[Drama of the Week] Death Note movies (8/29-9/4/2010)

In my opinion the first two movies were only ok, but the 3rd was like mind blowing.

Titles:

Death Note

Death Note: The Last Name

L: Change the World

Synopsis:

The series is about Light Yagami, a young man. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a person's name is written within it while picturing that person's face, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, he realizes that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "god of the New World" by passing his judgment on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.

After months of killing criminals, Light is dubbed Kira by the public and some believe him to be righteous about killing criminals. Interpol is no closer to catching him, and is going to pass the case on to the Ministry of Health as some disease, until "L" steps on the scene. Known as the best detective in the world, L has solved many cases with his assistant Watari. Working with them, L manages to confront Light, live on TV, and deduces he is in the Kanto region of Japan and he can "kill without lifting a finger". The race begins between L and Light to discover each other's identity, and a game of cat and mouse ensues between the two geniuses.

L: Change the World

Ken'ichi Matsuyama reprises his role as L from the previous Death Note films. The film chronicles the final 23 days of L's life, as he solves one final case involving a bioterrorist group that aims to wipe out much of humanity with a virus with one-hundred times the virulence of Ebola. He takes a boy he namesNear, the sole survivor of its use in a village in Thailand, and an elementary schooler named Maki Nikaido under his wing.^[3]

Dr. Nikaido, a researcher, has received a sample of a deadly virus which destroyed a village in Thailand. His assistant, Dr. Kimiko Kujo who also goes by the initial of K, reveals herself to be the leader of the organization that created the virus. Dr. Nikaido, who has created an antidote, refuses to give it her. She kills him, convinced that his daughter Maki has the formula.