Death Note: The Last Name

Less a sequel than a Kill Bill-like concluding “volume” of one massive movie, Death Note – The Last Name ambitiously tackles the closing half of the original 12 book manga series.

That it succumbs to a surplus of supporting characters and breakneck zig-zag plotting necessary to keep an overstuffed story barreling towards its conclusion is to be expected, but there are pleasures aplenty for anyone interested in seeing how the original film pans out.

And the premise, a supernatural notebook that allows the owner to murder anyone merely by writing their name and, if necessary, the manner of death, is such a killer it is no wonder Hollywood studios are vying for remake rights.

Here, Light (Fujiwara) finds himself with a pop-star sidekick Misa (Toda), a young celebrity besotted with the law student due to his use of the Death Note on the maniac who killed her family years previously.

With Misa’s unquestioning aid, Light sets about disproving “L”’s (Matsuyama) belief that Light is the Kira responsible for the original film’s high death count, joining his detective father’s anti-Kira taskforce to achieve his goal... and get “L”’s name in the book.

Abiding by the golden rule that sequels must one-up the first movie, Death Note doubles the number of lethal loose-leafs being scribbled into and at one point has no less than three separate “Kiras” (killer in Japan speak) offing both the guilty and innocent, and lays claim to not one but two Gods of Death (CGI Marilyn Mansonesque Goth creations) watching the characters use and misuse the books.

Director Kaneko still shoots the action with one eye on the small screen, and cannot tame an overlong two hour plus running time that makes room for office bitching at a local TV station.

But, an early sequence of Misa’s Death Note rampage caught live on camera, a Guantanamo Bay style torture as the taskforce crosses the line, and the courage not to cop out on its central premise means Death Note – The Last Name has subversive gristle beneath its pop fluff complexion.

Not on par with J-Horror classics Ring, Audition and Ju-on, but this will do until the long-haired ladies rise again.

Rob Daniel