LUPIN: PART FOUR
Starring: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy, Soufiane Guerrab, Shirine Boutella, Théo Christine, and Laïka Blanc-Francard
Creators: George Kay and François Uzan
QUENTIN
While Omar Sy remains magnetic, his promotion to co-showrunner has hurt Lupin. It's like he decided to make it a Mission: Impossible meets National Treasure rip-off; then Netflix uploaded that idea and the previous “seasons” to ChatGPT, asking how the series could better fit their soulless algorithms. As such, much (but not all) of the analog heist charm is traded for tech, fights, guns, a YA angle, and a lifeless father-son squabble. Each episode plays like a formulaically derivative, unpredictably predictable, caper-of-the-week series that would air on USA Network. Admittedly, perhaps my interest has simply waned over the three-year hiatus; it’s watchable, but a definite downgrade.
AMARÚ
Omar Sy always has so much fun playing Assane Diop, and he clearly is having a blast with the disguises and stunts in Part Four of Lupin. But as co-showrunner, he tries way too hard to make the overall show just as cool as Assane, moving away from semi-realistic heist scenarios to full-blown Mission: Impossible-like set pieces that don’t have the budget or tone to feel anything but out of place. It makes for sloppy action and glossed-over plot conveniences, which is unfortunate because the foundational story beats, while tried-and-true gentleman-thief tropes, do deliver genuinely interesting family drama and fun episodes.
