I have not read the original manga or watched the anime before viewing this movie, so i would not know how faithful it was was to the source material.
But all things considered, Deathnote has its fair share of ups and downs. The story's premise hooked me instantly. An intelligent but disillusioned university student, Light Yagami, one day finds "the Deathnote". Any person whose name is written inside the book would die. Along with his new pal, the "shinigami" known as Ryuk, Light uses the Deathnote to kill off suspected criminals one by one. The authorities are baffled by the strange deaths but nonetheless attempt to track down the mysterious killer whom they term "Kira"(I'm betting this is a mispronunciation of "Killer"). As the body count increases, the police enlists the help of a quirky young genius named "L", thus setting up a battle of wits between the two young men.
While the plot may have sounded good on paper, it does not seem to translate well to screen. I applaud the director for managing to maintain a constant air of suspense throughout the entire movie and for trying to incorporate a number of interesting themes such as the social subjectivity of good and evil, the role of morality in justice, and the question of fate and determinism. Sadly, those two great aspects of this film suffers from some disappointing execution. Those underlying themes I mentioned tend to "pop in" here and there in the form of dialog rather than actually being blended into the ongoing story. It sometimes feels like the writers reluctantly inserted those scenes of philosophical rhetoric as an afterthought.
I can safely say that if this movie were any less suspenseful, i would have fallen asleep in the first 15 minutes. Many scenes are plain boring and the whole movie just seems to drag its feet with only one single, and grudgingly played out, action sequence. I do not usually say this, but this movie would have fared better with a shorter running time, a meatier script and plot or perhaps broadcast as a TV miniseries.
What's more is that the plodding pace is NOT helped by some of the least likable characters i have ever come across in a movie. The main character of Light Yagami came across as very unnatural in both his mannerisms and his interactions with people. One moment he seems to be a normal fun loving university student and another moment he is a delusional despot with ambitions to be the "God of the New World". Unless he had schizophrenia or something, all i can say is that his characterization was very inconsistent. The rest of the cast is uninteresting at best, many are your usual Japanese cop drama stock characters. Only the character of L seemed to "stand out" but he does not come into play until halfway through this boring show. And when he does, we do not get much insight into his motivations or his character. He is just "there" to give Light Yagami a "rival" of sorts.
Despite its many flaws, Deathnote manages to captivate with its suspense and numerous clever twists. A huge pity since it means that after you have watched it once, this movie has practically ZERO replay value; you already know the plot twists, and that effectively negates any form of suspense to be had. Everything else is merely mediocre, even the general "look" of the film feels like an episode of a TV series and not a big screen movie.
Deathnote had so much potential to become an avant garde, thought provoking social commentary film that dives deep into philosophical issues that permeate today's world. Instead it remains on the edge of the proverbial pool, never daring to "dive into" its deeper aspects, hence leaving this movie merely floating on the surface of mediocrity.
Fans of the manga would no doubt worship this movie to no end...........
PS: did i mention that the CGI shinigami Ryuk was embarrassingly bad? He looked like an kid's toy.
But all things considered, Deathnote has its fair share of ups and downs. The story's premise hooked me instantly. An intelligent but disillusioned university student, Light Yagami, one day finds "the Deathnote". Any person whose name is written inside the book would die. Along with his new pal, the "shinigami" known as Ryuk, Light uses the Deathnote to kill off suspected criminals one by one. The authorities are baffled by the strange deaths but nonetheless attempt to track down the mysterious killer whom they term "Kira"(I'm betting this is a mispronunciation of "Killer"). As the body count increases, the police enlists the help of a quirky young genius named "L", thus setting up a battle of wits between the two young men.
While the plot may have sounded good on paper, it does not seem to translate well to screen. I applaud the director for managing to maintain a constant air of suspense throughout the entire movie and for trying to incorporate a number of interesting themes such as the social subjectivity of good and evil, the role of morality in justice, and the question of fate and determinism. Sadly, those two great aspects of this film suffers from some disappointing execution. Those underlying themes I mentioned tend to "pop in" here and there in the form of dialog rather than actually being blended into the ongoing story. It sometimes feels like the writers reluctantly inserted those scenes of philosophical rhetoric as an afterthought.
I can safely say that if this movie were any less suspenseful, i would have fallen asleep in the first 15 minutes. Many scenes are plain boring and the whole movie just seems to drag its feet with only one single, and grudgingly played out, action sequence. I do not usually say this, but this movie would have fared better with a shorter running time, a meatier script and plot or perhaps broadcast as a TV miniseries.
What's more is that the plodding pace is NOT helped by some of the least likable characters i have ever come across in a movie. The main character of Light Yagami came across as very unnatural in both his mannerisms and his interactions with people. One moment he seems to be a normal fun loving university student and another moment he is a delusional despot with ambitions to be the "God of the New World". Unless he had schizophrenia or something, all i can say is that his characterization was very inconsistent. The rest of the cast is uninteresting at best, many are your usual Japanese cop drama stock characters. Only the character of L seemed to "stand out" but he does not come into play until halfway through this boring show. And when he does, we do not get much insight into his motivations or his character. He is just "there" to give Light Yagami a "rival" of sorts.
Despite its many flaws, Deathnote manages to captivate with its suspense and numerous clever twists. A huge pity since it means that after you have watched it once, this movie has practically ZERO replay value; you already know the plot twists, and that effectively negates any form of suspense to be had. Everything else is merely mediocre, even the general "look" of the film feels like an episode of a TV series and not a big screen movie.
Deathnote had so much potential to become an avant garde, thought provoking social commentary film that dives deep into philosophical issues that permeate today's world. Instead it remains on the edge of the proverbial pool, never daring to "dive into" its deeper aspects, hence leaving this movie merely floating on the surface of mediocrity.
Fans of the manga would no doubt worship this movie to no end...........
PS: did i mention that the CGI shinigami Ryuk was embarrassingly bad? He looked like an kid's toy.