I was greatly
looking forward to this movie ever since I became aware that a live-action Lupin III movie was on the way and saw
some teaser images and trailers. It was
released in Japan (and limited releases on some parts of the world, maybe) in
2014, but it was only this year that most of us got the opportunity to see it
(the release of DVD and Blu-ray was recent).
Unfortunately, the result of the long wait for it is a big pile of
disappointment. Lupin III’s such a disappointment that it took me four part-by-part
viewings before I could watch its entirety; I couldn’t watch it in just one
go.
To be fair, my
expectations were probably too high, hence, the big disappointment. I was hoping it was going to be a live-action
The Castle of Cagliostro (I mean,
have the same quality of that classic anime movie, not necessarily have the
same plot). At the very least, I was
hoping it would be as authentic and appealing as the live-action Ruruoni Kenshin. But it was not to be so.
The live-action
portrayals of the Lupin III characters
have been almost fantastic. I have
nothing negative to say about the characterizations of the adapted characters in
general. However, I have a couple of
problems with the particular portrayal of Arsene Lupin III. There was noticeable emphasis in making him a
badass combatant – an “action hero” – but, on the other hand, a lack of stress
on what makes the iconic anime character truly awesome. Sure, in the anime, Lupin can also throw a
mean punch once in a while as well as be an impressive shooter, but that’s not
how the character is defined. His distinctive
traits are his wits, slipperiness, and unpredictability; beneath the goofy,
playful appearance is a sharp, creative, and tactical mind. There were moments when I can see these
elements in the live-action character.
But, unfortunately, those moments were not sustained for me; the excessive
way he was being sold as an “action hero” just proved to be too
distracting. I would have considerably preferred
more for the character to be straightly depicted as the extremely versatile escape
artist and master of disguise that he is – a facet of Lupin that was only minimally
used in the last act (just another disappointment in a big pile of
disappointment) – than just another generic “action hero.”
However, the characterization
flaws would have only required a tweak or two to fix. The movie’s biggest problem is its mediocre
story. With the anime series/movies as
benchmarks, the live-action movie was an unimpressive tale that such delightful property as Lupin III is undeserving
of. The plot attempts to be several
things at the same time, including being an Ocean
11-esque heist film, but lacked enough suave and twists to pull it off. I also hated that there were so many
unnecessary plot elements and additional characters. I know the movie would have worked so much
better if the plot was kept simple. The
narrative just felt so forced – from the dialogues down to the humor.
As far as the
action went, the highest points were scenes wherein the kickass samurai Goemon
is involved. In comparison, the rest of the action scenes were often slightly
entertaining but unremarkable. With the
decision to consciously be an “action movie”, its action ironically failed to
engage me. The messy camerawork during
action sequences doesn’t help either.
Lupin III is an accurate
picture of the word “disappointing” (especially if you adored the anime), but
I’m also not completely comfortable of directly branding this movie as “awful.” It does have a few redeeming factors. Example, thinking of it as a “cosplay play”,
I did find it fun to see Goemon, Jigen, Fujiko, and – despite my minor nitpicks
on him – even Lupin being brought to life in live-action. And, maybe, if I didn’t have such high
expectations for this movie – and take it as it is, a stupid-and-shallow
action-comedy movie – I could have completely enjoyed it, too.
But here’s to hoping
to a better sequel (if any).
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