Lupin III: Goodbye Partner

As usual in Lupin the Third franchise little is known about the characters' past or their personal lives. As it should be. Therefore the writing purposely leaves the viewers with a 50/50 chance for personal interpretation. In this case, is Alisa Jigen's daughter?

For Jigen to betray Lupin's trust, Alisa must definitely have a special connection to Jigen. Especially the scene when he sees her behind the piano and is taken aback with memories of her mother. The movie revolves around Jigen betraying Lupin in order to protect Alisa, the events that lead to the betrayal and it could seem missing on the consequences, even if it goes without saying that Lupin perfectly understand Jigen's motivations and who's the real culprit to blame behind it all.

Also to note the soundtrack that, besides the always gorgeous themes by Yuji Ohno, makes an excellent use of Chopin's classics in particularly poignant clue scenes.

Fans of the franchise would probably recognise the nod to the original manga by Monkey Punch.

This is one of Lupin the Third's best movies. To put that in perspective, I have watched 23 Lupin III movies, and this one finishes in the top 3. At this point, the series has been going on for over 50 years. This movie feels more like a deliberate effort to modernize the character.

Where most of Lupin's adventures involve more "Indiana Jones" style tomb raiding with ancient booby traps, this adventure involves more smart phones and computer hacking to break into a high-tech vault. It isn't overly distracting; it isn't like Lupin is trying too hard to relate with today's youth. He isn't doing a rap; the characters all remain true to themselves. It is just strange to hear Lupin referencing Edward Snowden. As an added bonus, there is a blonde female U. S. President who I believe is named Hillary. I don't know if she is supposed to be based on anyone specifically, but her catchphrase through the movie is "send in some men and cover it up."

This has everything you would want from a Lupin III adventure and more. There is a good balance of all their major characters, Fujiko, Goemon, Zenigata, Jigen and Lupin. The heists are exciting, the humor is funny, the action is suitably over the top and the story has plenty of twists to keep the audience on their toes.

This Lupin adventure does all the little things right, but what helps this one separate even further from the pack is the fact that the stakes feel personal this time around. Yes, there have been other Lupin adventures where the fate of the world is on the line, but this time...it's personal.

My only main gripe with it is that the conclusion feels pretty lackluster. The setting for the final act isn't as exciting as Lupin's other adventures. It isn't set in a haunted castle or ninja hideout. The ending has too much keyboard action and not enough adventure action.

But overall, if these are the types of adventures Lupin keeps going on, I won't be saying goodbye to this franchise any time soon.