Liar Game: The Final Chapter is currently ranked 7 in the best selling Japanese movies in the first half of 2010 at the Japan box office sales*. Crucial to the success of this movie probably lies in its ability to attract viewers and leaving them 'wanting for more'.

It all started with the drama, which first aired on Fuji TV in Japan in April 2007. Considering that it was the first Saturday drama on Fuji TV, it yielded a good response and viewership. Its popularity is proved to last when the sequel to the series aired in Japan late last year and hence the bold move of this movie tie-up.

Despite the two-year gap, Matsuda Shota was still able to portray the familiar Akiyama Shinichi, stoic and lack of observable facial expression. He plays the key role and creates the overall mood of the movie. His portrayal of Akiyama shows his sophistication and the growth from the first series, considerably warmer. Likewise, Toda Erika demonstrates maturity in her portrayal of Kanzaki Nao in the movie. She is probably also one of the contributing factors in the success of the film as the budding star drawn the public's attention on the movie. Popular is probably an understatement for her current booming success in Japan as she was even crowned first out of 150 Most Influential Idols of 2010 that was based on the attained results and predictions for 2010. She's also commonly sighted in local Japanese magazine covers and fashion spreads. Through this movie, she has proved that apart from her trademark 'pout lips', she can also grow with her character and hence pull of a refined act. Moreover, considering that the second series, together with this movie were shot over a period of 5 months, it is only reasonable to expect better and more intense chemistry between Akiyama and Nao-chan.

Since this movie has a strong backing from the manga, its plot is far from bland. In fact, it contains much intelligence and fervour. The plus point of this movie is that even if one did not follow the series from the start, he will still be intrigued by the concept and the story of the movie. It brings the viewer into the game, and it is easy to follow and relate to. The unexpected twists and turns were also positioned timely to build up towards the climax of the movie.

Though the tone of the movie is set to be more sophisticated and dark, the few wacky and comedic characters help to balance that out. The set where most shots of the movie were shot at was crucial to perpetuate the tone as well. Striking similarities with the previous game sets, it brings people into the pseudo-reality where the game commences.

Also, the director tends to take more close-up shots. This makes it more personal to the viewers, whilst leaving out the intimidation. As revealed by Toda Erika in an interview, the movie has 3000 cuts (!!) as compared to an ordinary movie's 1000 cuts. That in itself is applaud worthy and shows how meticulous the director is in delivering the movie as to ensure there are as little loopholes as possible, a supremely important aspect to keep in mind to produce a psychological thriller of this kind.

Objectively speaking, this movie is definitely a classy piece from the movies from its own league. However, comparing it to the vast number of psychological thrillers in the scene, this may not be the best choice. Then again overall, this movie did serve its purpose till the end and is indeed a good conclusion to the series. Viewers can finally uncover the mystery to the game. The end was seemingly simple and easy to swallow, yet it is the key message in the movie which leaves one questioning the value of the trust, faith and integrity in mankind.

If you need an indication whether Liar Game: The Final Stage is any good, then the consistent full house a week into its release should be enough to convince you to watch this, even if you, like me, haven't been following the exploits of the characters on the small screen. While the West have always contemplated how viable it is to bring its television series to the big screen, you'll see no such lack of attempts from the Land of the Rising Sun, and frankly I'm waiting for Bayside Shakedown 3 to make it here since I'm such a huge fan.

Anyway I digress, but you get the idea that such films have a supportive fan base who will turn out in droves for the big screen experience of their beloved series and characters. Liar Game has its roots from manga and television, and of late the suspense/thriller genre has been quite successful with films such as the Death Note series and Kaiji piquing audience interests and engaging them in a battle of wits throughout the movie.

Like the film Exam, this one is predominantly set in a single set location, where the ever- trusting and trustworthy Kanzaki Nao (Erika Toda) gets invited back into the final round of a game, which is something like Survivor where the winner is chosen from how conniving one can be amongst a group of similarly motivated individuals. It's all about the money making more money from how big one's greed and appetite for manipulation is, and like the Saw films, exposes the flaws of man as well as our tendency to put forth self-interests first. And of course joining her are some characters from previous episodes, including her benefactor of sorts, the highly manipulative and intelligent Akiyama Shinichi (Shota Matsuda).

The game play for what is called the "Garden of Eden" is pretty straightforward, with rules defining what can or cannot be performed, as well as results coming from a combination that will determine how points, in this case money, get awarded. Naturally sides get drawn and flimsy alliances form, and most of the fun comes from being able to guess correctly who the traitors are in such alliances, as well as to witness the countless of twists, turns, hidden agendas and secret alliances as we go through some 13 rounds of fun surprises. Scheming and double-crossing become the order of the day, and lies and the calling of bluffs become the primary tools of getting ahead.

Part of the fun also lies in the fact that the film is a mirror of human tendencies, where we allow our failings to get the better of us, instead of the willingness to band together for the greater good. Individual self interests will lead to trust issues amongst the group, and highlights once again about the greed of man, as well as how a small heart and a suspicion let out of hand, will continue to ruin us. In some ways this film begets repeated screenings because then you will possess a cheat sheet in your mind to know the process of elimination, and place some characters higher up on your radar just to observe their individual reactions prior to some great reveal, although be warned, some slight liberties have been taken in some of the flash back scenes where you're not given any prior knowledge, for example, on certain sequence of things.

Liar Game: The Final Stage is a game of deception that plays out like chess, where you'll need to always be multiple steps ahead of your opponent and being able to tell lies from verbal and non-verbal means of communication in order to influence results in your favour. Director Hiroaki Matsuyama may tend to overuse the closeups which get zoomed onto the faces of the characters in sync with the music beats, but don't let the presentation fool you from watching a top notch film.