Lupin III: Elusiveness of the Fog

Elusiveness of the Fog is a passable Lupin special, but not very impressive. Mamo Kyosuke, the classic time traveling villain from a 1972 Lupin episode is back! He sends the Lupin gang, sans Fujiko, as well as Zenigata back in time 500 years. A large portion of the run time is consumed by a plot about two warring factions in feudal Japan. This is pretty generic stuff, and it doesn't really suit the Lupin gang. Mamo messing around with the Lupin gang is the interesting part. Mamo is a very entertaining villain in this, quite theatrical, popping up in his time travel device and laughing at our heroes.It's enjoyable watching him get flustered by Lupin's antics, although for the most part Mamo is not used to full potential. Fujiko wasn't sucked back in time, so instead we have one of her ancestors, the cute thief Ofumi. She's pretty fun, and it does make for some interesting "Back to the Future" style family time shenanigans. If she dies, Fujiko never exists. Lupin and Jigen have a great dynamic with snappy dialogue like usual, and Goemon gets a bit more screen time than he often does. Zenigata has a few funny moments, but he is mostly a non factor here. This movie doesn't have enough thrills or laughs to be a really engaging one. But while it's a pretty generic story, it does include some fun with the classic Lupin characters. Pretty much, if you're a Lupin fan you'll want to check this out, but it's not one of the better outings.