Ash, Pikachu, Dawn and Brock are on their way to another Pokémon tournament in Alamos Town. When they get there, they are dismayed to discover that the town's renowned garden has been destroyed. The town's Baron Alberto thinks that this is the work of the the mysterious Pokémon known as Darkrai. Meanwhile, above Alamos, a giant battle is taking place between Pokémon Dialga and Palkia - a battle that could destroy Alamos forever...

Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai is the latest Pokémon movie, and was released in Japanese cinemas in 2007.

The plot is pretty straight forward and sees our heroes having to fight against a mysterious Pokémon known as Darkrai - who seems intent on destroying Alamos's beautiful gardens where Pokémon can roam freely. And, as Ash and his friends start to look deeper into the vandalism, it appears as though somehow Darkrai is also responsible for a sickness sweeping the land. For unknown reasons Pokémon are falling asleep and their dreams are manifesting themselves as flesh and blood in Alamos.

To make matters worse a fierce battle has broken out between the two mythical legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia. And as the two struggle through the rip in a newly created dimension, their ensuing battle threatens to tear a hole in the time-space continuum threatening the lives of everyone in Alamos.

There's nothing groundbreaking different about this movie, other than the Darkrai plot twist, but I have no doubt that Pokémon fans will have a blast. However, if you've never seen a Pokémon movie before worry not, as the opening of the movie lays down everything you need to know to enjoy this film.

Unfortunately the DVD producers haven't included the original Japanese dub of the movie so we only get the option for the American vocals in either stereo of 5.1. While the American soundtrack is pretty good, the narrator is annoying (in the way only cheesy American narrators can be).

Extras include three trailer for the movie. One thing I want to moan about is the fact that their are five advertisements on this DVD before you get to the menu page. These can't be skipped by pressing the menu or next chapter buttons on your remote control. However, you can fast forward through each one, but this is a lengthy process as you can only fast forward through each ad, at which point the DVD will start playing the next ad.

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Pete Boomer