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L CHANGE THE WORLD

 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Thriller/Action
Starring: Kenichi Matsuyama, Youki Kudo, Mayuko Fukuda, Sei Hiraizumi, Narushi Fukuda, Bokuzo Masana, Yuta Kanai, Megumi Sato, Ikki Namioka, Renji Ishibashi, Kiyotaka Nanbara
Director: Hideo Nakata
Rating: PG
Year Made: 2008

 

 


 SPECIAL FEATURES

- Behind The Scenes
- Japan Gala Premier
- Interview with Kenichi Matsuyama
- Main Trailer
- TV Spot 1, TV Spot 2

 

 


 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: Japanese & Mandarin
Subtitles: Chinese & English
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby Digital/DTS Surround
Running Time: 2 hrs 8 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: Simply Fun

 

 

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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This review is made possible with the kind support from Simply Fun

 

 



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