Lupin III: The First

I was going to watch and review Hillbilly Elegy today. But my attention was diverted to two films streaming on Amazon Prime, so I went there instead. You might say the first one stole my time. Willingly. 

Let's explain:

Our time bandit is Arsène Lupin III, the grandson and successor of Maurice Leblanc's gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin the First, as introduced in Kazuhiko Kato's (aka Monkey Punch) manga, Lupin III. A star of numerous 2D TV and Theatrical anime, he made his way to CGI film form in 2019's Lupin III: The First. This is the film I'm reviewing; it's still eligible for this year's Animated film Oscar. A long shot but a welcome one.

This time, Lupin is in Paris a few decades after World War II. He's here to steal the diary of archaeologist Prof. Bresson, the one thing that Grandpa Lupin couldn't. The Nazis want it too; Bresson died protecting its secrets from them. So their scientist, Dr. Lambert, sends his granddaughter Laetitia to get it. But Laetitia doesn't have the heart for evil, as she'd rather study archaeology at Boston U. So she and Lupin team up.

Bresson's Diary details a dangerous MacGuffin for anyone who gets past its booby-trapped case. The evil Nazi commandant Geralt wants it for Hitler himself, who is apparently still alive. Lupin has to get his regular "crew" - sharpshooter Jigen, swordsman Goemon, rival/love interest Fujiko and archenemy Inspector Zenigata - together to outwit the Nazis. Nothing Lupin can't handle.

It was written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who had another CGI anime film in 2019 I recently discussed. Any overt familiarity with the franchise is barely needed. You'll understand who the established cast is pretty quickly. It's a wacky adventure where Lupin and his crew outwit Zenigata and the Nazis with equal awesome hilarity. Laetitia is a likable new character through and through. A few predictable plot points (you'll get the password to the diary case in a microsecond) don't dim the excitement. The only flaw is that it pads out the climax to let Lambert go full megalomaniac for a few minutes before it reminds us that Geralt is the real villain.

Now for the technicals. The character designs perfectly transplant the franchise's cartooniness into CGI. Lupin's goofy grin doesn't look out of place in the new format. The slapstick is as perfect as the action. The digital production design and cinematography is as impressive as any live-action blockbuster. The film's jazzy soundtrack is by long time composer Yuji Ohno; it's especially good when it incorporates the franchise's long time theme music.

I won't get into why it's called The First. But I must say this Lupin III adventure is an entertaining 93 minute romp. It's got likable characters and detestable villains matching wits. It's a cheap movie on Prime, just $4.99. And if you like it, there's other Lupin anime on Prime for free. Let it steal some of your time. It's worth it.