Lupin the III The Movie: The Secret of Mamoby Rebecca HenelyReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 6 When legendary thief Lupin the III is hung, police officer Zenigata doubts his death. As it turns out, he was right. Not only is Lupin alive, but he's in Egypt stealing the legendary Philosopher's Stone (yep, the same one that Voldemort was after in the first Harry Potter book) for his girl Fujiko. She wants it for the sinister Mamo, and he wants it to help further his plans for immortality. When Mamo kidnaps Fujiko, will Lupin be able to save her? Meanwhile, tensions are high between Lupin’s friends, and Zenigata still pursues him.When I talked with my old friend Valerie about Lupin the III: The Movie The Secret of Mamo, she spoke of it fondly but said that a familiarity with the characters was necessary. After viewing the movie, I have to agree: not because a history of these characters is necessary, but it's very hard to learn who everyone is and their relation to each other and then try to keep up with the weird plot. The problem isn't that the plot is hard to understand, it's that co-writer/director Soji Yoshikawa thought it would be cool to create at least three "grand revelations", plus a lot of little ones along the way. As a result I thought that middle of the movie (i.e. the first grand revelation) was the end at first, which gave the last two climaxes and the rather lame epilogue a very anti-climatic feel. It didn't need to be that way. Some movies have been able to have a fake climax and then build up to another one (The Ring is a good example of this), but Yoshikawa doesn't hint to what’s coming, which just left me scratching my head and thinking "Huh? Why isn’t this movie over?" Also, the plot is so concentrated on the conflict/triangle between Lupin, Mamo and Fujiko that the minor characters, while endearing, seem to be mostly there for recognition. If they had all been cut out, they probably would not have been missed. However, while the plot isn't incredibly fun, the characters shine. Lupin, who looks a little like Harry Osborn from Spider-Man, is an incredible sex hound and master super-spy. He escapes from the top of a pyramid by riding down a rope with his motorcycle, despite the fact that the front tire has been destroyed and he's riding along on the metal part. Realistic? No way, but you soon realize that Lupin's just one of those spies that could do anything if he wanted to. Zenigata's incredibly unhealthy obsession with catching Lupin, which is so bad that he's forgotten his daughter's age, also provides the movie with some laughs. Jigen and Goemon's constant bickering with Lupin is also amusing. Much has been said about Lupin's poor animation, but we have to remember that this movie was made in the late 70's. It's both unrealistic and unfair to judge Lupin's animation by 00's standards. And furthermore, while I don't really like the animation, it has its charm. Sure, Lupin walks funny and looks like a box with legs and Fujiko looks like a stick figure with cannonballs strapped to her chest, but hey, I find it funny in a way. Can you imagine Count D from Pet Shop of Horrors diving out of his kimono? Also, the music for Lupin absolutely rocks. The jazz chords and the kitschy spy music are lots of fun to listen to and give the movie a great feel. For awhile after I was done watching the movie I left the menu playing for awhile just because I liked to listen to the music. I like the Japanese voices a lot. All of them are perfectly suited to the roles and most give their characters a great sense of fun. Lupin's voice is incredibly funny when it gets higher pitched and "sweet" for Fujiko. The only ones who aren't funny are Fujiko and Mamo, but that's appropriate for both of them. The English voices weren't bad either. Jigen sounded a bit bland (although I have no complaints about the acting) but other than that, everyone else sounded very good and acted well. However, I didn't like the dub script at all. The dialogue all had the main idea of the subtitle script, but for the most part that was about it. In a lot of instances entire lines were changed. I also didn't like how Pioneer decided to hire a George W. Bush impersonator for the role of the President and having him throw around words like "terrorist". Please, Pioneer. This movie was made in 1978, don't pretend it takes place in the 00's. There's a reason why the big red buttons at the read "USA" and "USSR" and not "USA" and "RUSSIA." If you need to have an actual President voice in there, pick someone who sounds like Jimmy Carter. (The Japanese version didn't, but that's understandable. How many of us even know who the head of Japan is, let alone what he sounds like?) Apparently this isn't the first time they've done this, either. I read messages on the IMDB that complained of Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin (for the Russian leader’s voice) imitators in an earlier version. There a few interesting extras on the DVD. One of the neatest will probably be the original program for the movie given out in Japan (there's supposed to be a booklet inside with the translations, but I didn't get it). Also, the DVD showcases the conceptual art for the movie, which is pretty interesting, as well as the coroner's report as it appeared in Japan. I liked the coroner's report the best, although it puzzled me as to why they didn't just include it in the movie (especially since I found a grammar error in the English version). Thinking back, I suppose this review sounds very schizophrenic. In a way I didn't like the movie. I found the plot to be disjointed and overlong. However, the great characters, voice work, and music left me intrigued. I don't recommend this movie, and yet, if I had the chance to watch more Lupin, I would do it in a second. This is definitely a series with a lot of potential (it must, since it's apparently one of the longest-running series in Japan). I just don't think that potential lies here. Written: January 3, 2004
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