Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Second not as good as the first
I didn't actually see this movie until the video release, and in retrospect, I wish I had seen it on the big screen. The animation was quite excellent, and the introduction of the 3 legendary birds from the original Pokemon games, along with the introduction of Lugia and several other Pokemon from the gold and silver games were a welcome sight on the big screen. The storyline, however, lacked the bite of the first movie. The underlying plot seemed basically the same (it's up to Ash to save the world again), but minus any kind of menacing villain. This movie's bad guy, a Pokemon "collector", intent on capturing all of the legenadary birds, is hardly intimidating, and there is no final resolution with him, as there was with Mewtwo - seemingly, no lessons learned. Another point I had against this movie was new character Tracey who replaced Brock in the cartoon for a while. I am NOT a Tracey fan, and even stopped watching the show while he was in it. But, it was still a pretty good movie, and I would recommend it to Pokemon fans."Pikachu's Rescue Adventure", the short before the movie, was also pretty cute, like "Pikachu's Vacation", and it introduced us to several new Pokemon. (And Vulpix was in it, which gives it high points in my book!) But again, if you don't follow Pokemon, it might be hard to understand what's going on, since once again, the dialogue is in "Pokemon-ese"! Once again, the DVD was in the standard format, just like "Pokemon: The First Movie". I can't understand why they do this, since most DVDs feature both standard and widescreen version, but who's to say.
Rating:  - Much better than the First Movie
Many people criticized "Mewtwo Strikes Back" when the first Pokemon movie was released in the US, because in comparison with the excellent Japanese version it was a mess, missing out important things that explained about the characters (such as The Birth Of Mewtwo), and it had sloppy characterization. However, I'm pleased to say that this film is generally much better than the first Pokemon movie. The plot involves a Pokemon collector called Laurence III who wants to capture the three Legendary birds Articuno. Zapdos and Moltres - or the Gods of Ice, Lightning and Fire as they're called here. Unfortunately, this creates a huge problem with Earth's weather patterns, causing violent storms and snow, and it is left up to Ash to get them back, and return things to normal. There are some little hints to the possibility of an Ash/Misty romance in this film - when Ash arrives on the island at the beginning of the movie, a girl called Melody kisses Ash on the cheek which makes Misty really jealous, as well as some other cute moments. Sadly, in spite of an improved plot I believe that, as before, the choice of music stands out as the film`s downfall and the producers haven`t learnt from the mistakes they made in the first film. Apart from a few exceptions ("The Legend Comes To Life" is a wonderful track), this movie replicates the same pop-styled rubbish used in the First Movie. The remix of the TV theme song ("Pokemon World" performed by Youngstown & Nobody's Angel) is absolutely horrible, with a scratchy beat and synthesized vocals. The campaign to ban vocoders starts here... Next time round, I would like to see a better choice of music which is less pop-orientated, but I`m not holding my breath... Overall though, in spite of the terrible soundtrack, this is a major improvement on the First Movie which I think any Pokemon fan should add to their collection.
Rating:  - Disappointed with the 1st one? This is a 100% improvement!
Pokemon: the 1st movie didn't go over too well with critics or viewers(I thought it was pretty good, but it was NOTHING compared to the second one.) Firstly, there are no mistakes in this one. Secondly, it makes a lot more sense-meaning adults will like it-and it's more exciting. Even the mini-movie in the beginning is better. (Pikachu and its pals follow Togepi to a magical garden, and many Pokemon, old and new, work togther during a storm there.) Anyway, the plot for this movie is very imaginative: In an attempt to capture all 3 legendary birds for his collection, this crazy collector guy starts a huge weather problem that will soon destroy the world(because the birds control the weather)if Ash doesn't bring together the three treasures from each island-Articuno's, Zapdos's, and Moltres's. Once he does that, Lugia is summoned from the ocean, and he puts an end to the problem. It's all very fast-paced and fun, and I just can't wait to watch it again(and again and again...) Ash, Misty, and Tracy are all in it, and if you look closely at one part you can see Brock running around with kids in the back of a TV screen. But that's it for him, and even though I hate him anyway, sorry to Brock fans! Still, Poke-people will ADORE this movie. Especially if you happen to agree with me that Team Rocket is the best part of everything Pokemon. They are very important to this move, seeing as how Ash NEEDS them to save the world(watch it, you'll find out how!) At one point they actually agree to give their lives to "potect the world from devestation", and I was fretting for the rest of the film until I found out they were OK! But this is a very funny, very, VERY worthwhile movie for Pokemon fans, so don't be turned away from it because the first wasn't as hot. They've done better!
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