Better to get the good out of the way. The soundtrack was fine, even if not on the level of the first, second or fifth film. Art, on the other hand, was not fine - it was much better. Just like in the last film, the artists did a great job. While not breaking standards set by previous films, some images present in here will stay vividly with you for days after you've watched it.
What else was good? Lucario ended up being a well crafted character, even if a bit stereotypical. Unfortunately, the relationship with his trainer was completely predictable and some of Lucario's lines towards his master were extremely bad. Fortunately, this didn't diminish Lucario's character. His interaction with Ash was a bit more aggressive than Pokemon sequels usually dare to go, making for a somewhat refreshing dynamic.
When discussing this film, it can easily be broken down into three main sections. That is to say, the film shifts gears twice, changing its style. These sections are at the castle, aproaching the mountain and in the mountain. Of the three, the only one I'd characterize as good is the second one. It's also the shortest.
Considering that the introduction scene is the same as in so many other Pokemon films, I don't have much to say about it. It isn't particulary bad, but I can't say much good about it either. It's just there. I guess seeing a hundred copy-pasted pokemon fighting was somewhat novel.
Now we get to the real begining of the Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Film lures us in with neat arhitecture. We get to really enjoy the location for a few minutes as Ash battles another trainer. A bit later into the act, film uses classy outfits to draw us into an oppulent party. Both of these disguise the main problem of the film for only a few minutes. After the wow factor fades away, you start to notice the dialogue and interactions between the characters. Simply put, they aren't interesting. There are a few pokemon-only shenanigans used to distract the viewer, but they're not nearly as effective as in most other films.
At one moment Brock sees a girl and opens his stalking notebook. As he reads through the insanely stupid list of the poor gal's achievements, the realization hits you that this is supposed to be funny. The party drags on forever and it's only after Ash summons Lucario that things get a bit interesting. How did he do it? Due to lazy writing, of course. For some unexplained reason his aura is the same as Lucario's master's (even if their character is nothing alike).
Throughout these first 40 minutes of the film, we're treated to multiple scenes of Team Rocket and other characters doing irrelevant things. All in all, there's around fifteen minutes of footage which should have definitely been scraped, as it adds nothing to the experience.
After the film shifts geas, we're sent on a journey towards the crystal mountain. The not-so-challenging journey is perilous since, well... No one's ever been there. As baffling as this is, the following 20 minutes feature some neat scenes. Ash and Lucario clash, Lucario gets to act tsundere and a few jokes are genuinely funny. On the other hand, the stupidity doesn't leave. We discover some flowers which record and show the past. Apparently no one's ever tried harvesting this power, or at the very least we aren't informed of it, as the film just glances over the topic. Next up, the gang trriggers a thousand year old crystal flower with Lucario's master's memories. How this is possible, I don't know. Then, as the gang is attacked by underwhelmingly weak Regi legendaries, we approach the third act.
In the third part of the film we're treated to a fun subplot - Mew & Pikachu playing. A few of their scenes are shown earier, but the culmination of the subplot happens here and I gotta give credit where it's due - it works.
As for the main plot, the film completely breaks down here. Starting here, the film contains numerous vices and sins that Pokemon films indulged into throughout the years. There's the sentinent mountain's very own defense system against humans (no, I'm not joking), villains having acces to impossible technology, there's shallow mysticism, characters surviving impossible falls and nature acting in baffling ways. Pokemon was never about realism, but within every work exists a treshold where the world starts breaking down. I could go in depth and explain each and every thing wrong, but this is a review, not an in depth critique. Not to mention the length of this piece is already going too far. The gist of what I'm saying is - at a certain point you simply stop caring as the rules have been bent too far and the whole thing becomes boring. Well, at the very least they haven't ruined Lucario's character.
I'm left with two distinct impressions; I see a neat concept with a single nicely realized character. I also see a mess of a film with no consisteny, a boring first part and an inane second half. There are a few neat Lucario moments sprinkled therein, but I can't recommend it to anyone expecting a good film. Fortunately for Lucario and his Mistery, there's a rabbid fanbase of the character out there. And this fanbase will go through anything just to watch him some more. This film is tailored for them, even if it's a trainwreck. So, enjoy the film, I guess.
