| Language: Japanese Director: Hideo Nakata Running time: 129 min Release year: 2008 |
| Cast: Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Youki Kudoh, Mayuko Fukuda, Kiyotaka Nanbara, Narushi Fukuda, Masanobu Takashima, Megumi Sato, Shingo Tsurumi |
Movie Review:
Following the successful 1-2 combination punch of “Death Note” and “Death Note: The Last Name,” comes that series’ first spin-off “L: Change the World.” Yes, “L: Change the World” features everybody’s favorite hunchbacked, candy loving, Gothic genius named “L.” The movie isn’t a prequel per se, nor is it a sequel per se, rather “L: Change the World” runs in parallel with “Death: The Last Name” timeline wise, but involves L’s adventures outside of the Death Note realm. So much so that even ff you have never watched the Death Note movies or read the comics, you still won’t have any problems following “L: Change the World.” Most of the characters in the movie are new and the storyline easily stands on its own. |
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In “L: Change the World,” the pale skin L has only 21 days left to live (reference “Death Note: The Last Name” for reasons why). His beloved assistant, Mr. Watari, also dies shortly into the film (again reference “Death Note: The Last Name” for reasons why) and leaves L alone to ponder his fate. Then a young Thai boy arrives at L’s HQ, having the innate ability to survive a deadly virus outbreak and is a mathematical genius. Meanwhile, a good friend of Mr. Watari’s, Prof. Nikaido, sends his young daughter Maki to seek the assistance of Watari. Since Watari is no longer alive, L takes the case and also temporary custody of the young girl.
During this time, Maki’s father kills himself to prevent an environmental extremist group from obtaining an antidote for a deadly virus. If the group known as “Blue Ship” obtains the antidote then they can spread the virus without fear. The leader of “Blue Ship” is the evil Matoba and he is assisted by a well respected doctor named Dr. Kujo. Once Matoba and Dr. Kujo realize that Maki holds the key to the antidote, they make plans to infiltrate L’s HQ and take the young girl back. Of course, our hero L has other ideas.
Even more so than the first two Death Note films, “L: Change the World” is a big budget “Hollywood” action type of film, featuring one dimensional villains, explosions, chases and races. There’s absolutely none of the cerebral mind-games that was featured so heavily in the first Death Note film. Rather, “L: Change the World” takes the commercial feel of the sequel, “Death Note: The Last Name,” and pumps it to another level. The quality of that commercial level isn’t so bad that the film stinks, but compared to “Death Note” its several steps lower.
Certainly, don’t go into “L: Change the World” hoping to see your favorite Death Note characters (outside of L). Tatsuya Fujiwara as Light Yagami appears on a computer monitor for a few seconds, Erika Toda as Misa Amane appears onscreen for less than a minute, and Shunji Fujimura as Watari appears onscreen for maybe 3 minutes. From there, it’s completely L’s world and with it, the cardboard characters fitting for a Hollywood like film. The most laughably over-the-top performance would go to Megumi Sato’s performance as the attractive but vicious assistant to Matoba.
And if you’re wondering about Ken’ichi Matsuyama’s performance as “L,” its pretty much what you’ve seen in Death Note but with more cartoonish mannerisms (the way he typed on the keyboard was overkill for me). He’s still a charismatic character that will likely bring viewers out in droves. One of the best moments in the film for me was the scene where L, Maki, and the Thai boy stopped in the Akhibara area of Tokyo. Watching the true otaku geek himself, L, walk around the mecca for otaku geeks was genuinely compelling, but of course this moment is short lived - this is an action film after all & there’s a chase to tend too. |
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| { Recommended Japanese Movies } |
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Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru) |
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Director: Kinji Fukasaku; Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Shin Kusaka, Ren Matsuzawa, Gouki Nishimura, Shigehiro Yamaguchi, Taro Yamamoto |
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Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime): Animated feature film |
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Director: Hayao Miyazaki; Cast: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura |
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Cafe Isobe (Jun kissa Isobe) |
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Director: Keisuke Yoshida; Cast: Hiroyuki Miyasako, Riisa Naka, Kumiko Aso, Mari Hamada, Toshihiro Wada |
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Love Exposure (Ai no mukidashi) |
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Director: Sion Sono; Cast: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Atsuro Watabe, Makiko Watanabe, Sakura Ando |
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Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no issho) |
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Director: Tetsuya Nakashima; Cast: Miki Nakatani, Eita, Yusuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, Mikako Ichikawa, Asuka Kurosawa |
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Still Walking (Aruitemo aruitemo) |
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Director: Keisuke Yoshida; Cast: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi, Shohei Tanaka, Kirin Kiki |
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Tokyo Sonata |
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Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Cast: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Yu Koyanagi, Inowaki Kai, Haruka Igawa |
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