As the daring thief Arsène Lupin (Duris) ransacks the homes of wealthy Parisians, the police, with a secret weapon in their arsenal, attempt to ferret him out. An average rating of 5 out of 10 for this movie is patently absurd. It may be too smart and elaborate for a mass audience, but based on the few votes (less than 900 at the time of this writing) it cannot have received very wide distribution. I believe posterity will be far kinder to this movie than the IMDb users have been thus far.<br/><br/>I rented Arsène Lupin on DVD from Blockbuster, and I was engaged and engrossed from beginning to end. Actually, what made me want to see it was the IMDb genre description - a mix of Action, Adventure, Crime, Romance, Mystery and Comedy?! I loved mixed genres, so I thought this should be good! And I loved it. An interesting premise, cool martial arts action, unexpected developments, an immortal countess (!!) and lots of intrigues, set at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Very classy, and very well produced in every way. I was thoroughly entertained. I have not read the books, but this movie makes me want to.<br/><br/>My only complaints are that there was no explanation for Arsène's father being a bad guy. He had started out as Arsène's hero, on whose life Arsène modeled his own, and then his father turns out to be a traitor, with no explanation? Harumph! Also, I thought the countess was a mite too evil at the end. I mean, deliberately trying to set off World War I?! Why?! No explanation.<br/><br/>However, the reason I rate this movie a 9 rather than just an 8, is that it finally - finally! - gives us a great role for Kristin Scott Thomas. She is a delight to behold in a role that is worthy of her. This is perhaps the only movie since The Tenth Man where she's had a prolonged, really great role. For that I thank whoever got her involved in this project.<br/><br/>9 out of 10. This is really an amazing film. I watched it only in French with French subtitles as my friends whom i am staying with are French speaking. Like the majority of European films i have seen, it is superior to what has and is coming out of Hollywood. From the start, it is gripping. The audience are taken on a ride of suspense to the last moment. Twists and turns in the plot, unpredictable things happen. The casting is good. I am familiar with Kristen Scott Thomas. I knew she spoke French as i understand she lives there, but her French accent is quite amazing. I could here English accent on some occasions, but it was so subtle that it was hardly noticeable. Her casting in this film was so contrary to type that i had seen in other films. It was so refreshing. The action scenes were again amazing. So well choreographed and still almost believable and realistic. The original idea originates from an animated book, which makes it ambiguous and sets it apart from a lot of other films in the similar genre. Films based upon Comic books are being done to death in Hollywood, and i am trying to avoid them. I am glad that this was made by European Film makers, not Americans, otherwise it would have been almost painful to watch. The romance that develops is another interesting addition to the plot. All of these little things, develop well and come together. The choice of location was again just perfect for the scenes and the setting of the film in the mid to late 19th Century made it quite unique. A very clever film, which is definitely worth watching.
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327 weeks ago