Lupin Part 3 review: A less than gratifying instalment

Lupin Part 3 follows Assane Diop forced to carry out robberies when a person important to him is endangered by another person from his past, all while he tries to look out for his wife and son.

Story

Assane Diop executes a high-stakes heist to pay back his friend from the past and also to start working on getting Claire and Raoul out of France.

He fakes his death next and while Guédira and Raoul don’t believe it, a lot of people are gutted. Assane meets a setback when his mother is kidnapped by an unknown man.

He has to pull off two heists and also betray Benjamin, all because the unknown kidnapper wants him to, as part of his vendetta against the gentleman thief.

Assane finally learns about the identity of his enemy, who turns out to be Keller, a man who forced him and his friend Bruno, among many other kids, to steal, fight each other, and even kill.

After serving a long sentence in prison, Keller is back with vengeance on his mind. However, he can’t get his hands on Assane, who thinks several steps ahead. Meanwhile, Mariama also breaks out of her captivity.

Assane reveals himself to his family, who all rejoice before a happy reunion with Assane’s mother. Claire is ready to leave the country and go to a safe house to start anew. However, Assane needs to get rid of Keller first.

He does so with the help of his mother, before giving himself up to Guédira, demanding in exchange the freedom of his friend Benjamin, who reunites with Claire, Raoul, and Mariama to depart France.

Performance

Omar Sy is as formidable and charming as ever as the titular gentleman thief, pulling off not only the heists but also his oft-ridiculous wigs.

Ludivine Sagnier as Claire brings a lot of heart and provides the emotional anchor for the show. She’s also one of the best performers in the whole cast.

Antoine Gouy as Benjamin Férel is great at rendering the conflicted and hurt emotions that he feels due to the unfortunate developments that transpire during the course of the season.

Positives

Assane Diop’s retracing of all the chronicles of Lupin continues to have that magical fervor, evoking an adventurous spirit.

Guédira’s collaboration with Assane, however brief it might have been, is really exciting and made better by Guédira’s inherent literary penchant.

Assane’s betrayal of Benjamin does something different for the story for once, and it’s a refreshing change that not only changes their dynamic but also gives way for Benjamin to show his truly endearing side and just how good a friend he is.

Negatives

The heist for some reason doesn’t hit the same way they have in the previous seasons of Lupin. They are executed with an ease that kind of takes away from the thrills.

Keller’s younger self comes across as much more of an immediate threat than his older self. This leads to Assane’s battle with the new enemy, who’s unnecessarily kept in the dark for a good while by the way, feel not as impactful.

It also feels really repetitive how Claire and Raoul have been playing the same roles since season 1.

Even with the little stint as a detective of her own that she gets to play this time, Claire still is pretty much the same when she can be so much more capable and dimensional, as is obvious seeing her younger self.

There’s no breathing room for her and pretty much anyone related to Assane either, which makes it all the more confounding as to why they keep tolerating him when Assane causes so much chaos and upheaval.

As soon as Lupin Part 3 nears its credits, Assane has another big villain to contend with, which again is Hubert, along with a potential backstabber. This again makes matters annoying as the villain can’t seem to stay behind bars.

Verdict

Lupin Part 3 is a familiarly paced and written installment that does more harm than good this time around, as themes, plot points, and even gimmicks feel very repetitive and lazy.

There are times the show succeeds in retaining its charm but for the most part, it’s a letdown when compared to the deliveries it has had with the previous seasons.

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