SYNOPSIS:
The popular Nintendo DS puzzle game Professor Layton now comes to life in its first film ever! Join Professor Layton and Luke on their biggest adventure yet with a star-studded cast featuring Yo Oizumi (as Professor Layton), Maki Horikita (as Luke) and Nana Mizuki. One day, Professor Layton receives a letter from former student Jenis Quatlane (Nana Mizuki) about strange occurrences at the opera house she's performing at. When Layton and Luke go to see her perform, a masked man suddenly emerges and challenges the audience to a game that will grant the winner eternal life. Holding the entire audience hostage, Layton and Luke must save the audience before the masked man kills everyone.
MOVIE REVIEW:
This reviewer must admit that he has never played the Nintendo DS game on which this movie is based, so he has no basis of comparison how faithful it is to its source. But you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this animation- indeed, as long as you love a good mystery, “Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva” will be right up your alley.
Set in London, England, Professor Layton is not unlike Scotland Yard’s most famous detective Sherlock Holmes. A short prologue at the beginning of the film introduces Professor Layton as an avid puzzle solver, and his apprentice Luke who is always trying to learn from him. Those familiar with the games- especially “Professor Layton and the Spectre’s Flute”- will also recognise Remi, Layton’s other assistant, and Inspector Grosky, a gruff Scotland Yard detective always two steps behind Layton.
The mystery before him begins rather unsuspectingly after Layton goes to watch an opera called Eternal Life performed by a former student of his, Janice Quatlane, at the cavernous Crown Petone theatre. Right after the opera, a masked man appears to promise one person in the audience eternal life and the rest death, the prize of solving a series of puzzles designed by a devious mind Layton tries to uncover.
To say anything more would spoil the mystery, for each puzzle promises to be as intriguing as the last. Some of them are more obvious, while others require a little more brainwork if you like the exercise- though the movie doesn’t give you much lead time to process each one of them. Director Masakazu Hashimoto keeps the pace brisk, and there’s almost never a dull moment throughout the 97-minute runtime.
He also does a nice job developing the characters. Particularly interesting is the dynamic between Layton and Luke, one of the highlights in the game as well I’m told. Smart as Luke is, the movie always reveals Layton to be one step ahead of him, and also the mystery. Still, the value of their partnership is unmistakable, Luke the seed that helps spark off Layton’s intellectual musings.
The film also spends its time to ruminate on the topic of immortality. While this theme is wrapped up in fantasy elements, Masakazu still manages to let his audience feel keenly the reality of our frailties and the fragility of life itself. There is also a message of learning to let go of the ones we love, and kudos to Masakazu’s deft handling that doesn’t dumb down the message for his audience.
Worth mentioning too are the colourful details throughout the movie- the makeshift helicopter that Layton fashions out of garden shed tools, the land of Ambrosia whose legend is the backbone of the opera, and the villains ominous but never too menacing. Though they are fascinating, it is more likely that you’ll be so absorbed by the mystery and attempting to unravel it that you’ll overlook these details the first time round.
So it really doesn’t matter if you were a fan of the game or not, “Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva” is a solid mystery thriller done Japanese anime-style which anyone who enjoys the thrill of a good mystery will love.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Just the trailer.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 is a surprising treat- you can hear the surround effect from the back speakers throughout the entire movie. Visual transfer is equally excellent, and gives the movie a bright appealing look.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted
on 12 October 2010
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