Death Note (From The Northern Echo)

Death Note

3:56pm Monday 23rd March 2009

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Based on the manga by Tsugumi Ohba, Death Note is an action-packed, fast-paced film.

It stars Tatsuya Fujiwara as a sporty, academic, good-looking, yet bored 17-year old Light Yagami. After being threatened one night by an un-convicted criminal Light finds a note book. The rules of the book are simple – whoever’s name is written will die. If the cause of death is not stated in 40 seconds – the person will simply die of a heart attack.

Dubious of the Death Note’s power; Light tests it that evening on a criminal. The next day he reads the newspaper, the culprit died of a heart attack. The Death Note’s power is real. Thinking it just a terrible coincidence later he tests it on the man who threatened him earlier in the film. 40 seconds later the man collapses before his very eyes.

Light meets Ryuuk, a bored God of Death who dropped the Death Note from the Realm of the Death Gods. He teaches Light the rules of the Death Note and offers him ‘the eyes’, the ability to see anyone’s name and the time left they have to live, in return, Light would have to give up half his life span, he refuses.

Four months later, Light is still killing criminals and has become popular among the people of the world, going under the name of ‘Kira’ to hide his identity. The police have also taken to drastic measures, and contact ‘L’ the world’s greatest detective. (Played by Ken’ichi Matsuyama) An intense game of cat and mouse begins both Light and L trying to figure out the other’s identity.

It’s not long until the intelligent, but very eccentric; L is tight on Light’s case.

But Light is willing to risk and sacrifice anything to make sure that Kira will be victorious and achieve his ultimate goal; become God of a crime free world.

Death Note is a fantastic film that I would recommend to any fan of the supernatural, fans of the manga will also enjoy this interpretation and will be kept in suspense by the surprising changes.

By Paige Robinson

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