Lupin III: The First (CGI) (not rated)
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This came out in 2019 in Japan and 2020 in the U.S., but I didn't see it until 2024. And I liked it a lot more than I expected to. The "Lupin III" franchise started out as manga in 1967, and since then has been adapted into several TV series and movies. The only one I'm familiar with is Lupin III: Part II, which originally aired in 1977, but I saw part of the series on Adult Swim in 2003. I wasn't a big fan of it at the time, which is why I wasn't sure how much I'd like this movie. But it's definitely something I wanted to check out. I should say that most of the characters have the same voice actors as they did in the TV series I watched, which is cool. I also really liked the animation, which was the first time CGI was used in the franchise, I guess.

It starts out "during World War II, in France", when Nazis attempt to steal the diary of an archaeologist named Professor Bresson, whom they kill. A young couple (apparently one of whom is Bresson's child) flee with the diary and their baby daughter. They are pursued by another professor, Lambert, but they all end up in a car accident that kills the couple, and the diary is lost. But Professor Lambert obtains an amulet which contains a key to the diary, which has an intricate locking mechanism.

The next scene is set "more than a decade later, in Paris". (I actually think it must be closer to two decades later.) The famed Bresson Diary has been found, and is being displayed as part of an exhibition. Lupin III disguises himself as a security guard to steal the diary, which is said to lead to a huge treasure. He's stopped by his fellow security guard, who turns out to be an aspiring archaeology student named Laetitia, and later steals the diary herself. The diary changes hands a few times before being stolen by Fujiko, a rival thief. She delivers it to Professor Lambert and a Nazi named Geralt. Lambert uses the key from his amulet to try to unlock the diary, but fails. Meanwhile, Lupin pays a surprise visit to Laetitia in her home, and reveals he has another amulet, which contains half of a key, which must be combined with Lambert's half. He convinces Laetitia to work with him to get the diary, though unbeknownst to him she had been instructed by Lambert, her adoptive grandfather, to bring Lupin and the amulet to him. She has no idea her grandfather is working with Nazis. Anyway, Lupin manages to unlock the diary, turning the key in a specific sequence that spells out a password. (I totally guessed what the word was, but he doesn't reveal the truth until later in the film.) Laetitia reads the diary, which is written in a few different ancient languages, and learns that the treasure it leads to is a power generator called Eclipse, left behind by a lost civilization. Lupin is captured by the Nazis, and it turns out they had also detained Fujiko. But they both manage to escape.

And... lots more stuff happens. Basically, there's a race between Lupin along with his partners in crime, Jigen and Goemon, and the Nazis, to obtain the Eclipse, which the Nazis see as a powerful weapon. And of course all the while Lupin's gang are being chased by Inspector Zenigata of Interpol. When he learns that Nazis are trying to obtain the Eclipse, he teams up with Lupin's gang to get there first. But they still need Laetitia to read the diary, which has clues for overcoming booby traps on the way to the Eclipse. Also, the Nazis believe Hitler is secretly still alive, and want to deliver the weapon to him. Yeah, there's a lot going on. And I don't want to say how it all ends, but the whole movie is a hell of a cool adventure, which puts me in mind of things like Indiana Jones movies. There's also a revelation about Laetitia which didn't surprise me at all. One thing that did kind of surprise me was how little the usually lascivious Lupin hit on Fujiko in this movie, and the fact that he didn't hit on Laetitia at all. At the end of the movie, when Lupin's gang once again go on the run from Zenigata, Lupin tells Laetitia that he'll see her again in five years, which seemed pretty random to me. Unless it means one of two things I can imagine: either Lupin is waiting for Laetitia to become an adult, even though she looked like one to me already, but maybe I was wrong; or he's waiting for her to graduate from Boston University, where she plans to study archaeology. I don't know if that would be a five year course or what. But anyway, it was a really fun movie. And it kind of makes me want to see some of the earlier movies in the franchise. (Actually, I already wanted to see "The Castle of Cagliostro", because it was directed by Hayao Miyazaki. But if the other movies are anything like this one, maybe I'd like them, too.)