Death Note

Light Yagami is a brilliant law student who’s disillusioned with Japan’s justice system. One evening, he discovers a mysterious book—dropped by a God of Death—enabling him to kill anyone by writing a name into its pages. Incredulous at first, Light decides to use his newfound gift to execute criminals throughout the world and thereby strike fear into the hearts of evildoers. With crime rates dropping, the public anoints the invisible enforcer a messiah. Police efforts to find the serial killer prove futile, until they’re joined by a cryptic investigator, known only as “L,” who pits his cunning brain against Light’s in a spectacular cat-and-mouse game of one-upmanship.

Death Note is the first of a two-part feature, adapted from the wildly popular manga series of the same title that’s become a phenomenon in Japan and across Asia, even spawning an animated TV series as well as a spin-off movie featuring “L.” Director Shusuke Kaneko, a veteran of the Gamera series and other sci-fi action fare, abridges the byzantine plot of the original without sacrificing any of its mind-bending intricacies, and inserts enough unexpected twists to keep even the most avid fan on their toes. That the film avoids any profound discussion of the ethics of vigilantism is easy to forgive when you’re busy keeping up with a grip­ping battle of wits for the ages.