Definitely the most Bond like entry in the series I’ve experienced so far in both tone and subject matter.
Unfortunately, despite having one of the best iterations of Zenigata and some fun action set-pieces, the over all narrative is so bogged down in a plethora of side stories and themes that neither all the characters or side plots are given enough time to be interesting let alone fully engaging. The twist at the end I feel was actually kinda interesting and rewarding to the narrative preceding, but when you start to think about it, it doesn’t make any sense (which I’ll talk a little bit about at the end). Because the several contained narratives that all are competing for time in the runtime, several details of not side plots are completely skipped over or dropped without explanation or closure. I appreciate the more experimental “espionage” narrative the film is going for, it’s just not implemented well with the formula of Lupin in its current form. The inclusion of computer generated animation, although doesn’t look dated, forces the film to inhabit an art style that lack originality and makes me feel like I’m watching a late 90s Scooby Doo movie. That doesn’t necessarily make it bad, but this franchise’s animation and art styles have been wildly creative and diverse through its run, and this entry is lacking that artist flash afforded to Lupin films.
Overall, Dead or Alive isn’t as bad as I probably make it out to seem, and is worth at least a pass through while going through the back catalogue of Lupin material. But with that said, you will find more stylistic and entertaining incarnations elsewhere.
Spoilers for the ending:
Lupin was Panish the whole time, which on its own is an ok twist, allowing the two very distinctive halves of the narrative to come together for the climax. It also allows for a great finalization of Ole’s character arc of coming to terms with loss and effectively allowing for internal and external resistance to the oppressive life she’s forced herself into.
Except, if Lupin WAS Panish, then who was forming and facilitating the ACTUAL violent revolution? Also, the several sightings we see of Panish throughout that don’t work within the context of retracing with hindsight.
Also, the second twist of HeadHunter being made of nanotechnology came out of absolutely nowhere, mostly leaving me confused and completely disconnected. The blatant attempt at shock value is so undeserving of spotlight at the end of the film that the final scene basically pretends it didn’t even happen at all, recovering the same dialogue we just heard.
If I completely missed something that explains both of these glaring issues, I apologize, but I don’t believe there was any indication of either of these two things being answered.
Definitely the most Bond like entry in the series I’ve experienced so far in both tone and subject matter.
Unfortunately, despite having one of the best iterations of Zenigata and some fun action set-pieces, the over all narrative is so bogged down in a plethora of side stories and themes that neither all the characters or side plots are given enough time to be interesting let alone fully engaging. The twist at the end I feel was actually kinda interesting and rewarding to the narrative preceding, but when you start to think about it, it doesn’t make any sense (which I’ll talk a little bit about at the end). Because the several contained narratives that all are competing for time in the runtime, several details of not side plots are completely skipped over or dropped without explanation or closure. I appreciate the more experimental “espionage” narrative the film is going for, it’s just not implemented well with the formula of Lupin in its current form. The inclusion of computer generated animation, although doesn’t look dated, forces the film to inhabit an art style that lack originality and makes me feel like I’m watching a late 90s Scooby Doo movie. That doesn’t necessarily make it bad, but this franchise’s animation and art styles have been wildly creative and diverse through its run, and this entry is lacking that artist flash afforded to Lupin films.
Overall, Dead or Alive isn’t as bad as I probably make it out to seem, and is worth at least a pass through while going through the back catalogue of Lupin material. But with that said, you will find more stylistic and entertaining incarnations elsewhere.
Spoilers for the ending:
Lupin was Panish the whole time, which on its own is an ok twist, allowing the two very distinctive halves of the narrative to come together for the climax. It also allows for a great finalization of Ole’s character arc of coming to terms with loss and effectively allowing for internal and external resistance to the oppressive life she’s forced herself into.
Except, if Lupin WAS Panish, then who was forming and facilitating the ACTUAL violent revolution? Also, the several sightings we see of Panish throughout that don’t work within the context of retracing with hindsight.
Also, the second twist of HeadHunter being made of nanotechnology came out of absolutely nowhere, mostly leaving me confused and completely disconnected. The blatant attempt at shock value is so undeserving of spotlight at the end of the film that the final scene basically pretends it didn’t even happen at all, recovering the same dialogue we just heard.
If I completely missed something that explains both of these glaring issues, I apologize, but I don’t believe there was any indication of either of these two things being answered.
