All spin-offs have pluses and minuses. The positive side of any spin-off, of course, is that a strong character from a series strikes such a chord with fans that he or she merits a separate, standalone story. The negative side is when the spin-off strays too far from the original, losing the elements that made it so successful in the first place. L: Change the WorLd (sic), from Viz Pictures, is billed as “The Unwritten Chapter of Death Note” and focuses on one of the characters from the successful Japanese manga, anime, and live action movie series. As such, it succeeds as a separate feature about the final case of L, the eccentric young genius detective whom audiences have come to love. But for those looking for another true Death Note movie, lower your expectations because this is a very different film from the stories that preceded it.
For those unfamiliar with the Death Note franchise, (or "Desu Noto" in Japanese), here’s a quick background. Writers Tsugumi Oba and Takeshi Obata first created the tale as a comic book series in Japan and then adapted it into a popular anime cartoon series, which was followed by two live action film versions.
The story deals with the Joker-esque Ryuuk, a shinigami, or “god of death,” dropping a notebook onto Earth that has the power to take anyone’s life whose name is written in its pages. An idealistic young man named Light Yagami discovers the Death Note and uses it to become “Kira,” a serial killer of criminals, in a misguided attempted to make the world a better place. Light is confronted by L, a quirky, crime-solving mastermind. The heart of the Death Note series becomes the battle of wits between Light and L, as Light falls deeper into megalomania, trying to justify his view of morality and fighting L in the process. L eventually sacrifices himself to stop the killing spree and destroy the Death Note.
The new movie, L: Change the WorLd, points the spotlight squarely on L, the slouching, shaggy-haired detective with peculiar idiosyncrasies (such as the way he sits, types, and picks up objects) during the last 23 days of his life. While fans of L will delight in this feature-length adventure that reveals many more facets of the character than previously seen, the film struggles to match the poignancy of the Death Note saga that has come before.
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