Lupin III: The First

Lower your expectations! This is a kid's movie. But it is a very good one, and quite worth the watch if you come in expecting to have a nice time and not over think what's going on on screen.

I feel like the movie itself eases you into such a mentality by itself and very early on.. so I was fine with every cliche and "expected" twist. I'd go as far as to say this isn't as "grand" as Tintin's movie Adventure. It's much smaller in scale and plot.. but as a fan of the character, this movie delivered in a fun adventure.

What I love most about this movie is (the look, of course) the small movements, details and interactions. The new female character is lovely and everything is expressed properly. You can tell that the people that animated this put a lot of time and effort into it. The same with whoever was in charge of dialogue (Japanese).

All in all, I recommend it for the piece of art that it is, and the cool animations.

If you are familiar with Lupin's history in Anime, you have most probably seen "The Castle of Cagliostro" (1979). If not, I would watch that highly rated older movie first. The classic anime is a good introduction to both the buddy characters and the adversaries (such as the choleric Inspector Zenigata) in the Lupin universe.

This new CGI Lupin movie from 2019 (released in Japan in late 2019, the Covid epidemic, unfortunately, prevented a wide cinematic release in many countries in 2020) almost rates as high as the 1979 classic in my opinion; the 3D animation quality, in particular, is fantastic.

The story/plot is somewhat predictable and (especially) the last third shares some parallels with the third Indiana Jones movie. That's not a major issue in my opinion (the third Indy movie was released all the way back in 1989, most viewers won't remember details).

Summary: This is a fun and fast-paced kids' (especially suited for older kids and teens) movie that adults can enjoy as well.

I would rate it at least 6+/10 and add an extra star for the excellent 3D / CG animation quality, 7+/10 stars in total.

I really enjoyed watching this movie. The story is well written and well represented. Also the characters are well characterized. I love this new style of 3D animation and i hope there will be more movies like this. I suggest it to all and not only to the fans of the famous thief. KY

I had never seen anything related to Lupin III before watching this movie, so this was my first experience with the franchise, and I was very impressed. Above all, the animation and art style of this movie is fantastic. The original character designs are perfectly translated into 3D. The music is also fantastic, providing a great adventure-y feel to the story. The story itself isn't groundbreaking, but it is great for newcomers to Lupin like me. It does a great job in just the first few minutes showing each of the main character's personalities through the beautiful anime opening-style beginning. Overall, I would gladly recommend this movie to anyone looking for a good, fun time, and I can't wait to see what else Lupin III has to offer

Very entertaining movie with great 3D animation and a nice story.