Lupin the Third: Dead or Alive (1996)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of the best Lupin films along with 'The Castle of Cagliostro' (my favourite) and 'Farewell to Nostradamus'. Really like most of the Lupin films though, my least favourite and the only disappointing one being 'Gold of Babylon'.'Lupin: Dead or Alive' may not be quite as entertaining as 'The Castle of Cagliostro' or as bold as 'The Secret of Mamo' or 'Farewell to Nostradamus', but it is a very good film in its own right and serves Lupin well. It doesn't quite have the energy as some of the previous Lupin films pacing wise and there are a few parts that have little to do with the story and seemed there for padding purposes.The animation however is great. The characters' designs have more finesse than in 'Farewell to Nostradamus' and 'The Secret of Mamo' and are not as ugly or underwhelming as 'Gold of Babylon' and there is a lot of polish, with the attention to detail in the action and backgrounds being particularly impressive. The action is exciting and suspenseful.'Dead or Alive' ends satisfyingly, with things wrapped up neatly without being too pat. The music is dynamic and fitting.Although not as humour-heavy as the other Lupin films, the humour is present and it is funny. The writing is also thought-provoking and taut. The story is gripping, if not quite as eventful or as vibrantly paced as the previous film, and doesn't forget to be fun or tense.We have a high in charisma lead character in Lupin, a good villain, Jigen and Goemen having entertaining roles and the film brings the best out of Fujiko and Zenigata. Voice acting is good.Overall, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of the Best Lupin the 3rd Theatical Movies.Lupin and his gang are solving the secrets of a secret treasure protected by highly advanced technology that's years ahead of it's time.Located in a fictional country of Zuffu(an Iraq/Pakistan like country) with an evil general leader who has a thing for knives and swords.Has allot of cool and random looking characters in it.What's great about this movie is that Monkey Punch(the guy who made the Lupin the 3rd universe possible) is the director of this film.Yes, this is worth seeing, all Lupin the 3rd fans should see it. I rank it #2 while Castle of Cagliostro is still number 1.Only contains 2 blood scenes, and a bit of swearing.

"Rupan sansei: Dead or Alive" is a nice movie of the Lupin III saga. Now we got an intriguing adventure on an island.Besides a fight scene at the beggining, it's what one would call a "clean" movie. Definitely is not Miyazaki the ones who is directing the movie, but, anyway, it's well.I'd complain that it's a bit slower than others of the series.Watch it or rent it. It's nice and may be not very difficult to find (although I've had hard times looking for anime, I watched this one translated to Spanish, so maybe this one's not hard to get in English).8/10