Owen Ogletree This film was extremely disappointing and mediocre. As the conclusion to a trilogy of movies, it left so much to be desired.I had issues with Arceus. If he is the "god" of the Pokémon world, then why is he so gullible and easily tricked? The whole thing about him being angry at all humanity for something one person did is just so tired and clichéd. Also, his voice was quite annoying.The film is weighed down by many plot holes as well as some inconsistencies with the time travel that left me scratching my head. How come when Ash and the gang fixed things and saved Arceus in the past, he was still angry in the present?There were many other things that didn't make sense. How did "silver water" somehow solidify so quickly and actually trap the "god" of all Pokémon? When the gang was vanishing because they changed the past, why was Ash disappearing slower than everyone else? The villain was also nothing special.The film isn't without its saving graces. The battle between Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina felt really huge and epic, and I thought Sheena and Damos were interesting supporting characters.I thought it was intriguing to see the Pokémon in the Medieval times. The ending was kind of nice, with Arceus possibly giving Ash a blessing for saving him from what happened to him in the past.This film could have been something really special, but the utterly nonsensical nature of the plot and the questionable portrayal of Arceus really held the film back. It is very disappointing considering it involves the most important Pokémon of them all and is the conclusion to the Diamond and Pearl trilogy. Only recommended for fans of the series.RATING: C

hayashimegumi Wow, I didn't know there is 1,000 word limit on IMDb! So this is the shorter version of my movie review; I guess I could safely say that these anime films based on video game since the beginning of the Diamond & Pearl trilogy films are quite good as their efforts are evident and they are quite tolerable even though you are above 18 of age. Started with The Rise of Darkrai (2007), followed with Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008) and concluded with Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009); these are in fact some of the better films in years!This is one animated feature that shows how selfish, cruel and stupid some human can be. Ash Ketchum did not save the day all by himself again, which is great and I thought I should mention just in case those of you who anti him are interested to know. Anyway, what's more entertaining are the legendary Pokémon themselves. Each of them live in their own dimension and have their unique stories but too bad we will never know fully about them through the films. I think of among the four featured in Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009), I like Giratina most and for the first time, I find Dialga so lovely! Let's talk about what may be perceived as the flaws of Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009). Although the effectiveness of the time travel concept here can be subjective, I think it's another clever time travelling story by the franchise! I know the alteration and correction of history may be different from what we usually expect but it's distinctive! I was actually impressed that they attempted to correct history in a gentle way!Then, it is also a little over a decade when this animated feature is first released and in a few more years it will be their 20th anniversary but theatrically released Pokémon films still have the same main character and similar plot; where Ash Ketchum with his Pikachu are always at the wrong place at the wrong time or the right place at the right time, depend on how you see it, with new Pokémon and travelling companion every new generation.Instead of labeling or criticising Pokémon films as bad due to the repeated pattern, I would prefer to comment those as one of the theatrically released Pokémon film's style or Kunihiko Yuyama's style; just like how the Earth view always appear at the beginning of the film. They may however, could also be the Pokémon franchise's self-imposed limitation but they are also what makes these films different, isn't it? We can't change that but good news is, they are always improving themselves and these trilogy films may delight the general audiences!(Pikachu short is also one of their style although note that it wasn't there for a few years. If you are academically or professionally writing about auteur theory or Pokémon film analysis, there you go, some of your homework is done if you are lazy to watch them all yourself.)Nonetheless, many have mentioned that the Arceus voice in the dubbed version is weird but I find the adorable Spiky-Eared Pichu's voice much weirder in some ways. Come on, Arceus is supposed to be the first one and it is certainly ancient, he is very unlikely to have cute voice right?The thing that's really weird is this; why does the Pokémon known to have probably created the entire Pokémon world is not highly worshiped and it is exclusive to that location? Like Jirachi's case, why won't the whole world anticipate it or go look for it? It seems like no one else know about Arceus except the movie exclusive characters!Honestly, if you don't bother those at all, this animated feature is actually great! The creators of this animated feature are made it quite realistic as well; even if Arceus is The One, it is also prone to time and history change since the creatures that it create itself are powerful themselves too! There are several unexpected moments and it was fun to watch the angry Arceus although I thought it doesn't fit as a deity and it certainly look much less like a deity compared to Giratina, Palkia and Dialga. *lol*What's more interesting are the people who can read and connect to Pokémon's heart. That and the ancient civilisation in Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009). I hope I didn't spoil it too much here but the adorable Pokémon are known as magical creatures in the past and there are plenty of clever historical elements as well! Can't express how much I love Pokémon stories because they are just so unique!As a conclusion, Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009) is not a mere supplement, it is a must see to complete the Diamond & Pearl trilogy. Finally, with tears of joy, this is also one of the Pokémon films that I can safely say it's entertaining! If you like time-travelling stories and the genre of this film, it is quite certain that you will love this too!

takeruhikari I wasn't expecting this one to be that great. I have long stop watching Pokemon at "The Rise Of Darkrai".Yet, I've decided to continue, and it was a good thing I did. "Pokemon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life" can be considered a build up of the previous two films. This being "Giratina and the Sky Warrior" and "The Rise of Darkrai." The previous conflicts in the other two films become readily apparent of why they happened as well as the lead up to this movie's story.The dimensions of Dialga (who controls time,) Palkia (who controls space,) and Giratina(who lives in the dimension known as the reverse world) were not suppose to collide (this leads to the conflicts of Dialga and Palkia in "The Rise of Darkrai" and Giratina and Dialga(although minor) in "Giratina and the Sky Warrior.") It was later found that the cause of all this was because of Arceus' awakening from his slumber to rejuvenate his strength. This caused the dimensions of Dialga and Palkia to collide. At the same time, while Dialga and Palkia were fighting, the reverse world was affected (as anything that happens in the Pokemon world has an effect on the reverse world.) Due to the "betrayal" in the past, Arceus was set to destroy humans for that" betrayal" as a form of justice.We follow Ash and his pals as they get sent to the past to correct a mistake that would eventually fix the present.