It's funny, when I've mentioned this movie to other Death Note fans, they usually didn't even know there was a third one. And it's true, this movie isn't related to the 2 previous ones, or the anime. This movie is all about L, and it's for every fan who considered L to be a favorite character. It isn't about really about solving crimes, and it isn't that much of a thriller. Some of it was a bit odd (I think when the girl's father dies in the laboratory it's a little over-done, in my opinion) but it is a great movie. It tells the story of what happened to L after the Kira case was solved, and before he died. We see him develop a relationship with two children, and see another side of him besides the analytical genius that he is. There lots of cute and funny moments in this movie too, and even though we all know what the ending has to be, it still is very sad. I myself can't wait for this DVD, and if you're a fan of L, you won't be disappointed. If you're more into Kira, you might not enjoy it. Also, there are no shinigami in this one, except for a brief appearance by Ryuk. But basically, I think Ken'ichi Matsuyama did a great job portraying L. He was wonderful in the first 2 movies, and he's amazing in this spin-off.

RE: response to night_wng response to Simon: this movie cannot possibly be a PREQUEL if it the last 23 days of L's life (duh!) Okay..first off, as you have read...this is NOT a DEATHNOTE MOVIE not is it any part of the manga... this is obviously an attempt to cash in on the L character by the studio. Now, that said.... I loved it.I was amazed by the L actor in the first two movies and bought this (thank you ebay!) for the character of L, as portrayed by the actor. This film did not disappoint. Sure the writing made everyone dim and there was no real "battle of the minds" as with DN, but you really like L in this one. SUre it is a softer side, yes it is cliché, but dang it I don't know... I really felt something knowing that these were his last days and there would be no more L. It kinda made a hollow bit in me.WOuld I love a Prequel with L in action against some super diabolical villains? sure. It wouldn't have anything to do with a Death Note, but it could be cool (very Sherlock Holmes or, god forbid, Davinci Code).Buy/rent/see this movie for what it is. Another chance to see L

This film uses the setting of the Death Note films, but lacks what made Death Note so fascinating: an intricate, constantly-changing storyline involving extremely intelligent enemies and their intellectual warfare. L change the WorLd feels kind of like a Godzilla film in which Godzilla is nowhere to be seen and Mothra appears for a few seconds at the beginning. I can't help but feel that it probably would have actually been a better movie if it were not Death Note-related.Naomi Misora, Watari, Misa and Ryuuk were given cameos, but nothing much was really done with their characters and the film would hardly be any different if they never appeared. Furthermore, what happened to Kira's influence on the world?! Right after burning the Death Notes, we see L helping solve various murder cases, and the main antagonists belong to an organization that must have been planning their attack while Kira was quite active. Not a single mention of Kira's influence is made, and it seems entirely as though the writers forgot that crime was supposed to have gone way down because of people's fear of Kira.Apparently the film's acting was praised in Japan, but anyone who speaks English will be pulled out of the film by the entirely emotionless (and quite frequent) English dialogue. I'm guessing that most of the actors didn't know what they were saying and were just pronouncing the sentences syllabically.Numerous opportunities for connections with Death Note were thrown away. The only two throwbacks (aside from the early cameos) were a villain with a scar similar to Mello's and the fact that, at the end of the movie, L names the boy he's been taking care of Near. "Near is a good name," he says. Of course, L change the WorLd's Near looks and acts nothing like the Nate River of the series. When L was trying to figure out the meaning of the letters "MK", I was hoping (and expecting) them to stand for "Mihael Keehl", but there wasn't even a passing reference to the name for fans to recognize.A couple of moments in the film that were supposed to be serious made me laugh out loud. The first was when L tried standing up straight with triumphant music playing... and several loud spinal cracking noises. The second was when L leaps from the stairs into the airplane in slow motion.I do consider L change the WorLd worth seeing for Death Note aficionados, but I don't think most fans will feel it lives up to anything else in the franchise.

Living up to the excellence of Shusuke Kaneko's Death Note films was always going to be a daunting task. The makers of this film responded to this challenge by avoiding it.The film's prominent ties to its predecessors, most notably the inclusion of several characters and events from them, are entirely superficial, and I was left with the distinct impression that Nakata's primary desire was to make a bioterrorism thriller, with the Death Note movies and the character of L serving merely as convenient springboards.After going to the trouble of hiring several actors to reprise their roles, (Such as Erika Toda as Misa, Asaka Seto as Naomi Misora, and Shunji Fujimura) their characters are criminally underused. This is not just lazy, it is cruel. It's the equivalent of dangling food in front of a starving dog only to pull it away after only letting them lick it. Even the unperceptive viewer can tell these are blatant attempts to fake a connection which is essentially nonexistent.The sheer magnitude of neglected opportunities to capitalise on the wealth of plot and character established by the Death Note films is staggering. A event as stupendous as Kira's reign of death would have a lasting effect on society; the Death Note films show the beginnings of this, with people divided over whether his actions were right, and many supporting him to a religious degree. Yet in L: Change the WorLd, its almost as if none of it had ever happened. Life goes on as usual, with scarcely a mention of the monumental upheaval the world has just undergone. This also could've provided many interesting possibilities, such as the Kira cult becoming involved in the plot, or characters such as Misa and Ryuk playing new roles and continuing to develop. Apparently, Nakata couldn't care less.What's more, he can't resist falling back on his roots as a horror director, and is determined to scare the audience with the victims of the virus. Unfortunately, the result is corniness rather than adrenaline. The rest if the time, he's either plodding through the drama on autopilot, or inserting light comedy in a haphazard manner.The writing isn't much better. The script is brimming with trite clichés, yet is oblivious to this and makes no effort to put a fresh spin on them. It has some admirable aspirations, namely its attempts to explore L's human side, and capture the topical issues of terrorism and the Bird Flu/SARS scares in the same way that its prequels addressed justice and the death penalty, but in execution it fails. Overall, it largely plays like amateur fanfiction, overusing the surface strengths of the originals (namely L's eccentricity) while losing its deeper strengths. Interesting ideas are left to rot on a compost heap of generic characters, messy plotting, and lame attempts to emulate the excesses of the typical Hollywood action movie.To his immense credit, Kenichi Matsuyama lifts L above this malaise and squeezes a river of blood from the stony script in his typically witty and charismatic performance. Once again, he embodies the character down to his finest mannerisms, and makes like he just crept off the set of The Last Name. True, his English skills are modest, but this is actually believable; I met many Japanese people who spoke in this way during my time in Japan.Sadly, however, much the use of English throughout the film is reminiscent of the Heisei Godzilla series in its grating inanity. Also, the Japanese performances outside of Matsuyama range from decent, (Fukuda Mayuko as Maki) to downright cheesy. (Most of the villains) Even Erika Toda as Misa had none of the spark Kaneko drew out of her in the prequels during her brief cameo.Even Death Note veteran Kenji Kawai's score, while certainly not bad, is a far cry from his work on the previous films, though largely because he's mostly forcibly limited to low key background music and the long periods of sluggish silence Nakata so adores. He finally finds a chance to shine towards the end, where he provides two impressive pieces; an epic cue that accompanies L's arrival at the climax, and a melancholy piece that fits the fittingly touching conclusion nicely.Cinematography is also a step down, losing the smooth, rich clarity of the Death Note movies for a dry and altogether bland visual style.Thankfully it's not all doom and gloom; there's some good apples among the piles of rotten ones. As mentioned previously, the ending is suitably poignant, though the tears it almost brought to my eyes are due primarily to my love of and familiarity with the character. I also laughed aloud at several of L's displays of quirkiness, and flushed with joy at the rare but delicious moments of Death-Note-style "intellectual pwnage." The opening title sequence is slick and classy, capturing the feel of its predecessors wonderfully.The FX are strong for a Japanese film, and are actually slightly more advanced than those of the first two films. The destruction of the infected village is vivid and impressive, and the practical effects for virus's symptoms are mostly well done. Ryuk's execution via CGI during his brief appearance is about on par with his previous incarnations.But you know something's wrong when your counting the good moments rather than the bad ones.In the end, the film's highlights are like sweet chocolate chips in a bitter and mouldy cookie. It succeeds as fanservice and as cold commercial calculation, but fails as art, entertainment, or storytelling. It's an awful shame, because with the ingredients left by its marvellous predecessors, it could have been truly great.