Noong nakita ko trailer nito sa asianwiki, or kahit yun pictures nila, di ako makapaniwala na gagawin nila talaga to! hehe From Gatchaman, black butler and Hentai Kamen, Kenshin, eto na, Lupin! hehe
Una ko hinanap, not Lupin, or Jigen or Goemon, lalo naman si Zenigata. hahaha But Fujiko, at nalungkot ako. Di hot or kaboom eh. hahaha Will that change after I watch the flick. Let's find out..
Story is simple, eh etong si Lupin at iba pa, members pala sila ng the works, headed by a billionaire Brit na parang Robin Hood ang creed whatever, ends up dead noong naraid sila ng group ni Michael, si Jerry Yan ng F4. Tapos, ayun na, Lupin at Jigen, at well Fujiko, hinahanap nila si Michael para makaganti. Then, sinusundan pa sila ni ICPO inspector Zenigata. At habang naghahabulan sila at hinahanap yun kwintas ni Cleopatra, they discovered from the very start, kung sino talaga may pakana ng lahat na ito. At ako eh nagulat bakit ganun? hahaha
After more than 2 hours, I must say, it almost epic failed. Almost. Geez, parang Dragon Ball Z movie but nah, di naman ganun level. hehe What did Ryuhei Kitamura do good sa film? By the way, siya director ng Versus, hmmm Azumi not sure, ah Midnight train and recently, No One Lives. Ah, first of all the looks of the actors, mahirap siyempre kumuha na sobrang payat yet mabilis na Lupin, Shun Oguri, pwede na. hehe Si Asano as Zenigata is having a crazy time playing a matabang Zenigata. In the anime, payat rin siya mukhang malaki coz of the coat but here malaki naman si Asano, pero masaya siya at makulit as Zenigata. Pero pinakakuha si Jigen, at Goemon. Inside and Out, perfect sila sa casting hanggang dialogue. hehe Eto, Meisa Kuroki sa Fujiko, hmmm her face may angle na oo nga Fujiko, pero the whole movie, I call her conservative Fujiko. You know what I mean if you do watch yun anime, voluptous, vixen, dangerous, deceptive and loves guns. Wala siya yun first 2. hehe Sorry but ok lang siya. But still not satisfied. Hindi dahil mahirap maghanap ng ganun babae na Japanese. Well, sad to say, there is and the casting crew should have gone look further, marami at madali lang. hehe If the first 3 pwede madala sa acting and some costume, Fujiko should be eye candy, head turner at later yun acting. hehe
Ang isa pang nagustuhan ko, action scenes, not top notch pero enjoyable. Lalo na yun car chases and yun last part na kahit weird and almost like b movie, pero masaya. Ryuhei is indeed an action director. Oh I love the 2 women fighting. hehe How about Jigen vs. Goemon. Fun!
The sad parts almost made this film failed. Kaya pala ang una sabi ni direk when he got interviewed, he hope fans of the material will appreciate the film, pag may ganun senyales pala, medyo magingat na. hahaha
First, dialogue! I mean almost poor written, and mixed language?! Kaya pala sila nacast because they can speak some clear english. Weird but lalo na yun una, grabe nahilo ako kung ito ba talaga, japanese flick, english flick, chinese or international flick. I don't know.
Second, plot changed well lalo na yun una na may origin agad si Lupin which I think sa series rarely discussed or ang alam ko, magnanakaw agad ito si Lupin. Well, that changed sa film at may group siya. What? hehe I hope they just really followed sa anime na sila na apat, stealing and looting then sumabit type of story. Oh don't forget, yun mga twist and turns that well, not fun. A waste of time, especially yun main villain after what all he did, he is kinda lucky at the end. Erghh..
Third, unneccessary characters. Despite Jerry Yan eh scary siya dito at nagulat ako sa role niya, he is damn unneccessary. hahaha Nagpagulo from the original source. How about yun general friend ni Zenigata and that annoying hacker, and even the main villain. There are many di naman kailangan na character. I preferred Jerry Yan to be the main villain kasi sa una nakakatakot siya pero pagtagal, parang change of heart? Eh?
Lastly, well.. When you watch Lupin, any one episode, or anime movie, you get slapstick comedy, mystery, and action. All balanced, may sobrang kakatawa, tapos mapapaisip ka din, tapos may parts na serious at siyempre action din. This film, very very few comedic shots, mystery is not that challenging or well, twist din. Action is a lot, sa simula hanggang wakas ata, grabe, pero not top notch. So, yun ang nagkaproblem sa film. Lupin should be at least half fun/comedy/action piece, not more action, less fun and more serious. Geez.. Talagang kaunti pa nakakatawa at natawa pa ko sa unexpected character, Goemon?! hehe
Actually Lupin is more filmable and should be enjoyable unlike the other adaptations pero ito it's just did not work. I hope the next one, well iba gumawa at please spend more time watching Lupin the anime to really get what I mean or most of the fans, that's it's a fun film. Please kahit yun OST makuha man lang or how about make it hmmm 70's setting. Basta ayusin na lang next time. Not too comedic or action packed film, outrageous is a better word. hehe
And yes, please change the actress of Fujiko. She's a good actress though pero eye candy? Nah. Try for example, Asana Mamouru, wow. hahaha All you need to do is train her to act. Possible. At least yun eye candy effect, sure na. hahaha
Lupin stole from me 200 ha!
Lupan!!! hehe
Storm coming forward,
furious, devastating wind.
Darkness flows around.
Whirlwind shows no fear,
swirling, raging and pouncing.
Destroys along path.
Even small droplets,
rain with such strong storm dangers.
All who looks upon..
Despite no thunder,
such scary echo of wind,
enough spreading worry.
Surge of damage rise.
Thy storm picking up power,
crushing everything.
Staying in one place,
it may not sure of safety.
it gives sign of end.
Anxiety grows fast,
as the storm reaches on high.
Darkness may not end.
Swifly, storm thy halt..
left us drenched and yet happy.
Sky shows sign of life!
As record speaks, a lot of comics/manga/anime/game adaptations failed to really convert to movies. I just realized that there were many failures than success in this field. However, these past years, some film makers doing their best to avoid such downfall or ruin the creditability of the source material. Recently, like Dredd 3D or Ace Attorney made good strides, not that very much faithful for each detail but at least, the context of the movie is there.
Another kind of momentum added because of this movie! Well, before the movie was shown I had glimpse of Rise of the Guardians, thanks to that reeler. =) Just around 5 mins, Rise looked good but the reeler realized it was the wrong movie, and me inside did not mind it but well, it's wrong anyway. At last.. The right film reeled in.
For this film, of course, it has some flaws. As they really adapt the source, which I hate in the original one, a lot of talking and dialogue. Himura as nature talk first then fight, unlike his past. Then yes, a lot of talking from other characters and yeah it drags some time.
Another thing, it's not really a flaw but it shows glimpses of Himura's past in a most short way that leave fans wanting for more. That's what I expect especially that scene where he killed the one who gave him the first scar. I was wanting to see Tomoe's face but alas.. Nice white kimono. Ergh.
But anyhow, this film almost got into the list of great samurai films. The only thing hindered was evident, less blood and not much gore, it's because of the nature of the material and yes, the reversed sword. Expect a lot of ouch than splat of blood. Nice action sequences especially to that actor who really ran and jump like Himura, and yes, the sword as well.
Sword fighting sequences are good. Especially the sequences which Himura fights one dude, then Samanoske (if I got the spelling right) fights another dude. Although not great but it has execution and flowing sequence. I love the scene which the boss launches his machine gun, in great detail the scene work with the help of Saito. The 3G blood effect shows not in 3G so give credit to the effects team.
The direction is good, for having the pace same as the manga/anime. Choosing the right actors and I know the reason why. Director give effort to emphasize the mood of the present Himura and the past one, as one scene is dark, then the present is light, with the right effects and direction for those scenes, it helped. The screenplay is great as development of the story goes especially how the past mattered in the story. Especially in Himura's part.
Damn, give credit to the actors, not only looking almost the same in the original source but also they did the part in a great way. Give credit to the lead actor of course, for acting with justice as Himura. Then the actress acted as Kaoru (I thought her name is Kaori. hehe), Yahiko the kid who is indeed a stubborn kid. Sanosuke, a really tall dude yet a ripped one, unlike the thin dude in the original one. Saito is Saito in this film even in small parts like his hair and sword style. I know for die hard fans, might looking for other characters you like, for me, the Master of Himura but we all pray, this will have a sequel or what I love, the prequel which I know it will be very very bloody and lovely, romantic.
Lastly, I give credit to the costume/production setting people who I think made this film more real and make the adaptation work. Like my friend Ted, every detail is captured, like one example, the look of Megumi is indeed Megumi, Saito is Saito with his few bangs. How about Himura's scar and that maroon kimono. Or bright pink in the Anime, I don't know but it looks great. Kaoru, the villains and the other characters really show who they are as supposed in the original material. The right slow action sequences and yes, the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. =)
I can't believe Warner brothers Japan invest a lot in 2 of the most beloved mangas ever created, this one and my fave Berserk. Although I'm still waiting to watch Berserk's part 2 and part 3 (I hope they will make a lot of it). This one is worth of their investment, and I won't be surprised if they will make more of this as long they take their time doing this and distribute it in the right way. Give credit to SM for exclusively showing this, see, after I watched this film, a lot is lining up outside. I don't care for the Hobbit. I did care for this one.
It's because it's a childhood fantasy anime throughout the years. =)
I hope that they'll do better in the next one or yeah they take time of this. I hope Japan will be the ones will make their own adaptation than relying to the US which they do bad. Unless it's a western material, but if it's manga or anime, please don't give it to them. hehe I'm now bracing myself to Akira, Oldboy and Ronin 47. Will it be a mess or hit? Except for Pacific Rim perhaps. If that looks good, then Del Toro should make Gundam, Madox, or even may fave Macross. hehe
For now, if they can make it for themselves like Ace Attorney, Yamato or this one, then why not others or maybe it's really unfilmable. DBZ is one I think we put in anime instead, no more attempts. Please.
