Death Note 2: The Last Name

Death Note II picks up right where the first installment left off, with Light and L locked together in partnership. Only a new notebook and shinigami appears, bringing Kira II into the equation, complicating matters for Light while providing him with a means to overcome L.

This film betters the first film by offering more twists and superior plotting. Erika Toda as Misa Amane nails the shallow pop idol role, while providing ample comic fodder to divert us from the mind games. Shunji Fujimura as Watari ups his game here. Light has to face the consequences of his actions and the questionable nature of some of his choices. Ken'ichi Matsuyama shines again as the idiosyncratic L. There are more laughs, more questions, more surprises, and a satisfying climax this time round. No one in their right mind will watch this before watching the first, and if you liked the first you'll want to watch this. Rest assured, it does not disappoint.

I knew that the Death Note story couldn't be told in a single movie and the Americans proved that several times over, the Japanese made it a two parter and though it's not on par with the anime it's still great viewing.

Following on the story from Light & L's first meeting the battle of the two great minds continues as they try to outdo one another until the fantastic finale.

Once again there are differences from the anime and the story isn't identical (Including the finale) but it's loyal enough to the original material to not be offensive.

Once again both Light and L actors knock their performances out of the park and make up for some shoddy cgi and questionable soundtrack.

I would recommend the Death Note movies to any Death Note fan, anyone who has only seen the US version and anyone who simply doesn't fancy anime.

Now venturing on to the live action spinoffs methinks.

The Good:

It's Death Note

Perfect casting

Extremely well written

The Bad:

They changed Rems entire gender!

Red Hot Chilli Peppers again!? Really!?

Ryuk/Rem sfx still crap

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

The Death note story can be just about accomplished across 4hrs with tweaks

It seems that every live action derivative of a manga/anime that I've seen has been barely watchable at best.

These movies on the other hand were entertaining to the end. They stayed with the main plot as much as possible and delivered the memorable dramatic scenes with new live action flavor, but changed the plot without opening holes and delivered a new, believable conclusion.

I didn't like Fujiwara much in the lead role- he's not dynamic or conniving enough to bring the role to life. Quite often his face seems to "give it away" when his role calls for a solid and impenetrable exterior.

Matsuyama, however, takes on the ridiculously difficult role of "L" and absolutely rocks. Vocal tones, strange postures and movements, appearance, mannerisms, all breathe life into what was one of the best characters ever to grace manga shelves. My only complaint was the over-decadent manner in which he ate his candy- it seemed a little contrived, as opposed to the more matter-of-fact noshing done by the manga/anime character during his investigations.

Thay certainly could have done a lot worse, and they took enough film time to do the series justice. Can't wait for the American version.

After first film's unexpected finale, this one continues adopting the manga storyline while adding some minor original twists, leading to a completely changed and, in my opinion, improved ending.

Although bad visual effects and mediocre acting might turn some people off. If you can look past that, and if you weren't satisfied with the original manga ending, this might be just what you are looking for.

A little long, but the ending to this movie was definitely better than the ending in the anime.