Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007) User Reviews

the film can go two ways

[eva_luke2003 · 7/10 · 9 November 2008]

I have been a Pokemon Fan from the start but I was slightly disappointed with this film.

Many pokemon fan know that 4Kids entertainment had the rights to all pokemon anime/movies how ever it was then taken over by "Pokemon.inc" so the leading roll of Ash ketchum would no longer be played by Veronica Taylor but by Sarah Natochenny (A sound alike vice actor) no offense to Sarah but Veronica was the Voice many people had come to know as Ash's voice. How ever the sound alike sounds NOTHING like Ash, and this movie is the best example of bad dubbing, all the original voices have been changed for the worst except for Jessie (the red headed member of team rocket) who for some reason sounds the same.

But aside from the voices, the story line and plot of this movie, kept me watching till the end. a nice choice of music for the battling moments,

The story is set around the time of the Diamond and pearl animes time line, as two pokemon are engaged in a battle caught between space and time, in the mean time ash and his buddies arrive in a new town, where Darkrai ( a pokemon that is cause of your bad dreams ) is bringing chaos to the town and its people. could this be the end of the pokemon world as we know it ?

One Of The Best Pokemon Movies I Have Ever Seen!

[Palkia17 · 8/10 · 5 September 2010]

I'm still a Pokemon fan & I always will be! Because I grew up with Pokemon when I was little. When I first saw this movie I was like WOAH! This is one of the best Pokemon movies I've ever seen so far. & I had this feeling that I must buy this movie. The best thing I really like about this movie is that the movie followed up on the plot perfectly. The song "Oracion" turned out to be a beautiful inspiration to me. The special effects in 3D turned out great. & best of all it had such a sad but cute happy ending to it. I totally disagree on how the star rating turned out to be. I think this movie deserves something better. I would give this movie an 8.5 star rating. From all the Pokemon movies that I've seen they have been starting to improve quite a bit. Great job! Keep up the good work!

Better performances from the new cast, premise is weak

[breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com · 4/10 · 24 November 2021]

The Pokémon films all have on average performed with acceptable storytelling so far. Only some were truly just lousy in their execution. Some depending on weak villain motivation or backstories. When audiences can see through that, is when it feels very disappointing. It's even more disheartening though when there is no villain and viewers are left to seeing events happen due to nonsensical reasons. As the first feature film with the new US voice cast after getting through the rough time that was The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon (2006), fans would be expecting an improvement. After viewing, it's slightly better...but still has issues but for different reasons. Really, it comes down to the how the story is set up more than anything else and this is unfortunately where it gets difficult to sit through.

Worked on by the same Yuyama Sonoda duo, the story is about the city of Alamos which has two musical towers built at the center of it all. The two towers represent space and time which is also related to the legendary Pokémon Palkia and Dialga respectively. Unfortunately, when these two creatures cross paths their dimensions' warp causing catastrophic damage. The only one who seems to be aware of this is Darkrai (Scott Williams), a Pokémon that causes nightmares and is shunned from the city of Alamos. And of course, Ash and company are headed straight towards that event that is bound to happen. There they also meet Alice (Khristine Hvam) and Tonio (Rich McNanna) who are close childhood friends. The concept sounds initially okay...but upon further analysis, things don't really add up or seem rather pointless.

The biggest issue is the conflict between characters...in this case the Pokémon. Palkia and Dialga are this entry's "big baddie" Pokémon. But the thing is, they aren't villains and that's okay. The problem is their purpose. The whole plot is due to them crossing paths and deciding to fight about it. For what? What's the reason? Does one want the other's job? Or did just one Pokémon wake up that morning in a rotten mood? And being that their Pokémon and answer in English is like expecting to win the lottery; the chances are beyond low. Prior to the main story, the film refers to all past movies and shows how Pokémon live among each other...including the legendary ones. So why can't Palkia and Dialga? Aren't they aware of each other's presence? If these two hard heads didn't get mad each other, then this whole issue could have been avoided.

Not to mention wasn't Celebi from the 4th movie the Pokémon that controlled time? Topping it off are the other side characters. Of the new characters Alice is the only one who has stake in the game. The script probably could have found a way to just make it about her and the two new legendries mitigated Tonio and Darkrai altogether. The problem is, the characters just aren't that interesting. Darkrai just plays elusive the whole time despite that it's a Pokémon that can speak English like Team Rocket's Meowth. Speaking of which, Jessie, James and Meowth have more of a part to play in this feature. Why does it have to be when the story isn't as good though, is hard to tell. And although the side characters are not that interesting, the voice acting is better than The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon (2006).

Emily Bauer as Dawn joins Sarah Natochenny in Ash's company after doing Season 10 of the show and she performs just fine. Rich McNanna as Tonio also voice Jack Walker in Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006). Khristine Hvam as Alice was her first voice acting credit and managed fine too. As for Scott Williams as Darkrai, he actually managed to sound like Dan Green sometimes. How Darkrai became a liked character is a mystery. Cinematography was again taken care of by Takaya Mizutani but again not sure what that was. If anything the animation and music composed by Shinji Miyazaki was nice to hear. Although not many tracks were distinguishable and no domestic album release is available, the main song Orácion is quite nice to hear coming from an organ.

The actors all perform well along with some different sounding music. Regrettably, this does not make up for the premise this particular entry is based on. The reason for the whole plot feels baseless and the majority of supporting characters feel like they weren't exactly needed to resolve it either.

Best Pokemon movie so far

[dill-51773 · 9/10 · 15 February 2017]

This has to be best the Pokemon movie I have seen so far the story was great and it has everything you want in a Pokemon movie action and adventure at it's best.

For lots of fun and a adventure you will remember for a while you should definitely check this out.

I am surprised at it's rating should be 8 minim in my option as for any Pokemon fan this is a must watch

the best pokemon movie ever

[mohanraj148 · 10/10 · 14 August 2014]

"the best" Pokemon movie ........watch it :):D .... with out fail

When I first saw this movie I was like superb! This is one of the best Pokemon movies I've ever seen so far. & I had this feeling that I must buy this movie. The best thing I really like about this movie is that the movie followed up on the plot perfectly.The special effects in 3 D turned out great. & best of all it had such a sad but cute happy ending to it. I totally disagree on how the star rating turned out to be. I think this movie deserves something better. I would give this movie an 8.5 star rating. From all the Pokemon movies that I've seen they have been starting to improve quite a bit. Great job! Keep up the good work!

The best Pokémon Movie?

[dogsox · 10/10 · 11 May 2019]

Yes this is the best Pokémon movie. Now Pokémon movies are not the best movies and have very interesting and bland stories. This story is different. The characters are very relatable and the music ohhh the music. The music in this movie the simply the best and you will get hit right in the feels during this movie. Highly recommend seeing this movie if you are a fan of Pokémon.

Most Epic Pokemon Movie!

[Raja79 · 10/10 · 22 March 2022]

Out of all the Pokemon Movies, this is the most epic one, because it has the best action and adventure within it, especially the final battle between Dialga, Palkia and Darkrai, that was the best.

This movie deserves a higher rating!

The best Pokemon movie but

[ThunderKing6 · 8/10 · 1 September 2019]

Why does every Pokemon movie have to have a depressing moment? Can they not have an adventure without feeling depressed over something?

Overall good movie even though they emasculated Darkrai.

Awesome

[Isshikiotsutsuki · 16 December 2017]

This is one of the best pokemon movies ever! Darkrai is a very cool character.

My favorite Pokemon movie

[anh-93010 · 14 January 2022]

Some people don't like Pokemon movies, but for me it's all pretty good.

For me, this is the most attractive Pokemon movie.

Watch it when you want to see the big scenes.