Eyes on: Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, the most faithful videogame movie in history

Posted on 29. May, 2010 by Chris Evans in DS, Gaming, Handheld, News, Previews

It’s not very often that the words ‘movie based on a game’ result in something that does the original justice.  Those of us gathered in the lobby of the British Film Institute seemed to share a feeling of not knowing quite what to expect from the somewhat bewilderingly titled Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.  Among those of us from the worlds of videogames and film were a number of distributors, looking at the film with a view to releasing it on DVD later this year.

The version Tarnya and myself were invited to see was the Japanese version with subtitles, though an English version with the same voice cast as the DS games is in the works.  In truth though, having the original voice track was part of the charm of the film, and it’s probably the greatest compliment a subtitled film can receive to say that I was barely aware that I was having to read at all.

The story takes place after the Specter’s Flute, the fourth DS game, but through a flashback it tells the story of the first case Layton and his apprentice Luke worked on together.  Fans of the games will feel instantly at home, with the same beautiful animation and gorgeous soundtrack that features in the game’s cutscenes, as well as a number of recurring characters.  The film sees Layton and Luke travelling to a theatre to see an old friend in an opera, only to find themselves unwittingly part of a contest to win the gift of eternal life, which, luckily for them, involves taking on whole load of puzzles.  The plot follows the same general theme of the games, but there are a few more action sequences and everything has been ramped up somewhat for the big(ger) screen.  And lets face it, it’s really not a proper Japanese film without a giant rampaging robot.

The thing that makes the Eternal Diva so enjoyable, however, is the wonderfully naive dialogue and the rose tinted view of Britain.  Luke constantly talks about his desire to be a true ‘British gentleman’ like Layton and everyone drives around in cars left over from the 1930’s.  An English footballer joins the adventure, who is known only as ‘the legendary left leg’, while an early aerial shot of London has every building other than the Houses of Parliament looking like a copy of Downing Street.  Not that the film is aiming for realism – a short boat ride away from the coast takes Layton to a tropical island formerly populated by an ancient civilisation.  My personal highlight, however, was a line from Layton himself while running for his life – “Sometimes even British gentlemen have to sweat!”

Leaving the cinema, we overheard a few negative comments, which I can only imagine were from people who knew little about the games in advance.  The charm of Layton’s world is as present in his first film as it is in the games, and it’s hard not to get drawn into the wonderfully quaint nature of it all.  When each puzzle was presented, I found myself mentally preparing to work it out as I did when playing the games, being almost disappointed when Layton told us the answer before I had a chance to work it out for myself.  If you’re a fan of the games then you’ll love the Eternal Diva.  And if you haven’t played the games, what are you doing sat here reading this?  There are puzzles to be solved!

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva is due for UK release on DVD and Blu-ray in September 2010