Review M22: Mewtwo's Counterattack Evolution

[Dahara]

8. Certain scenes are somehow extended by a total of 20 minutes

I guess that now the sub is out in the wild we can all find out, but I find it absolutely insane that this version of the story cuts out 10 minutes worth of prologue material and is still 10 minutes longer than the original movie without adding really anything significant in terms of new scenes.

It's a really effective but still not very complicated story in terms of plot points to begin with.

 

[Silktree]

The action is padded out. I found it pretty seamless, actually.

 

[Neo Blaze]

I just saw the movie and I enjoyed watching it actually. It didn't feel like wasting my time because even though it is mostly a clone of the original movie, it still felt fresh and exciting. I admit I was one of the people negatively taken aback by the new animation style, but I got used to it once I started watching the movie.

The thing is, I don't know if I will ever feel the desire to watch this movie again, since the original movie exists and I still vastly prefer the original animation. But for what it's worth, I actually enjoyed watching this for what it was and that's saying something for a movie that doesn't bring much new to the table.

 

[Silktree]

I've only watched a handful of movies more than once, so that's okay.

 

[Dahara]

The thing is, I don't know if I will ever feel the desire to watch this movie again, since the original movie exists and I still vastly prefer the original animation. But for what it's worth, I actually enjoyed watching this for what it was and that's saying something for a movie that doesn't bring much new to the table.

The reasons why I think Mewtwo Strikes Back has a lot of rewatchability compared to other Pokemon movies is 1. Strong emotional core with Mewtwo being an awesome antagonist you can really sympathize with even while rooting against him. His backstory is important because we then realize why he is so full of rage and despair when he finally wakes up from his long slumber.

2. The movie is pretty short and it doesn't feel like a slog on repeat. I think a lot of other Pokemon movies are kinda boring on second viewing because the action scenes drag on forever and they think that legendaries are in and of themselves interesting, which they are not. Mewtwo and Mew are interesting characters, them being legendaries has nothing to do with it beyond how that helps inform their starkly different views.

 

[Silktree]

The "Ash gets petrified and then awakens" sequence is extended by just above 3 minutes. I'll study the differences later, but I personally think that this isn't just padding. The remake treats the prospect of Ash effectively dying with a bit more poignancy by giving Pikachu more time to feel frustrated before crying. I guess you could argue that it "burdens" viewers for longer than needed, but I think that's the point. It compensates for this by celebrating the awakening for longer, too.

 

[fabafaba]

So.....We're getting this too, right? We didn't a new movie at all stateside in 2019.

 

[Galar Adventurer]

So.....We're getting this too, right? We didn't a new movie at all stateside in 2019.

Ash's dub actress, Sarah Natochenny's stated that M22's been dubbed but we still don't have a concrete release date for the US, yet.

 

[Silktree]

I've read that Netflix is sitting on it. It sounds likely since they have their own schedule to follow.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

I can guarantee you that Netflix will barely promote the thing at all either.

In fact they almost never do with most of their anime originals or exclusives they get (a fate that Beastars is probably going to fall victim to) so don't be surprised if it just randomly shows up on Netflix with no announcement or fanfare other than a release date.

 

[Dahara]

Ash's dub actress, Sarah Natochenny's stated that M22's been dubbed but we still don't have a concrete release date for the US, yet.

Wonder if it is going to be more accurate than the old dub, where dumb things like Mewtwo's localized storm was really going to destroy the entire world somehow and legends about Pokemon tears curing people are said.

And no, it isn't likely that the tears themselves do anything to Satoshi, people have taken that scene why too literally. Notice that the sparkle effect coming from the Pokemon is also used in other scenes in the movie involving Aitwo, Mewtwo and Mew, meaning that they are visually linked with the use of psychic powers.

So essentially, I believe that the strong emotions of the Pokemon in the stadium combined with all the psychic energy that was detonated everywhere caused the physical manifestation of the sparkles, which mostly indicate the telepathic desire of everyone to see his petrifaction from this same energy reversed.

 

[Venomaid]

We didn't a new movie at all stateside in 2019.

 

[Dogasu]

There are already plenty of threads out there to discuss the film's potential international release (like this one, for example). How about we get this thread back on-topic?

For a soulless nostalgic cash grab,

People keep calling it that but...why? Just because it's a remake of an older movie? That's it? This movie, while not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, was made by a huge team of really talented people over the course of two years; it wasn't something they just farted out and then were done with.

I think it's a shame they didn't adapt the Ai +/- CD drama stories though. I guess those are now no longer considered worthy to exist?

The radio drama has always been ignored. I've literally never seen a single reference to the drama in the dozens of reference books related to the franchise, even in the ones that came out at the time of this film's release. It not getting a better adaptation here is not at all surprising.

The remake treats the prospect of Ash effectively dying with a bit more poignancy by giving Pikachu more time to feel frustrated before crying.

Well remember, Satoshi doesn't "die" in the original; the reason people think he does is because of the various script changes 4Kids made to the film back in 1999.

 

[Dahara]

The radio drama has always been ignored. I've literally never seen a single reference to the drama in the dozens of reference books related to the franchise, even in the ones that came out at the time of this film's release. It not getting a better adaptation here is not at all surprising.

Whether Mew is thinking of Miyamoto when looking at Musashi is debatable, the "Director's Cut" of Mewtwo Strikes Back has been pretty much the official version of the film sold in Japan for 20 years. So I don't think it is actually that unreasonable to expect the version that people grew up with, the target audience here, to be adapted for the big screen the second time around even if the Miyamoto stuff isn't there for lack of having a good place in the story where it would flow well with the rest of the narrative.

 

[Emelie]

I think I prefer the old version of Mew. It had more personality in the old movie like when it jumped on the windmill and the scene when Mewtwo is talking but Mew thinks he is boring and starts chasing its tail. I wonder if it is the same Mew as the one that Gou is currently chasing after?

I also think Mewtwo seems to be portrayed in a slightly more sympathetic light in the new version. It is more vague if he killed Fuji and the other researchers and Giovanni also forces him into an even more uncomfortable armour. Maybe they were trying to make up for the lack of backstory.

I'm glad that there is a slight possibility that Fuji might have survived. To me it always felt wrong that Mewtwo killed Ai's father even if he wasn't the greatest person and tried to play God. I hope this version of Fuji copes with his grief in a more healthy way.

I also like the scene when Kasumi and Psyduck try to hide from Mewtwo's balls. It shows that she really does care about it even if she makes fun of it sometimes.

Watching this movie almost made me wish that there was a video game based on the anime. CG always makes me think about video game cutscenes.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

People keep calling it that but...why? Just because it's a remake of an older movie? That's it? This movie, while not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, was made by a huge team of really talented people over the course of two years; it wasn't something they just farted out and then were done with.

I was being sarcastic because the average joe doesn't fully realize how much time and effort it actually took to make

 

[Silktree]

This movie definitely seems to be the biggest project in the anime's history, despite the recycled story (the script is a single person's job). Fans should show more appreciation for that alone, even if they don't personally like CG. After over 20 years of 2D movies, this was a deserved shift (possibly a one-time thing, but time will tell). Maybe in the meantime, someone has had more time to iron out the script for the next movie.

I forgot to praise the underwater scene. It's held back by the SM music (again, seriously?), but it's really pleasing to the eye.

Well remember, Satoshi doesn't "die" in the original; the reason people think he does is because of the various script changes 4Kids made to the film back in 1999.

Hence "effectively". They certainly seemed to mourn him once Pikachu failed to undo the damage.

I think I prefer the old version of Mew. It had more personality in the old movie like when it jumped on the windmill and the scene when Mewtwo is talking but Mew thinks he is boring and starts chasing its tail. I wonder if it is the same Mew as the one that Gou is currently chasing after?

I guess that the differences are subtle because those two scenes seem to be in tact to me. As for Go's Mew, the fact that Yamadera is its voice actor is a strong indicator that it might be the same one. We've had three Piplup with the same voice actress, but Yamadera doesn't tend to work on the show (just Dia and Farfetch'd way back in Kanto). Plus, Movie 1 isn't a distant memory thanks to the remake, so...

But it boils down to whether or not they'll bring Mewtwo back. Otherwise, there is no real context to speak of. The question is if they can bring back Mewtwo without having it upstage Mew.

Watching this movie almost made me wish that there was a video game based on the anime. CG always makes me think about video game cutscenes.

Yes, please. I know better than to expect it from Game Freak (especially in terms of the graphics, but also the scope of anime references beyond what they did in Yellow), but you never know about another developer.