Why you can trust 12DOVE
Based on Maurica LeBlanc's much-adapted series of French novels about a gentleman crook, this convoluted period romp/bodice-buster is a potboiler that steams so fulsomely it ends up way, way overcooked. Granted, it looks suave. The Robin Hood-ish hero, Arsene Lupin (Romain Duris), is a pair of cheekbones on legs who models more disguises in 20 minutes than Jennifer Garner does in a whole series of Alias.
Lupin winds up in above his neck when he gets embroiled in a royalist conspiracy involving treasure-hunting, assassination and a passionate affair made distinctly steamy by a vampish Kristin Scott Thomas. On top of this anachronistic set-up, helmer Jean-Paul Salome adds some heaped tablespoons of Matrix-ish kick boxing mischief and a plot so fast and foolish you almost don't notice how ridiculous it all is. Almost, mind.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
The Inside Out 2 panic attack scene is one of the best depictions of anxiety ever – and something Pixar director Kelsey Mann is incredibly proud of: "I couldn't be happier"
When making Kingdom Hearts, the "one thing" RPG icon Tetsuya Nomura "wasn't willing to budge on" was a non-Disney protagonist
The Witcher fans in shambles after a new book reveals just how old Geralt really is