L: Change the World - Review

Movie Review

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Title                        : L: Change the World

Genre                     : Fantasy, Thriller

Written by              : Tsugumi Ohba (story), Takeshi Obata (story), Hirotoshi Kobayashi,

Kiyomi Fujii

Directed by            : Hideo Nakata

Original release      : February 9, 2008

L: Change the World is a Japanese movie directed by Hideo Nakata. It was released on February 9, 2008 in Japan. It is spin-off movie and a sequel to the Death Note movie series. The movie tells a story about an intelligent detective who tries to save the world in his remaining 23 days of life.

L, real name L. Lawliet (played by Kenichi Matsuyama), will die in 23 days after he wrote his name in “Death Note”. L is a detective who possesses high intelligence. He has solved many cases that makes him as a world well-known detective. During his remaining life, L tries to solve so many cases by himself.

Since he wrote his own name on Death Note, knowing the note book’s true nature makes him believes that he will day just like any other people whose name was written in Death Note. He writes to die peacefully, yet reality seems to be the opposite. Once again, he has to face a serious case that endangers the world’s safety.

This time, L must be faced with a case involving a bio terrorist group that wants to wipe a large number of humans by using a newly developed virus. The bio terrorist reason behind their actions is to make a better world without useless humans. They think that there are too many humans that has harmed the ecosystem on earth, thus they have to be wiped out.

Dr. Nikaido (played by Shingo Tsurumi) is a scientist who received the sample of the deadly virus. The virus had been tested in a village in Thailand. The result was it could infect the villagers, and thus the village was destroyed by bomb. However, there was a child who didn’t get infected by the deadly virus. He was saved by F, L’s colleague during his investigation in a Thai village.

Later, the boy who is saved by F can meet L through F’s instruction. There, L has to take care of the boy because F had entrusted that boy to him.

At another place, Maki Nikaido (played by Mayuko Fukuda) is entrusted by her father, Dr. Nikaido to deliver something to L’s place. However, Maki saw her father’s death because of the bio terrorist threatening him to hand in the antidote to the deadly virus. The leader of the bio terrorist group turns out to be Dr. Nikaido’s partner in the research facility, Dr. Kumiko Kujo (played by Yûki Kudô), also known as K. Knowing Kujo’s intention to wipe out humanity, Dr. Nikaido doesn’t want to hand out the antidote. He injected the virus to himself instead, killing himself.

After seeing the death of her father, Maki Nikaido sets off to find L’s place. After she meets L, later she is taken care by him. The fact that Maki has injected the virus to herself, L tries to make an audience with another partner lab of Dr. Nikaido. After meeting him, L asks him to make an antidote for the virus that has infected Maki.

During the development of the antidote, Maki has escaped from the lab to meet Dr. Kujo (K). There, she is caught by Kujo. Kujo has a plan to make the virus spread through Maki. She decides to take her to Amerika. There’ she will make her first move in wiping out humans.

After some time, Dr. Nikaido’s partner is able to make the antidote. In a hurry, L has to reach the airplane where Maki is being captive. L has to give his all in order to save the fate of the world.

In my opinion, L: Change the World is quite a good movie. It gives the details on L’s activity before he finally meets his end. He makes use of his remaining life in order to save other people, it can be said to save the world. Knowing his death is drawing near, L never gives up in doing what he believes to be done.

What I can get from watching this movie is that we should never give up even if we know that we are in great despair. We have to keep on going because the things that we do may help to give a change for a better world.

All in all, L: Change the World is worth watching. The element of chasing and running away between the antagonists and protagonists will make you feel like you are part of them. I recommend this movie to those who like a thrilling fantasy movie.