Why does Detective Pikachu exist? The whole concept of a live-action film focused on a crime-solving Pokémon with the voice of an adult man sounds more like something borne from a terrible improv sketch than an actual movie hitting theaters in 2019. And yet, here we are, and here it is, and the world continues its downward spiral towards meaningless cultural garble.
Still, though, Detective Pikachu is somehow so deeply cursed that it’s actually intriguing. Sure, it may look dumb. Sure, it may sound like a depressing, nostalgia-grabbing MadLib. Sure, it may turn all the beloved cartoon Pokémon from your youth into hyperreal, fleshy monstrosities. But isn’t that secretly compelling? If only there was a way to watch the movie without paying for a ticket and helping make sure that this is just the first in a long line of freakish Pokémon films. Oh, but wait—there is!
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On Tuesday, Ryan Reynolds tweeted a link to what appears to be a hi-res, pirated leak of the entire film—just days before it’s set to officially hit theaters:
The link leads to a 102-minute video watermarked with Reynolds’s name. After the Warner Bros. titles play, the film opens with Detective Pikachu star Justice Smith walking down a city street that looks something like Blade Runner if the movie was set in Kanto. But then, about a minute in, the movie takes, well, a turn.
Please, just watch:
OK, obviously, this is just an excellent troll and not the actual movie. Detective Pikachu likely won’t just be an hour and a half of Pikachu grooving to some hypnotic synth pop. But judging by the overwhelmingly poor reviews that the actual Detective Pikachu has been pulling in, this version might be the one worth watching. If only Danny DeVito made an appearance.
