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SYNOPSIS:
“The
human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die.”
A God
of Death dropped a notebook which had the power to kill people.
Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara) found the notebook and tried
to become Kira, God of a new crime-free world by executing
criminals with the notebook. L (Kenichi Matsuyama), a genius
detective confronted Kira who was his toughest enemy ever.
At last, L managed to close the case of Kira but had to pay
a painful price.
After
making the hardest decision ever, another serious case confronts
L. There are only 23 days left and without his best partner
Watari (Shunji Fujimura), L has to solve the case all by himself
for the very first time.
A boy
and a girl hold the keys to solving this case and L had to
get into a desparate situation to protect the kids. L has
solved many cases previously through monitors and using his
brain power as he has never appeared in public as L. This
is the first and last case that he has to deal with people
in person...
A person
who obtains the most horrible weapon “Death God”
created by human says the same thing as Kira... ”I am
going to change the world.”
What
will happen to L? Is anything in the world going to be changed?
The turbulent 23 days even L cannot predict awaits him. The
most exciting and moving countdown has now begun!
MOVIE REVIEW:
The entire movie industry is doing it at the moment,
sequels, prequels and spin-offs. Hong Kong has its "Infernal
Affairs". Hollywood is coming up with "Wolverine"
after the success of the "X-men" series. Now Japan
has jump on the wagon with "L Change the World".
The
phenomenal success of the manga-turned-movie, "Death
Note" has resulted in not only a sequel but a spin-off
as well. If you have unfortunately missed "Death Note"
and "Death Note 2", fret not because this movie
lie its shoulder solely on the charisma of Kenichi Matsuyama
who plays the panda eyes, porcelain skin detective named L
Lawliet. He walks with a slouch, has a penchant for sweet
stuff and his entire wardrobe consists nothing but a pair
of jeans and white tee.
While
there are certain character references to "Death Note"
such as death god Ryuk and Light Yagami along the way, the
main plot involves a terrorist group bent on releasing a virus
to wipe out the entire human race. Through a little boy who
survived a terrifying ordeal in Thailand and the daughter
of a scientist, L must solve the case before his own death
which will be in 23 days (another continuity storyline from
"Death Note 2").
Director
Hideo Nakata’s (who helmed the original Ringu and Dark
Water) main intention is to explore the humanity side to the
character L. With "L Change the World", Nakata has
succeeded with that. Not only has our favourite detective
manages to step out of his conceal fortress; his excessive
amount of sugar intake has finally been put to good use. The
man actually can run and sprint in fact. The downside I suppose
is the compromise of his witty detective solving skills in
front of his iMac and the death of his reliable partner, Watari.
There are less mind-pounding riddles and logics to muddle
your mind this time round instead L has to start interacting
with the people around him and deals with the issue on the
spot instead through a notebook or Watari.
Those
subtle humour bits revolving L’s body gestures which
were littered all around the movie is a joy to behold and
also the antics of a goofy FBI agent did lighten the movie’s
dark moral theme a little.
There
might be some manga purists or audience who might scorned
at how "L Change the World" is a convenient cash-on
to the popular "Death Note" series. However, I for
one was hugely entertained throughout the 128 minutes by Kenichi
Matsuyama’s spot-on performance. Movies are made to
entertain and "L Change the World" has nailed it.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
In a delightful packaging, this 2 –Disc special
edition of "L Change the World" also comes with
14 pages of cast/crew highlights and production notes.
Behind-the-Scenes run almost an hour 50 minutes,
spanning from the first day of shooting to the last day of
shooting in Thailand. There are plenty of impromptu interviews
with the various cast members, crew and also behind the scenes
shots to satisfy your cravings. Instead of some short segments
which you normally find on DVD extras, this is what behind
the scenes should be all about.
Japan
Gala Premiere is a 9 minutes feature that showcases
the highlights at the 7 February event. Interesting bits include
Kenichi Matsuyama busy doing his autograph rounds and his
funny opening speech.
Interview
with Kenichi Matsuyama lasts 13 minutes and he talks
about working with his co-stars, filming in Thailand and his
role as L.
Disc
Two finishes off with the local theatrical trailer plus two
TV Spots.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
"L Change the World" is presented in aspect ratio
1.85:1. The video transfer has some soft spots but overall
still looks pretty good. The audio comes with Japanese/Mandarin
Dolby Digital 5.1 and Japanese DTS 5.1. Aside from a major
explosion and some high-pitch screaming, the usage of the
surround sound isn’t particularly whelming but dialogue
which comprised most of the duration is strong.
Local video distributors should take the cue here as both
disc one and two comes with both English and Chinese subtitles.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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