Title: L: Change The World aka Death Note 3
Genre: Drama
Director: Hideo Nakata
Format: Movie; 140 minutes.
Date: 31 Jan 2008

Synopsis: The legendary detective ‘L’ has finally solved the climatic Kira case, but at hefty cost – he only has 23 days to live, as he himself had planned when he wrote his own name in the Death Note to ultimately defeat Kira. His idea of a ‘peaceful death’ comes to a screeching halt when a cataclysmic viral outbreak in Thailand catches his attention. ‘L’ devotes his last days solving his one final case.

The Highlights
Matsuyama Ken’ichi: The only reason for anyone to watch this.
Supporting cast: Suffered in the shadows of Matsuyama‘s spotlight.
Story: Overly incoherent and illogical; brimming with plot holes.
Comedic scenes: Good… but that’s it.

“‘L’ needs to be back on the screen.” That’s what I thought after watching the two Death Note movies, both of which have seen a wave of success throughout Japan. See, Matsuyama Ken’ichi‘s portrayal as the eccentric detective ‘L’ is reminiscent of Hugh Jackman‘s portrayal of the mutant Wolverine in the X-Men movies. Both deserve the limelight for their stellar performances, and both deserve their own movies. Surely enough, ‘L’ does get his own spinoff movie, but sadly, it fails to produce the cliffhanging suspense of its prequels.

The movie makes itself known as an add-on story apparently since the whole thing is ultimately intended to wrap up at the end of Death Note: The Last Name, but that is not the issue here. If done well, any sequel can be on par or even outshine its prequel. Putting it mildly, L: CtW‘s does it miserably. There’s plot holes everywhere and the story is so poorly structured that I sometimes asked myself “What just happened!?”.

Matsuyama still manages to give us that same irresistibly kooky portrayal of ‘L’, and the saving grace in this movie is perhaps the comedic scenes that can have anyone tickled pink… all with ‘L’ at the center of the gag. True, the movie is made for ‘L’ to indulge in the limelight but similar to how the phrase “One man cannot change the world” is emphasised, one actor cannot save this movie. The main idea of an evolution with the help of a super-virus is done with such absurdity that even the message of showing us the horrible power of biological weapons is remotely nonexistent.

Another portion where the movie crumbles in is the supporting characters. Most of the characters – particularly the antagonists – are shallow due to the lack in background development, and a good deal of the acting is subpar. Who is to blame for their lackluster performances then? It is difficult to answer that question, but it is obvious that Matsuyama‘s huge presence in the movie was simply not enough. When you have a weak supporting cast accompanied with an even weaker plot line, you know that you will be raising your eyebrows at one point or another.

After watching the movie, I wondered what went wrong to such a promising sequel. Perhaps it is due to the change in the director from Shusuke Kaneko to Hideo Nakata, but that’s just conjecture. I walked into the cinema hall with an optimistic mind that since this depicts the detective’s last days on Earth, it would be an unforgettable one. I left the hall, thinking that I’d rather forget about it. What a shame.

The Rating: 4

Reviewed by: AC