Lupin the Third movie review

When the movie was first released in Japan, I am not sure if this will be shown. First, Rurouni Kenshin was the first live action adaptation that brought renewed fans' interest and brought in new fans.

When I saw the trailer, it was in raw Japanese. No subtitles but I got really excited about it since it showed real potential. I like Lupin III as an anime series and it also followed with anime movies. One of Lupin's anime movies, The Castle Of Cogliostro was directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Originally published as a manga by Monkey Punch, Arsene Lupin III is the grandson of gentleman thief Arsene Lupin, from the French novels created by Maurice Leblanc of which it pays homage to. The movie's main dialogue is Japanese but there are some English dialogues for scenes with non-Japanese characters.

Here is my review. For Shun Oguri to take the title character, he did justice to the role. He didn't use any prosthetic face to look like Lupin. He was able to change into comical look in some scenes. Just like his manga counterpart, he was able to be a charmer like any master thief.

Tetsuji Tamayama did a good job to look like Jigen, the marksman who works with Lupin with his capers. His character's gruff appearance concealed his heartrob image. I saw him debut as Gao Silver in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger and in two Nana movies. Jigen's characteristics differ in manga and anime. The Jigen portrayed here was based on the anime. He was loyal to Lupin unlike the manga counterpart was not always on Lupin's side and lurks in the background.

Go Ayano also played the swordsman Goemon Ishikawa XIII neatly. Just like in the anime, he can slice almost anything that gets in the way. He first worked with Shun Oguri in Surely Someday and also appeared in Tokusatsu series Kamen Rider 555 as a Spider Orphenoch. He was also in the first Nana movie and another live action adaptation Gatchaman.

Besides that it is based on an anime and manga, another reason why I watched this was because of Meisa Kuroki. I first saw her in Space Battleship Yamato and the movie pick the right choice for the role of Fujiko Mine. Fujiko is considered one of the favorite femme fatale in anime or manga and Meisa didn't disappoint me. I knew Fujiko is going to be sexy and so is Meisa. You gotta see her in her black leather in this movie.

The source of climax for the master thief like Lupin comes in the persona of ICPO agent Koichi Zenigata played by Tadanobu Asano, best known for his role as Hogun in Thor and Thor: The Dark World. Among the cast, he is the only one I believe has been part of a Hollywood movie. Besides the Thor movies, he is also in Battleship and 47 Ronin. 

Zenigata's life mission is to arrest Lupin but not because they are in the opposite sides of the law but they seem to share a bond between them. It only seems that it is not an occupational motive but they are both driven by the challenge. Both had a concern for each other that they are more likely friends than arch-enemies. 

The delivery of the story is not as appealing as Rurouni Kenshin but it is a fun movie to watch. The stunts are also like how the Hong Kong movies are done. It is also not exclusive to Japanese actors. Here's a trivia. The movie gathered three actors who were part of different F4 series across Asia. Shun Oguri was from Hana Yori Dango(Japan),  Kim Joon, who played the hacker named Pierre, was from Boys Over Flowers(Korea) and Jerry Yan, who played a major role as Michael Lee, was in Meteor Garden(Taiwan). There are also some actors from Thailand including Nirut Sirijanya who is known to play Lauren's father in The Hangover Part 2.

This shown exclusively at SM Cinemas. Since Rurouni Kenshin, SM Cinemas is bringing the latest movies of anime titles and live action adaptations from Japan and they only provide the only market for Philippine-based otaku. I watched it on my own terms and payed to watch the movie. SM Cinemas has no influence on this post. Consider this a fan review. For more fan reviews, follow this blog or like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.