There is a lot of really great, small, individual ideas that each add to the film in their own way, yet are overshadowed by a small handful of more general issues.
Firstly, the animation and general aesthetic the film is going for works very well. Paired along with several fantastic set pieces, the overall tone of fun that this franchise excels at is definitely still felt here. Without it the movie wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does. A scene that exemplifies this general tone of energetic fun is the hijacking scene, which houses one of the better Zenigata character moments (along with his internal crisis about halfway through the film).
What keeps this movie from breaking beyond just good time is the fluctuation of the pacing which the film can never really tie down. Chunks of this movie as a whole don’t add any particularly interesting or even worth while scenes to the narrative as a whole which results in troughs in the film where the stakes are meaningless or just nonexistent.
Another major issue is the general use of important side characters. A majority of the screen time goes to Lupin, which in and of itself isn’t an issue, but this franchise shines when characters play off each other. It becomes a major missed opportunity when other characters in a given scene aren’t there to interact with. Part of the charm of this franchise is its full core cast, and when it’s missing or underutilized, the affair mostly just feels like a void. Jegin in particular, is given extremely little to do. The use of Fumiko is also fairly unfortunate, being relegated to mostly just a distraction or plot point rather than an actual character with motives beyond the structure of the plot.
With all this negative criticism said, a majority of this movie totally works. As stated, the animation and set pieces are fantastic. This franchise excels at grandiose commitments to the absurd without breaking into anything you can’t take seriously, and that continues to be true for this installment.
Also Zenigata is just a blast and I love him.
There is a lot of really great, small, individual ideas that each add to the film in their own way, yet are overshadowed by a small handful of more general issues.
Firstly, the animation and general aesthetic the film is going for works very well. Paired along with several fantastic set pieces, the overall tone of fun that this franchise excels at is definitely still felt here. Without it the movie wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does. A scene that exemplifies this general tone of energetic fun is the hijacking scene, which houses one of the better Zenigata character moments (along with his internal crisis about halfway through the film).
What keeps this movie from breaking beyond just good time is the fluctuation of the pacing which the film can never really tie down. Chunks of this movie as a whole don’t add any particularly interesting or even worth while scenes to the narrative as a whole which results in troughs in the film where the stakes are meaningless or just nonexistent.
Another major issue is the general use of important side characters. A majority of the screen time goes to Lupin, which in and of itself isn’t an issue, but this franchise shines when characters play off each other. It becomes a major missed opportunity when other characters in a given scene aren’t there to interact with. Part of the charm of this franchise is its full core cast, and when it’s missing or underutilized, the affair mostly just feels like a void. Jegin in particular, is given extremely little to do. The use of Fumiko is also fairly unfortunate, being relegated to mostly just a distraction or plot point rather than an actual character with motives beyond the structure of the plot.
With all this negative criticism said, a majority of this movie totally works. As stated, the animation and set pieces are fantastic. This franchise excels at grandiose commitments to the absurd without breaking into anything you can’t take seriously, and that continues to be true for this installment.
Also Zenigata is just a blast and I love him.
