Lupin Part 1: Series Review

What's so great about the French television series "Lupin" is how it was able to make each episode stand out as it presented each one jam-packed full of twists, turns, and action as we try to piece together the real story behind our lead character's tumultuous life. While not all situations turned out to be convincing and even logical, most of the show's hiccups were forgivable in the context of its amazing and thrilling pacing and narrative.

When he was young, Assane Diop's (Omar Sy) father worked as the driver for a very wealthy and powerful man named Hubert Pellegrini. One day, his father is accused by Hubert as a thief - stealing a valuable necklace from his safe. Eventually, his father is sent to prison and commits suicide out of shame. Twenty five years later, Assane is now an adult and a professional thief. As the stolen necklace has resurfaced, Assane plans to steal it himself which he does so successfully. But when he has the necklace examined, it turns out that it may have never been stolen in the first place. Finding this out, Assane seeks out to find the truth and avenge his father's death.

In the context of crime shows on Netflix, "Lupin" surprised us with its slick writing and outstanding pacing so much so that it has, in our honest opinion, to become one of the biggest shows in the platform matching the likes of "Money Heist". For us, its biggest asset was its writing and pacing. The five episodes that comprised Part 1 had unique adventures for each episode with each one feeling very different from the next one. While these episodes were interconnected, they also felt satisfyingly isolated from each other with an episode having its own themes, dilemmas, and revelations that slowly unveiled the show's mystery. But admittedly, five episodes was just too short and some viewers will definitely feel frustrated as the story was actually just picking up when the season ended. Additionally, while the twists and turns will be entertaining, there were times when it felt like the writing was forcing too complicate things just to look smart - sometimes it was amusing, sometimes it was confounding and breaking the very laws of logic. One character actually joked that if the fictional character of Lupin was real he would have been caught red-handed already - ironically, we had the very same sentiments in a lot of the escapes and tricks our character of Assane Diop made in the series. Another main draw for the show was the lead character of Assane Diop played by Omar Sy. Sy provides an entertaining and charismatic take on the character so much so that his enthusiasm was infectious. We found ourselves highly-invested in his character and his family but we also found a lot of the minor characters lacking development. Overall, "Lupin" Part 1 isn't a perfect first salvo but it has all the intricacies and features to make it a standout show - we just hoped it had the typical ten episodes to fully develop its first season.

Rating: 4 reels

Why you should watch it:
- an intriguing story of lies, deceit, and revenge

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- it tends to overcomplicate some of its scenarios
- at only five episodes, we rarely get any answers by the time Part 1 ends