MyView: L change the World

Thanks to Nuffnang, I got to go to a Press Screening for the movie 'L change the World'. It will only be shown in the cinemas on 3rd of April 2008. That's the previleges of being a Glitterati.

'L change the World' is a spin off from the successful manga turned movie Death Note and Death Note 2. In Death Note and Death Note 2, L is the genius detective that is in a battle of witts to catch Kira (Yagami Light) who have been killing criminals using a notebook that can kill a person by writing the name of the person in the notebook hence the name Death Note. In Death Note 2, to prove that Yagami Light is Kira, L wrote his own death on the Death Note and he has 23 more days to live (23 days is the maximum number of days that the Death Note can control the death of a person).

Sypnosis from the official distributor:

"The film presents the “final 23 days of L.” The mystery that the world wanted to know will be revealed.

This may indeed be the inevitable spin-off. DEATH NOTE’s hero was Light Yagami, who stunned the world with his superior intellect. L was the other genius, and the two fought ferocious intellectual battles. To put an end to the seemingly unending conflict, L makes the ultimate choice, leaving him with only 23 days to live. From the moment he makes this decision what will happen in these last 23 days? This void, which was not presented in DEATH NOTE, is, in fact, dense and full of surprises. The mysteries of L that you craved to know will finally be revealed in his last 23 days. Even L, himself, fails to predict the turn of events.

This time, the enemy comes into possession of a “God of Death” made by man. After losing Watari, his mentor and most trusted partner, L faces a crisis of global magnitude. For L, who has solved worldwide cases through the monitor with his superb intellect, this will be the first and last case, forcing him to go outdoors, interact with people and take physical actions. Like Kira, the person in possession of the synthetic “God of Death” also utters the words: “change the world.”

What will happen to L? What will change? The 23 days are packed with turn of events that even L himself cannot predict. The final countdown are about to begin!

Starring Kenichi Matsuyama and directed by Hideo Nakata, L enters a new evolutionary stage in 2008.

Director Nakata’s The Ring 2 became the top grossing film in the United States, and led to offers for this director worldwide, including those from Hollywood. But why did Nakata decide to take on L change the WorLd? A major reason was Matsuyama. Though Matsuyama’s L struck Nakata as being bizarre at first, he was drawn in by this actor’s complete assimilation with the character. “I was fascinated by the power of his presence as one who seems to be unable to manage his long limbs. I will present an attractive L, who is like a demon in our dreams in various settings.” says Nakata. The director and actor have joined hands to create a cooler, more eccentric and aloof L to present aspects of this character, which have never before been highlighted. Matsuyama’s L is definitely a must-see."

L (Kenichi Matsumaya) with his candies and sugar.

The plot as compared to Death Note and Death Note 2 will be a dissappointment for those that expect it to be as twisted and brain tweaking. There' s not much twist in the plot of 'L change the World'. It's more like a in depth development of L. You can see how L deal with death of the person that's like a father to him, and how he interact with children.

The only survivor of the virus outbreak and a math genius. BOY (Narushi Fukuda)

Maki (Mayuko Fukuda) a key to the antidote of the virus.

There are some humour in some scene, and this is the first time the L goes out and do some running and chasing. He usually only sit in front of his laptop to solve all the cases. The actor who played L is Kenichi Matsumaya. I first saw his performance in a Japanese drama series called 'Sexy Voice and Robo', in there he played an Otaku which is very different from L. If I haven't seen the report in The Star, I won't have known that L and Robo is played by him. So, his acting is really in the character.

Kenichi Matsumaya as Robo and Susuka Ohgo as Sexy Voice in 'Sexy Voice and Robo'

Interesting Note: Susuka Ohgo played the young Sayuri in 'Memoirs of a Geisha'

What I can say that, the starting of the movie is quite slow and dull to put the plot of the movie into place, with some flashback to Death Note and Death Note 2. If you're manga or anime fan, you be glad to find that Near or 'N' will he's first appearance in this movie. Clever audience would have guess by now who is 'N' in the middle of the movie. It's worth a watch for those that have been following Death Note whether from the movie, manga or anime. For those that haven't seen Death Note or Death Note 2, you might have a bit of catching to do but this movie can be watch as an independent story because it really doesn't have much continuance from Death Note.

The bad guys. From left, Megumi Sato (Natsune Misawa), Dr. Kimiko Kujo (Youki Kudoh), and Sei Hirazumi (Kouichi Matsudo).

Rating: 2.5/5