Morality tale with a twist

LIVINGJSTYLEDVDREVIEW

If you had the power to punish the wicked, what would you do? This is exactly the situation Light Yagami (Tatsuya Fujiwara) finds himself in and he relishes the opportunity. Guided by his idealistic and somewhat arrogant outlook, Light dishes out righteous punishment.

Light is an over-achieving, disenchanted law student with a seemingly perfect life: high grades, a doting family and a loving girlfriend. Then one night, Light discovers a black notebook called the Death Note. From another world, the notebook has the power to kill whoever's name is written in it. Light puts the notebook to use immediately in a quest to create a world free from crime and corruption. But the book is not the only thing that has entered the human realm...

The sudden surge of unexplained deaths among criminals does not go unnoticed. The media is abuzz with both praise and condemnation of "Kira" (Japanese for killer) who is taking care of society's criminal element. In a bid to solve the pattern of unusual deaths, the cream of international law enforcement steps in. Takeshi Kaga (from Iron Chef) plays the chief detective whose strong sense of justice keeps him on the trail, determined to bring Kira to justice.

A box office hit on its opening weekend, Death Note is based on a Japanese manga of the same name (from 2003-06). The initial moral message appears simple, with an easy choice of right and wrong, but this clarity is gradually lost during the film. Death Note will make you consider what you might do with such power. Could you live with yourself? This film is a definite conversation-starter likely to end in arguments.