Meitantei Conan Movie 14: Tenkuu no Lost Ship

First off, let me tell you right now: this isn’t your typical Detective Conan movie – in a good way.

The Lost Ship In The Sky is the 14th addition to the Detective Conan movie franchise. Jirokichi Suzuki, who has just made most luxurious blimp in the World, challenges everyone’s favourite phantom thief Kaitou KID to steal the big jewel “Lady of the Sky” which is being transported on the blimp. Conan and his friends are on board like usual. However, the blimp gets hijacked by a group of terrorists who threaten to release a deadly virus onto the blimp. Conan and KID may have to ... work together in order to overcome this dangerous situation before the virus endangers the entire population of Kyoto.

As stated, this movie is a huge departure from every single Detective Conan movie to date. Foregoing a plot driven by a murder mystery, the movie is mostly a thriller, relying on the graphics, sound effects and the constant danger surrounding the protagonists to keep the audience engaged. Gone are the constant guesses at who the culprit is – you’re too busy worrying about the fate of the cast rather than trying to figure out how the murder was conducted.

It may seem like a daunting idea that there isn’t a person murdered under mysterious circumstances and Conan doing the detective work in the world of Case Closed, but this movie is arguably the most gripping Conan movie seen in many years. Being the thriller that it is, it succeeded very well. Both the pacing and progression are very good. It managed to keep me on the edge of my seat for the course of the entire movie and prevented my mind from drifting off even once. This is a feat that a Conan movie hasn’t accomplished in many years.

As for the plot itself, it certainly lacks depth in comparison to most previous Conan movies. This goes all the way from the plan, motive and even the execution. This is to be expected from a thriller – a genre that keeps the audience’s heart beat fast instead of taxing the brain to work out what’s going on. For a TV series with more than 600 episodes full of the latter experience, this movie is a fresh break from traditional Conan ordeals which plenty of us see on a weekly basis.

The fact that this movie has Kaitou KID in it already makes it a must-watch for his army of fans. However, if you’re watching this movie for the composed, calculated phantom thief putting on an extravagant show for like he always does, prepare to be disappointed. There’s no such thing as a grand entrance, and epic theft and a perfect getaway in this movie. His role in this movie has been changed from the pivotal anti-hero to a support character who exist for slapstick humour.

This is the first time that Kaitou KID has been depicted in such a manner in the Detective Conan movie franchise, and is sure to frustrate and anger a lot of of his fans. However, as a true fan, I welcome the implementation of KID as such a character. Any reader of the original Magic Kaito series should know that behind the scenes, KID isn’t the impeccable criminal mastermind who is as confident and composed as he is in front of his audience. In reality, he really is just Kaito Kuroba, a high school student who has a sense of humour and loves to have fun.

Up to now, he has always been shown with his poker face in the Detective Conan series, as if he is another character. Finally, he is shown with his mask off in the Detective Conan franchise. Many people are likely shocked by this sudden transformation, as if “his character is being ruined”. You need to realize that the Kaitou KID in this movie, by no means, is out of character at all. In fact, this is his true face, which has been kept hidden from you who have exclusively seen Detective Conan. He’s still the lovable phantom thief whose amazing charisma will surely grip you again throughout the course of this movie.

The animation is again, beautifully accurate and fluid like all other Conan movies due to their remarkably high budget. The use of CG has been toned down since the Raven Chaser, and the implementation is much more natural. As for the soundtrack, well, it’s pretty much the only thing that’s remained practically unchanged since the first movie, which isn’t bad. It’s as jazzy as ever and sets the atmosphere perfectly.

As for all the other recurring characters, they are faultlessly presented in this movie like usual. Nothing to complain about here. Ran is the damsel in distress. Kogoro is there for comic relief. The Detective Boys become the critical keys to success and Conan saves the day in the end as usual. Even Dr. Agasa’s dry joke still makes an appearance.

The Lost Ship In The Sky certainly isn’t going to carter for everyone’s tastes, especially with the distinct shift of genre from mystery to thriller. Also, the comedy has been toned up drastically in comparison to any Conan movie to date. The shift between light-hearted and serious scenes are incredibly rapid. There’s a laugh in here every ten minutes or so throughout the whole movie, even in the tensest parts. Depending on you, it may make or break the entire experience. For me, it made the experience better, but I don’t represent the entire population.

This movie has been the most enjoyable Conan movie for me since the The Phantom of Baker Street which released eight years ago, which I enjoyed for completely different reasons. This is the first Conan movie I have ever enjoyed simply due to its exciting, mindless fun. While I don’t wish for all future movies to follow in the same steps, this type of execution was perfect for The Lost Ship In The Sky. If you’re a Conan fan, watching this movie is a no-brainer.

P.S. You MUST watch the scene after the credits. It’s a direct continuation that is the true ending of the movie.

Comes with pictures if you read this review on my blog. :D http://imperialx.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/conan-movie-14-review/

In a way, this movie was quite entertaining.
I've watched all Detective Conan movies and this one was particularly outstanding.
First things first. The director pulled another movie like "The Raven Chaser" off. There's action, Conan getting hurt, guns, and there's kid. This movie is dedicated to fans of the series rather than mystery fans.
The actual story was quite easy to guess. Halfway I already knew most details and the hints were overall way too easily exposed. But this isn't about solving a crime. Not this time.
In my opinion, this movie depicts Kid and Conan working together. Outwitting others. A lot of smirking, cool postures ... and epic scenes.
In my opinion, this makes it rather enjoyable. Even at a dead serious situation, Kid and Conan are hilarious.

Highly recommendable if you're a hard-core fan. Have been, it's the anime/manga of my youth. I basically grew up with it.

Detective Conan movies generally follow a certain trend shared with it's parent series: a murder happens, Conan and friends are pulled in, and he solves it within the 2 hours we watch the movie. It's almost a tried and true method that few movies break away from (the most obvious being the amazing Phantom of Baker Street movie, though even there it still does revolve around the formula). But with The Lost Ship in the Sky, we instead get something different, which may benefit the series in more ways than one.

Story (9/10): Conan and friends are invited on Sonoko's Uncles blimp/airship to witness a ... battle between him and Conan's other 'antagonist', Kaitou Kid. But things aren't exactly alright, since there has been a bio-terrorist attack on a lab that housed a deadly bacteria that has sent Japan into a panicked state....and of course the terrorist cell has landed on the airship itself. It becomes a race against time for our detective as he has to stop the hijacking, contain the bacteria, and stop Kid from stealing the jewel once they reach Osaka.

What makes this different from other Conan movies is that this is more of a thriller style story than a murder mystery. While there is still the mystery aspect, specifically what the terrorist group is doing and what their main goal is, it just feels more action packed and exciting than other stories. It definitely benefits from having at least 4 sets of groups running through the story, with Conan and Kid on the airship, Osakan detective Hattori covering the ground, the other main cast in the cabins of the airship, and the police characters just assisting the two (they aren't in the movie much, if at all). The story just feels like a thriller novel and works fairly well in-universe. I can only hope that we see more films that take this kind of risk and do something different.

The movie also benefits from also being a Kaitou Kid movie, since it adds a little more dimension to his relationship with Conan (even if it is somewhat non-canon thanks to being a movie). Though the only drawback is that the plot isn't fully focused on Kid himself, leaving his fans still in wait of a movie that'll be an epic clash between him and Conan. (It does lead to an amusing comment from Ran, implying that she remembers the events of movie 8, Magician of the Silver Sky.)

Art (8/10): No complaints here, in that the art for the movies just get better and better as they go along. The action scenes are well done and I have to do something unique and say that the shading for the day and night scenes are very well done. Especially in the case of the ending.

Sound (5/10): Here's a weird complaint- was the sound director drunk when he was assigning which tracks to use with which scenes? Cause BOY is there some music mood whiplash in this movie. Normally I wouldn't comment on it, but it's pretty jarring to have silly sounding music playing through a HIJACKING scene. It's like that all over the place and it's insanely distracting. The normal Conan music is great, don't get me wrong, but the incidental tracks are placed in the worst spots possible.

For example, near the end of the film is the big showdown with the Big Bad and Conan, and it switches to the rest of the cast with 'hilarious' music being played, then WHOOSH right back to serious mode. It's pretty bad.

Character (7/10): The normal cast is here (sans the police characters, who are only really in like 3 scenes total), so nothing really interesting happens with them. But having Kaitou Kid and Hattori here are always a positive thing since they bounce off of Conan so well. Really, their interactions are the best thing about the movie. And of course, as is tradition, we get a bit of the romance angle coming in thanks to the always sneaky Kid doing his Shinichi impersonation on Ran, though it seems like she's starting to catch on to his tricks.

The villains are pretty good, though as with most Conan movie antagonists, they kind of fall apart towards the end. That's really all I can say without spoiling other reveals, though.

Enjoyment (9/10): Hot damn was this movie a lot of fun! Thanks to the thriller aspects, the plot was pretty unpredictable and just a ton of fun to watch unfold. It's just different enough that I was fully entertained by everything, and come on! Who doesn't love them some Kaitou Kid? :D

Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky is another strong movie entry into the franchise, with a great story, well done art, and the inclusion of fan favorite Kaitou Kid. While my main complaint is that the music has problems, it's overall a fun and interesting film for fans to see.

8/10 = great movie for fans and non fans alike, though knowledge of Kaitou Kid will help you get the most out of the film; don't go in thinking this is a Kid vs. Conan movie, cause it isn't; thriller aspects are the best draw here and is just a whole lot of fun

I used to really love this movie, even if I did derive most of that enjoyment from how absurd it is. I was really looking forward to watching this movie again. But sadly, Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky has finally lost its appeal on me after so long.

To start, it's not because of the way Kaito Kid is portrayed. One of the main complaints about Kaito Kid is how goofy he is presented here and that it is inconsistent with his character. This complaint largely comes from people who enjoy a more mysterious and cooler Kaito Kid like the one from ... The Last Wizard of the Century, The Private Eyes' Requiem and Sunflowers of Inferno. While I do sympathize with these complaints, Kaito Kid has always been a goofball in his original story. Even in the Detective Conan universe, Kaito Kid does every now and then exhibit that quirky incompetence that makes him such a lovable character. It's kind of ironic that fans would prefer a character's "poker face" over their true self.

Also, If this is your first time watching this movie, then you will probably really enjoy it. When I first saw this movie, it made me very excited and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through (even when they did drop the ball towards the end). My complaints largely come from seeing this movie enough times to know what's going to happen next and coming to terms with just how ridiculous this movie truly is. So if you still haven't seen this movie yet, don't worry about what I have to say and just watch it.

My main problems with this movie comes down to a number of things:
1. The first act is way too slow and doesn't kick off until the raid.
2. The villains are way too despicable and arrogant to be enjoyable.
3. The plot twists towards the end are so stupid, it destroys any semblance of suspense it had going for it.
4. The movie spends so much time building up how serious this threat is that when the truth is revealed, it becomes extremely anticlimactic. You'd swear this whole movie was just one big joke.
5. Least of all, it copies the plot from the 1988 action film, Die Hard. They even put Heiji in the role of "the dark-skinned buddy who helps the main character over the phone". Normally, I don't complain when a movie rips off another. But because this movie didn't try to do anything new with it, it becomes quite disappointing.

Once again, I'm not telling you to hate this film. If you really enjoy it and love it despite its shortcomings, then more power to you. Believe me, I wanted to love this movie like I did before. But since I am the way I am, I just can't appreciate it like I did back then.
(That said, I'd still take it over The Crimson Love Letter any day)

After waiting for one year, Conan Movie 14 arrived. It disappoints me, but I still think it's better than nothing.

Story

The story begins at a biochemical research center where a group of terrors breaks in and steals some fatal germ and burn the research center. If you think the story will goes on as Biohazard, then you are totally wrong because this is Conan, a comedy with a love story.

Then the scene goes to the airship, which is owned by Mr Suzuki, the rich man who dreams to catch KID. He brings a diamond onto the ship and invites KID. So the passengers on ... the ship are clear: the kids, Ran, the Suzuki, KID, and the terrors disguised as air hostess and reporters.

The air ship flies from Tokyo to Osaka, along the path there is a city where precious Buddhas are displayed. The terrors plan to rob the Buddhas, and they use the germs to cause panic. The monks in charge of the Buddhas run away, but Hattori arrived and catches the terrors.

But don't forget the terrors on the ship! Conan cooperates with KID and kicked their ass.

Highlights

Story is ordinary as usual, but there are still highlights.

First, KID is the main male in the movie besides Conan. He disguies as air hoster but is recognized by Ran. So he claims that KID is Shinji, Shinji is KID, and Ran believes in him! At the end of the movie when KID gets the diamond and is goiong to leave, Ran comes as usual and wants to say something. But KID is different from Shinji, he kisses Ran intead of repeating any cliches. Yes, kiss.

Second, KID saves Conan again. In this movie, Conan regards KID as parteners rather than enemy. They cooperates very well, this is a bad news to Hattori...

Music and Voice

The ED "Over Drive" by Garnet Crow is wonderful, I put it in my mp3 player for months.

We all know the cast of Mouri Kogorou is substituted. The new cast, anyway, is not as good as the previous one. Other casts perform well, if you are familiar with voice casts, you will find many famous names who cast many classical roles

Overall

If you are new to Conan series, you'll find this is an intersting detective movie with much enjoyment.
If you are a Conan fan like me, I think I don't need to comment much here. You have no reason to miss it.

(Thanks for the remind of ImperialX that I missed the last scene of the movie)

This was certainly better than movie 13 and certainly felt like a movie, but Movie 8 it is not. Still it just didn't feel a thrilling as it could have been. Maybe it's because it start to repeat the same "Conan stares down the villain and get hurt a bit doing it." It's predictable. Also the mystery didn't really feel that mysterious. Even adding Kaitou Kid didn't ramp up the excite factor. Kid was really only there to be a Heiji stand in and have gizmos to help Conan. He really doesn't do much past that. Also at the end there Ran so could have ... captured Kid herself if she thought to murder him for what he had done. And he would have deserved it.

Detective Conan Movies Rewatch Before Watching Movie 26: Movie 14

Movie 14 marks the transition of DC movies from mystery/action movies to more Tom Cruise/Mission Impossible movies. Here, we see our beloved Heisei Holmes battle against a terrorist organization. While DC movies involve suspension of disbelief, this one and subsequent movies really deviate from what is usually possible within the DC franchise. And I'm fine with it provided the movie executes well. Movie 14 does.

While movie 14 is full of action, it still manages to exude a sense of dread using the threat of the virus as a backdrop. The case, despite not being a typical ... DC mystery, was coherent and presented well (despite being totally absurd), and it gave us something fresh instead of traditional serial murders. In addition, Conan and Kid's partnership shines, as the pairing had good chemistry working together with some well-timed humor scenes. The music is a bit average this time but it's not a big deal.

Overall, movie 14 was an entertaining watch that even non-DC fans should enjoy it. 9/10