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Death Note: The Last Name (12A)
Director
Shusuke Kaneko
Shusuke Kaneko
Review byMatthew Turner02/07/2008
Three out of Five stars
Running time: 141 mins
Filmed back-to-back with Death Note, this sequel is essentially a continuation of the first movie, although its lengthy running time means that it rather outstays its welcome.
What's it all about?
The sequel to the hugely popular Death Note (released earlier this year) picks up immediately after the events of the first film with TV host Misa Amane (Erika Toda) receiving a second Death Note and getting her own God of Death, Rem (Shinnosuke Ikehata), into the bargain. A huge devotee of criminal-killer Kira - actually the previous film's Death Note holder, Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara) - Misa sets about killing anyone who voices any opposition to Kira.
Naturally, the new wave of deaths causes problems for super-detective L (Kenichi Matsuyama), who sets out to investigate; this time with an equally confused Light by his side. However, things get even more complicated when it's revealed that the second Kira has the Eyes of Death (allowing her to see people's real names), and when a third Kira appears on the scene. Can Light help to solve the mystery whilst remaining undetected?
The Good
This really feels like two halves of the same film, so if you liked Death Note the chances are you'll like the sequel, too. As a result, the performances are excellent and the constant cat-and-mouse game between Light and L is fun to watch, whilst white-clad Rem makes an intriguing visual counterpart to black-clad Ryuuk, even if their relationship to each other isn't really explored.
The Bad
The device of piling plot twist upon plot twist worked well in the first film but it eventually becomes tiresome here, especially when director Kaneko refuses to leave any clues for the audience – the twists are all of the 'Aha, but what you didn't see was this...' variety. Similarly, the sequel is 20 minutes longer than the first film, which was already 20 minutes too long.
Worth seeing?
This is an entirely watchable sequel if you're after more of the same, but it's way too long and drags considerably in the middle section.
Running time: 141 mins
Filmed back-to-back with Death Note, this sequel is essentially a continuation of the first movie, although its lengthy running time means that it rather outstays its welcome.
What's it all about?
The sequel to the hugely popular Death Note (released earlier this year) picks up immediately after the events of the first film with TV host Misa Amane (Erika Toda) receiving a second Death Note and getting her own God of Death, Rem (Shinnosuke Ikehata), into the bargain. A huge devotee of criminal-killer Kira - actually the previous film's Death Note holder, Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara) - Misa sets about killing anyone who voices any opposition to Kira.
Naturally, the new wave of deaths causes problems for super-detective L (Kenichi Matsuyama), who sets out to investigate; this time with an equally confused Light by his side. However, things get even more complicated when it's revealed that the second Kira has the Eyes of Death (allowing her to see people's real names), and when a third Kira appears on the scene. Can Light help to solve the mystery whilst remaining undetected?
The Good
This really feels like two halves of the same film, so if you liked Death Note the chances are you'll like the sequel, too. As a result, the performances are excellent and the constant cat-and-mouse game between Light and L is fun to watch, whilst white-clad Rem makes an intriguing visual counterpart to black-clad Ryuuk, even if their relationship to each other isn't really explored.
The Bad
The device of piling plot twist upon plot twist worked well in the first film but it eventually becomes tiresome here, especially when director Kaneko refuses to leave any clues for the audience – the twists are all of the 'Aha, but what you didn't see was this...' variety. Similarly, the sequel is 20 minutes longer than the first film, which was already 20 minutes too long.
Worth seeing?
This is an entirely watchable sequel if you're after more of the same, but it's way too long and drags considerably in the middle section.
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