“Gentleman Burglar”: Netflix’ Lupin Series Review

Lupin

Assane Diop gets inspiration from Arsene Lupin novels and sets out on a revenge journey for his wrongly convicted father. Part 1 of the Netflix series Lupin is streaming now.

Should you skip it or watch it? Read on this review to find out.

Gentleman Burglar

Created by French author Maurice LeBlanc, the tales of Arsene Lupin is a well-known novel character and the name itself may already be synonymous to the word burglar. But what separates this infamous persona from other book characters (other than the fact that he always gets away) is that he is never violent, only using his wits and skills to outsmart his opponents every single time. Thus, earning him the nickname “Gentleman Burglar”.

In Netflix’ Lupin, the gentleman burglar moniker is brought to life by Assane Diop played by Omar Sy (X-Men: Days of Future Past) in present day France, where tales of the legendary Lupin are still revered and celebrated by fans worldwide. Fueled by vengeance for his wrongly convicted father Babakar Diop (Fargass Assandé), Assane channels Arsene Lupin to pull off the most complicated heists in the most gentleman burglar-y way.

Packed with Surprises…

Fans of the Lupin novels may already recognize some of the events in the series as it closely resembles the events in the novels. Despite that, however, Netflix’ Lupin will still manage to surprise even the most hardcore Lupin novel fans.

Each episode of Part 1 is packed with tons of twists and turns that will keep the audience engaged down to the last minute of all its 5 episodes.

Storylines and characters are all well-written. Backstories are explored in depth all while maintaining a certain mystery. Storytelling is another fine aspect of the series. It jumps back and forth from one timeline to another with all the backstories. Yet, Lupin is still relatively easy to follow. The series still retains a certain complexity to it, but it never over-complicates stuff.

…and Fun

Another great thing about this show is how the actors were cast perfectly. The younger versions of the characters shown during flashbacks look eerily like their older iterations. That just goes to show how dedicated the crew for this show is.

Omar Sy is without a doubt suited for this role. His charm and appeal perfectly embody the very essence of the gentleman burglar persona that he is trying to copy. It’s always a pleasure to see actors having fun in their roles and Omar Sy certainly looks like he was having fun on the set of the series. Now You See Me director Louis Letterier made sure to keep the fun part.

No, the show is not funny in a comedic way, but it is fun in the sense that it completely succeeds in always having a few tricks up its sleeve. No dull moment whatsoever. Even when things seemed a little predictable, a few shocks come up and throw you off once again. That, to me, is the definition of fun.

Skip or Watch?

Netflix’ Lupin is a gripping mystery tale that packs a ton of surprises and most of all…fun.

The only downside to this show that I can think of is that there are only 5 episodes in it. In any case, Part 2 has already been announced and may arrive as early as within this year.

Do yourselves a favor and give this show a watch. This is high-quality entertainment and an absolute must-watch.

VERDICT: WATCH!

Here is salida|etc’s rating for Lupin.

Our Rating

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