Spelling a name in the Death Note is signing the person’s death warrant, as we know from the first Death Note film.

The second installment, Death Note 2: The Last Name, continues to question the boundaries of right and wrong, as protagonist Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara), also known as Kira, takes his own brand of justice further and sacrifices almost anyone who gets in the way of his criminal-free new world order.

If you haven’t seen the first movie, you’ll probably have a hard time understanding the sequel as most things are closely interlinked. That’s possibly why Golden Village decided to screen the 2 back-to-back. There’s no recap of the first movie, save a brief introduction to the rules of the Death Note, which flit by so fast you probably won’t be able to read them anyway.

The first installment ended with Light manipulating the deaths of his own girlfriend and the wife of a policeman in a successful ploy to gain the trust and sympathy of the ICPO (International Criminal Police Organisation)- the very team put together to track him down.

The second movie begins with Light being inducted into the team and meeting his nemesis, the oddball genius of a detective, L (Kenichi Matsuyama), who remains adamant on proving that Light is Kira himself. A battle of wit and cunning transpires, as L and Light try to pre-empt each other’s actions in a convoluted “game”. A slight twist in the plot occurs when a second Kira emerges, more ruthless and omnipotent than the first. Then, as a result of a clever scheme, a third Kira appears, who suffers a chillingly cautionary fate.

Mixed up in the game are supporting characters and their ulterior motives, emotional Shinigamis (gods of death) and a few red herrings and pawns to throw the main characters, and the audience, off. The highly cerebral plot is thick enough for the audience to really chew on, or get lost in, as it relies on mind games and doublespeak that probably play out better on paper than on film.

Chewing is also what L does throughout the movie, snacking on various Japanese candy and pastries. Strange as he is, there’s no missing the eccentric charm he exudes. Despite being an acquired taste, what with his black eyeliner and weird behaviour such as his perching on chairs like a bird and touching things with only his fingertips (one can’t help but wonder if he’s a bacteriophobe), he becomes a lovable character you’ll end up rooting for.

It would have been easier to understand L if director Shusuke Kaneko had included some background information to develop his character. Nevertheless, L keeps the audience entertained no matter how lost in the plot they are, with Matsuyama’s believable acting bringing the character to life.

The bubbly and somewhat popcorn-headed Misa Amane (Erika Toda), a television personality and singer who worships Light, plays the role of a haphazard catalyst. As in the manga, she sports Gothic Lolita fashion and is often seen in contrived kinky situations that are more gripe worthy than a turn on, like being bound in leather cuffs on a torture stand while clad in a white ready-ripped dress, or chained to a table leg like a pet dog. Despite her whining and sometimes wooden acting, she’s eye-candy for many a male moviegoer, and she adds a little emotional depth to the movie with her sad past and relentless devotion to her beliefs.

Fujiwara as Light Yagami/ Kira, is convincingly cold and megalomaniacal, but appears a bit strained when trying to emote. His character’s hard to empathise with until the ending scene when he shows his talent with a display of manic desperation. The acting ranges from an endearing Matsuyama as L to a laboured Fujiwara as Light, but it’s the scripting and pace of the movie that may be most dampening for some.

The sequel doesn’t have as much impact as the first film because the novelty of the supernatural book is lost amid the repeated complications caused by its various exchanges, and sacrificing for the greater good is the new recurrent sub-theme as both Light and other Kiras repeatedly use it to justify their actions. Although more is revealed about the deadly book’s benefits like the “Shinigami eyes” which allow the user to see the name and life span of anyone, the book’s arbitrary rules and pitfalls define the story so much so that they seem to subsist for the plot’s convenience. Perhaps only fans of the manga can really appreciate the scripting and plot to the fullest.

Due to the load of content from the many volumes of manga that had to be compressed into the duration of the movie, much of the action is replaced by chunks of dialogue. Director Shusuke Kaneko also adds little dramatic or cinematic verve to draw the audience into the moody looking, slow paced film. However, the filmmakers have to be commended for a sudden twist at the end of the movie that differs from that in the manga. Whether it’s to the delight or dismay of Death Note manga fans, it’s a clever ending that gets most in the cup straight again.

Death Note 2: The Last Name is a brooding film with cerebral plot twists as well as moral and mental jousting that will either leave you in deep thought or bore you to death. Perhaps watching the 2 films back-to-back will be more enjoyable; however, if you aren’t a fan of the manga and don’t have an extra buck, don’t bother spending on this one.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Movie Details

Running Time: 160 min
Language: Japanese, with English & Chinese subtitles
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenichi Matsuyama, Erika Toda, Nana Katase, Takeshi Kaga, Magy, Sakura Uehara, Shido Nakamura, Shinnosuke Ikehata, Shunnji Fujimura

Death Note 2: The Last Name is screening from Dec 28 at all cinemas.Death Note Marathon; screening Death Note and Death Note 2: The Last Name back-to-back at Golden Village Plaza Singapura and GV Tampines, beginning Dec 29. Tickets are available from Golden Village.