8/10
High octave, plot heavy
11 July 2018
Unlike other films in the franchise, this film is very closely related to the canon of the main series, so it's very hard to recommend this film as an entry point. That being said, tying the film so closely to the canon allowed them to use Amuro as a main character in the film, and his chemistry with Conan is excellent. Obviously, Conan has had many great cooperators in the past, but the relationship he has with Amuro is wholly different from anything we've seen before - both of them distrust each other, and are constantly second guessing each other's motivation and actions.

In turn, the inclusion of Amuro in this film has altered the style of mystery storytelling that the series has always relied on in the past. This is because Amuro is actually a high-ranking member in the Black Organisation as Bourbon - making him one of Conan's main enemies. Therefore, it's pretty obvious from the beginning that he is behind the events of the film in some shape or form, thus making the film less of a straight-forward mystery then it is a thriller, as Conan tries to uncover Amuro's true role in the events, all the while trying to avoid drawing attention to himself.

Of course, mystery does feature in the film, as Conan still needs to figure out the true culprit behind the explosion at the Edge of Ocean facility as well as who framed Morui, but that's less of a focus this time around. That's not to say that previous films haven't also downplayed the mystery elements of the series, but that was in favor of setpieces and spectacle, most likely in an attempt to draw in new fans. As a result, because the formula of the series had been altered somewhat, I found myself immediately drawn into Zero's Executioner and the web of conspiracies surrounding Amuro's involvement, which surprised me given how forgettable previous movies have been. There's not many film series that can still engross you in their twenty-second entry, and I feel like I have to give Detective Conan some credit for that.
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