The dark theme aside, Mewtwo Strikes Back does evolve into your
typical "fighting is bad" theme, with violence only stopping
when someone gets seriously hurt (Ash, in this case). While I
may not exactly like the way they decided to theme the movie,
it doesn't necessarily mean the movie doesn't have merit in
and of itself.
The
explorations of a mind newly created by humans, in this case Mewtwo,
presents a rather interesting topic for discussion. Apparently,
Mewtwo was disillusioned with his life upon finding that
he was a mere creation, and one with little purpose other than
the advancement of genetic engineering at that. Afterward, he
encounters people who would like to use him to their own purposes,
and again he destroys a good chunk of landscape, but not before
learning about his powers.
It
can be inferred that Mewtwo now has a very negative
view of humans, and it is easy to understand why he would
only be brought to reason upon seeing a human's true compassion
toward pokemon. What I don't quite get is how he got his megalomaniac
tendencies. Overall, the movie is good, but not quite what
is expected from pokemon. It explores topics a lot of shows
wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, but eventually leaves with
an anti-violence note that seems to be standard for children's
shows.
In
the process it does exhibit so many high level pokemon in action
that a trainer can't help but feel inspired… I bet anyone who
is struggling through the earlier stages of the game just couldn't
wait to capture his own Mewtwo and Mew after watching the movie,
what with the N64's upcoming 3D pokemon battle game that
allows them to load all their gameboy pokemon. Oh yeah, the movie
does have some CG for special effects, but usually just for transitions…
don't expect a flawless combination of CG and animation
here.
Final
Judgment: See it for yourself and decide. It's worth watching
just to see the pokemon.
