TD;DR: Although not blessed with the voices of the great part 2 cast, this movie manages to incorporate everything that made early Lupin III great in a package that has some very 90's influences. A must-watch for any Lupin III fan.
I'd like to preface the long-form review once again with the statement that I have only watched the English dubbed version; even though it does indeed lack the great voice of Tony Oliver and his accomplices, this movie's dub is fairly acceptable. The voices sound a bit too silly at times, but I honestly did not mind this as the movie clearly also goes for this tone most of the time.
As for the writing; this has to be simultaneously one of the most grounded and most off-the-wall Lupin III films ever. It combines a frankly insane premise with some down-to-earth Lupin III character moments and action, making for an enjoyable watch with some incredibly funny recurring gags.
Side note: I do recommend any potential viewers of this movie to do at least a bit of surface level research into who Nostradamus was in real life; I sure didn't and even though it didn't make it unwatchable on my first viewing, it did confuse me a bit as to what the importance of the central McGuffin was.
The animation is done surprisingly well, with the animators keeping a classic Lupin look while upgrading the quality of the animation to what was a superb quality in 1995, which still holds up today. The settings are amazingly creative and surprising while its incorporation into events that happen in the movie are very well done.
Of course, with this movie being made in 1995, it has some traits which can be best described as symptoms of its time; some characters feel kind of inserted "just because we needed a character with (x) trait" and its message can come over a bit heavy-handed and preachy; this however does not sufficiently detract from the watching experience to bump the score down any more.
The soundtrack also doesn't really break any new ground, and you can definitely feel the slump of the soundtrack-work between part 2 (1977) and 4 (2015) in this movie; it is still alright as far as regular movies go, but when compared to the other entries in the Lupin III franchise it's in the lower ranks.
In conclusion; this movie is supreme in its looks and the execution of its themes. It manages to keep its insane premise on the ground with some 90's flair thrown in with it. It features an amusing cast which provides many funny moments throughout the film with a bit of the tomfoolery we have come to expect from this franchise. As far as Lupin III movies go, this is one of the classics.
I'd like to preface the long-form review once again with the statement that I have only watched the English dubbed version; even though it does indeed lack the great voice of Tony Oliver and his accomplices, this movie's dub is fairly acceptable. The voices sound a bit too silly at times, but I honestly did not mind this as the movie clearly also goes for this tone most of the time.
As for the writing; this has to be simultaneously one of the most grounded and most off-the-wall Lupin III films ever. It combines a frankly insane premise with some down-to-earth Lupin III character moments and action, making for an enjoyable watch with some incredibly funny recurring gags.
Side note: I do recommend any potential viewers of this movie to do at least a bit of surface level research into who Nostradamus was in real life; I sure didn't and even though it didn't make it unwatchable on my first viewing, it did confuse me a bit as to what the importance of the central McGuffin was.
The animation is done surprisingly well, with the animators keeping a classic Lupin look while upgrading the quality of the animation to what was a superb quality in 1995, which still holds up today. The settings are amazingly creative and surprising while its incorporation into events that happen in the movie are very well done.
Of course, with this movie being made in 1995, it has some traits which can be best described as symptoms of its time; some characters feel kind of inserted "just because we needed a character with (x) trait" and its message can come over a bit heavy-handed and preachy; this however does not sufficiently detract from the watching experience to bump the score down any more.
The soundtrack also doesn't really break any new ground, and you can definitely feel the slump of the soundtrack-work between part 2 (1977) and 4 (2015) in this movie; it is still alright as far as regular movies go, but when compared to the other entries in the Lupin III franchise it's in the lower ranks.
In conclusion; this movie is supreme in its looks and the execution of its themes. It manages to keep its insane premise on the ground with some 90's flair thrown in with it. It features an amusing cast which provides many funny moments throughout the film with a bit of the tomfoolery we have come to expect from this franchise. As far as Lupin III movies go, this is one of the classics.