Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution is a shot-for-shot CGI remake of Mewtwo Strikes Back, the very first Pokémon movie, and the 22ndPokémon movie overall. It sees Mewtwo, the sentient clone of the legendary Pokemon Mew, issuing a challenge to worthy Pokemon trainers – including the trio of Ash, Misty, and Brock – to battle him and his army of cloned Pokemon at New Island while a fierce tempest rages.
Being essentially an exact carbon copy of the original, Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution is completely unnecessary. The only logical explanation I can think of why this movie was made is that the franchise is actually planning to do something new with this new animation style and technology, but they want to do a “test run” first. So they took a pre-existing material – in which the script, storyboards, etc. are already ready and available – and exercised with it. The result: this movie.
The only true distinction Evolution has is, of course, the visuals. There’s improved camera work in the action scenes, and the CGI rendition of the Pokemon and environments is gorgeous. Nevertheless, the change from hand-drawn to computer-generated is insufficient to make the movie transcendental.
Now, there are a few details that are different. But they are miniscule and inconsequential. Even though its runtime is about 20 minutes longer, it’s fundamentally the very same movie. The story structure is the same, and the scenes unfold in the same way.
However, Evolution made two changes that prove to be devastatingly detrimental to it. First is the exclusion of the song “Brother, My Brother” in the battle scene between the Pokemon and their clones. Aided by the reflective lyrics and moving tune of this song, that moment exhibits the horrible side of fighting, especially when it arises from each other’s differences. Now, if you think about it, it’s ironic and somewhat hilariously hypocritical of Pokémon– whose entire premise is basically about people making animals fight each other in their behalf as entertainment – to tell such message. Nonetheless, that’s definitely an iconic and poignant scene in the original movie. And “Brother, My Brother” plays a huge part in making it so. Hence, it’s baffling why the remake cut it out. Maybe they no longer have the right to the song?
Second, which is tied up with that scene, is the tête-à-têtebetween Meowth and his clone. In the original movie, the feline antagonist, who typically serves as comic relief, is the one who surprisingly offers a profound insight at that moment, which is in line with the theme of “Brother, My Brother.” As he and his clone make peace before a fight can even break out between them, he muses, “You’re right. We do have a lot in common. The same earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what’s the same instead of always looking at what’s different – well, who knows?” Yes, it’s a naïve, simplistic, and idealistic outlook; the real world is far more broken and complex than what that outlook presupposes. Still, it’s something worth pondering on at some point. Anyway, in Evolution, Meowth and his clone also have their moment. But instead of something clear and heartfelt, their dialogue is almost nonsensical.
The remake is already a needless movie as it is, but it’s also instantly made inferior by the two alterations it opted for, minor as they are.
In the end, it’s fortunate that it has been a while since the last time I saw Mewtwo Strikes Back. Hence, I got to treat my experience with Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution as a “nostalgic re-watch.” In that way, it didn’t feel like a waste of time, and I still had some fun with it.
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