Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to "Lupin the Marathon" here on Reaction & Review. Tonight, guys, we're continuing the marathon with the next entry that came out in 1999. That movie is "Lupin the 3rd: The Columbus Files".
Now I probably should've mentioned this beforehand last week, but I'm not reviewing these movies in any particular order. For example, I'm not reviewing them from earliest to latest. And there's two reasons as to why. The first reason is that almost all of these movies have no connection with each other. A majority of them are just standalone films. So, you can watch these in, pretty much, any order you want. The second reason being simply because I just find that to be a waste of time anyways. I'm gonna review them in the order that I want, regardless of what year they came out in.
So, now that I've gotten that little quibble out of the way, let's actually get into tonight's movie. And much like with last week's film, I don't know a thing about it. But then again, like I also mentioned at the start of this marathon, I'm going into almost all of these movies as blind as possible. Which is the nice thing about me doing this series, since I'm going into them with fresh eyes and all.
Now, I'm hoping for this thing to be just as good as "The Secret of Twilight Gemini" was, if not even better. But the only way I'm gonna find out for sure is if I shut up and I push play, and I'm gonna do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "Lupin the 3rd: The Columbus Files".
2 minutes later
You know, guys, out of all things I was expecting from this movie this early on, seeing Lupin in lingerie is definitely *not* one of them. OK granted, it's just a bodysuit of Fujiko, but still, that just comes off weirdly creepy, even for one of Lupin's disguises.
17 minutes later
Well, lesson learned. If the engine on your boat stops working, just karate chop it, like how Goemon did, and it'll be up and running again. I never would've known that, but hey, at least it's something to keep in mind the next time I ever step foot on a boat like that.
12 minutes later
OK, you know what? I am gonna give Lupin this much, at least he knows when to hold back when he needs to. Still though, what he attempted to do just a moment ago, just...what the fuck, man? I know that, before, you didn't want to believe that Fujiko's memories are gone, but still, you could've handled that situation a little bit better, you know?
2 minutes later
OK, I know Goemon's sword is capable of cutting down a lot of things, but I didn't know that he could cut down buildings just like that as well. Mind you, it was sorta cool, but still, it wasn't something I was exactly expecting is all.
9 minutes later
OK, well, I just learned something else about Lupin. Apparently, he also has a rocket based shoe on his foot. *Never* would've known that at all. But honestly, I would love to have something like that for myself. Just thought I'd share that with you guys.
19 minutes later
You know, guys, I'm both surprised and not at the same about Nazalloff's disguise. I probably should've picked up on it the first time he did his fucking laugh, but now that I'm seeing him unravel his disguise, I'm kinda surprised that he was able to hold off on it for this long before Lupin caught on to his act. Still though, it sorta caught be off guard a bit.
8 minutes later
So, this Columbus Egg has the power to control the weather. Which also means creating cyclones and typhoons that can destroy islands and other major cities around the world. Gotta say, that certainly is a reason to want to get a hold of that egg. Though it makes me wonder what else Fujiko knows about it from her hidden memories, since she wasn't captured and all. I'm really curious about that know, since Nazalloff was ordered to capture both her and Rosaria, but didn't. I gotta say though, I'm really intrigued to see how else this movies plays out.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "Lupin the 3rd: The Columbus Files". Let me go ahead and shut the movie off here...OK. Well...where to start with this one? Well, I can say that this movie, at least to me, is, indeed, very good. In fact, I would even say it's better than "The Secret of Twilight Gemini". Mainly because, there's more stuff going on in this film than the other one. Now mind you, the film does have a couple of problems, but for the most part, it is mostly minor stuff, which I'll cover in just a moment.
For now, though, let's go ahead and start off this review by first going over the writing. The writing in this movie is certainly really interesting. There's this treasure that's found within something called the Columbus Files, which is something that Fujiko has been looking into for a very long time. And in those files, there's something mentioning about an egg that is the main treasure that Christopher Columbus himself found while he was on his voyage, which is what Fujiko is after. Though shortly in the beginning, however, they are being chased down by a guy named Nazalloff, who also wants the same thing. Now it's around here is where Fujiko starts to play a big part of this movie because, shortly before the prologue ends, she ends up falling off a cliff before Lupin can save her. Which is where we find out a little later that she lost all her memories, which includes what she knows about the Columbus Files. Because right before she ended up giving it up to Nazalloff, she ends up burning the files, but says to Lupin that she has it all memorized in her mind. So now, it's pretty much all on her as Lupin and the gang try to defend her from Nazalloff while she tries to regain her memories.
So, storywise, there's a lot more going on here and it does leave you interested to see whether or not Fujiko can regain her memories. Not just because there's a treasure that only she knows the secrets about, but also because she's a beloved character of the series as well. While I'm on the subject, most of our characters here are rather likable and well developed. The only one that I would say is not very likable is Nazalloff, mostly because he's just a creepy scumbag who, not only has an annoying laugh, but also has a huge boner for Fujiko as well. Which I believe was the intention, because he's really fucking scummy. But as for other new characters, the only ones that I can mention are Rosaria and her father. More so Rosaria, because she's looking for her father, and, well, slight spoiler here, he's the main villain in all this, as he's looking to get control of the Columbus Egg for his own ambitions of controlling the world. There's also a couple of other things about it as well, which I'm not gonna mention in this review, but the core aspect about it is that the bad guy wants it to control the world. It's pretty basic stuff, really.
Which then brings me back to both Lupin and Fujiko. Now because Fujiko has lost her memories, we do get more of an interaction between the two characters. Now, beyond the one scene that I'm gonna mention in a second here, I will say that the chemistry between these two is great. The depth between the two is more explored here, with Fujiko losing her memories, and how Lupin sees her as someone who he wants to protect. It's great stuff. Now granted, I know some fans of the series won't like the fact that Fujiko seems more helpless here as a damsel rather than a sexy badass that she is, but I still feel like it works well enough here for it to be overlooked. That being said, however, there is one scene that I wanted to mention. See, there's a scene in this movie where Lupin is talking to Fujiko alone in a room, as he's trying to find a way to get her to remember her memories. And at one point, he even goes so far as to take his pants off and goes for a rather, well...predatory approach in trying to make love to her. Which, for some people, could be seen as a huge turnoff, because it's a rather unusual thing for Lupin to do, especially with Fujiko's current condition and all. Which, I will admit, is kinda fucked up. But I will say, in some defense of him, that he does end up holding back and goes back to comforting her in his own way. That said, I still believe he could've handled the situation a little bit more differently.
Now, beyond that one scene, the rest of the writing here is still really good. The action scenes are really cool, even if some of them are a little bit over-the-top, especially a couple involving Goemon, such as him cutting down a fucking building with one slice of his sword. But then again, "Lupin the 3rd" has always had a lot of over-the-top action scenes, so I suppose this is just par for the course with this series. Now as for the acting, well, it is dubbed over by Funimation's voice actors once again. And I will say that I'm actually getting more use to Sonny Strait voicing Lupin himself. He certainly has the range for the character, and the script he's working with is definitely giving him more to work with. Which is great, honestly. The only character's voice that I'm sorta split on is Goemon. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about it that I'm not 100% sure on. Maybe it's because he tries to sound badass in his somewhat raspy voice, but something about that is not entirely clicking with me. It just feels kinda off here. Now, mind you, the acting from him isn't entirely bad, but it is something that you're either gonna get use to, or you're gonna end up not liking it. It really is gonna lean to either one of those things for you. For me, I'm still not totally sure how to really feel about it. Perhaps maybe I'll get use to it if that same voice is used for any of the other films I'll cover for this marathon, but who knows?
Anyway, setting aside my feelings on Goemon's dub acting, the rest of the acting is still really good, as is to be expected from Funimation's actors. So, nothing much else to say about it, really. Now as with the animation, it's really good, too. And in comparison to the previous film I covered, which was "The Secret of Twilight Gemini", it feels less cheap than how that movie did. That being said, it is still somewhat on the dated side of things, being as how this released during the late 90's. But then again, I actually do prefer this kind of animation over the clean, digital art that is used for a lot of anime nowadays. But that's neither here nor there. I can't guarantee that for everyone else, of course, but still. As with this movie though, the art-style is really good, as is the animation, along with the color palettes. So yeah, animation here is rather good for it's time.
Sound-mix here is mixed fine. And the music here is also really good, too. But then again, it is done by the great Yuji Ohno, who has done music for almost everything else involving "Lupin the 3rd". Mind you, it's not the best I've heard, but it is nowhere near the worst. And even by it's weakest, it's still really fucking good. So yeah, the music here is great.
Ultimately, guys, when all is said and done, am I able to recommend "Lupin the 3rd: The Columbus Files"? Yes, I most certainly can. It really is a solid entry in the Lupin series, and it's one that I'm most certainly gonna revisit again on my own time. And if you, yourself, are a fan of the series, and have not gotten a chance to check this one out yet, go ahead and find it somewhere. Whether it's online, or it's somewhere on DVD or Blu-ray, go ahead and check it out. You'll most certainly have a great time with it, regardless of the film's minor flaws. So now, with all that being said, I'm gonna go and watch something else. Probably a 007 movie. Don't know which one, yet, but I'll probably revisit something like "Goldeneye" or "Moonraker". Maybe the latter option, since it was the very first one I ever watched with my Dad. So, that's what I'm gonna go do next once I get done typing up this review.
Anyway, guys, with that, we come to the close of another Reaction & Review. Until next time, ladies and gentlemen, take care, and I will see you all later. Peace.
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