mewtwo Strikes Back from the 90's. The story is exactly the same, the main characters are exactly the same, etc. There are, however, a few key differences. One that I liked is in the dubbing process this time around. In the original, 4Kids got a few Pokémon names wrong, like calling a Pidgeot a Pidgeotto, calling a Scyther and Alakazam, and calling a Sandslash a Sandshrew. There were also some jokes, including a Minnesota Vikings joke, that were in the original that get cut out of this version. On top of that, the 90's pop music from the original is gone, with the only song remaining being the 1999 movie cover of the classic theme. I feel that the dubbing house behind this film, The Pokémon Company, did a better job with dubbing than 4Kids. However, I still prefer the original voice cast of Veronica Taylor, Rachel Lillis, and Eric Stuart as Ash, Misty, and Brock. I enjoy the new voices fine, but it's just a preference for the originals with me. However, I have to give props for getting Dan Green to voice Mewrwo once more, after he already did so for the direct-to-video Mewtwo Returns movie.
The biggest difference this time around is the animation style. Whereas the original was drown in the traditional hand-drawn anime style, Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution is completely computer animated. And with that, the character's motions and facial movements are much more fluid and less stilted. I also like the change from Team Rocket rowing a Viking boat from the original to them rowing a Lapras paddleboat instead, which looked a lot cooler. Overall, I like that, while the plot remains identical to the original 90's version, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution is more than just a rehash, as it does improve on certain areas where the original 4Kids dub screwed up. However, I still prefer the original, as it's the one I grew up with. So, I'm going to give Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution a rating of 4.25/5. If you get a chance, give it a watch on Netflix. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time.
The movie starts with the discovery of a fossil belonging to the ancient Pokémon: Mew. A group of scientists take the fossil back to their lab, and with it create the all-powerful Mewtwo. And much like in the original Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo has something of an identity crisis, and destroys the lab he was created in, killing all of the scientists in the process. Team Rocket leader Giovanni arrives, making Mewtwo an offer of partnership. After working together for weeks, Mewtwo truns on Giovanni and escapes, declaring war on humanity.
We then see Ash Ketchum, along with Misty and Brock, stopping for lunch, only for another trainer to challenge Ash to a Pokémon battle. After an impressive battle, Ash, Misty, and Brock are invited to a gathering on New Island hosted by the world's greatest Pokémon trainer. Ash accepts the invitation, and the three head for the ferry at Old Shore Wharf. Meanwhile, a storm kicks up, stirring up massive waves, hurricane winds, and torrential rainfall. This causes the harbormaster, Miranda, to cancel all boats for safety, including the ferry to New Island. However, trainers Corey, Neesha, and Fergus, using their Pokémon, head out to New Island regardless, as do Ash and the gang. At first, Ash and the gang travel on a boat shaped like a Lapras, driven by a disguised Jessie, James, and Meowth of Team Rocket. After the deception is discovered, Team Rocket is flung from the boat, as are Ash, Misty, and Brock, who arrive at the island thanks to Ash's Squirtle and Misty's Staryu.
Upon arrival, Ash, Misty, and Brock are guided by a servant of the mysterious host to the palace. It is here that, after mingling with Fergus, Corey, and Neesha, they learn that their mysterious host, the world's greatest Pokémon trainer, is none other than Mewtwo. After making his intentions clear, and releasing his servant (who turned out to be a missing Nurse Joy from a nearby Pokémon Center), Mewtwo summons three clone Pokémon from a recreation of the lab that was destroyed at the beginning of the film: Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur. Mewtwo challenges the trainers to a battle in an open-air arena that was already set up, and Ash, Corey, and Neesha, with their respective Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise, accept the challenge. After getting thoroughly spanked by the clone Pokémon, the Trainers' Pokémon are all taken, including Pikachu, by Mewtwo, where they are all cloned by Mewtwo's cloning machine. Ash, not willing to let Mewtwo take Pikachu from him, ends up destroying the cloning machine, releasing all of the clone Pokémon, and freeing the originals from Mewtwo's Pokéballs.
Upon returning for a showdown with Mewtwo, Ash and the Pokémon are introduced to Mew, whom Mewtwo engages in battle with to prove how powerful he is. Mew, however, does put up one hell of a fight, leading to an all-out brawl between the clone Pokémon and their originals, which the Trainers are powerless to stop. After all of the Pokémon are too battered to keep going, including Pikachu who refused to fight his clone, Ash charges at Mew and Mewtwo, getting caught in the crossfire of their psychic blasts, and turning to stone in the process. Ash's sacrifice causes a commotion, leading all of the Pokémon to cry, with their tears bringing him back. Mewtwo realizes that it's not how one comes into being, but what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are. Mewtwo takes the clone Pokémon away, and erases the memories of the events that just occurred from everyone else that witnessed it. The movie ends with the storm ending, and Ash and the gang head off to continue their journey.
Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution is, from start to finish, the exact same plot as the original Mewtwo Strikes Back from the 90's. The story is exactly the same, the main characters are exactly the same, etc. There are, however, a few key differences. One that I liked is in the dubbing process this time around. In the original, 4Kids got a few Pokémon names wrong, like calling a Pidgeot a Pidgeotto, calling a Scyther and Alakazam, and calling a Sandslash a Sandshrew. There were also some jokes, including a Minnesota Vikings joke, that were in the original that get cut out of this version. On top of that, the 90's pop music from the original is gone, with the only song remaining being the 1999 movie cover of the classic theme. I feel that the dubbing house behind this film, The Pokémon Company, did a better job with dubbing than 4Kids. However, I still prefer the original voice cast of Veronica Taylor, Rachel Lillis, and Eric Stuart as Ash, Misty, and Brock. I enjoy the new voices fine, but it's just a preference for the originals with me. However, I have to give props for getting Dan Green to voice Mewrwo once more, after he already did so for the direct-to-video Mewtwo Returns movie.
The biggest difference this time around is the animation style. Whereas the original was drown in the traditional hand-drawn anime style, Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution is completely computer animated. And with that, the character's motions and facial movements are much more fluid and less stilted. I also like the change from Team Rocket rowing a Viking boat from the original to them rowing a Lapras paddleboat instead, which looked a lot cooler. Overall, I like that, while the plot remains identical to the original 90's version, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution is more than just a rehash, as it does improve on certain areas where the original 4Kids dub screwed up. However, I still prefer the original, as it's the one I grew up with. So, I'm going to give Mewtwo Strikes Back - Evolution a rating of 4.25/5. If you get a chance, give it a watch on Netflix. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time.
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