I admit it I'm a Death Note fanboy, the anime was a masterpiece and truly one of the most intelligent well written pieces of television ever made.
The American adaptation was a travesty, an embarrassment of colossal proportions which missed the entire point of the series and I was concerned about the Japanese version purely because I can't imagine telling that epic a story in 90 minutes.
Immediately I was taken by the solid casting, this was Light and L was sheer unadulterated perfection and a stark contrast to the American version who was the weakest link of the entire film.
The movie is a compact version of the first half of the anime with some slight differences/tweaks near the end which actually change the story quite a bit. Honestly I didn't mind as they were done so well as was the rest of the film.
So where does it go wrong? Well it doesn't really, but be aware this is part 1. Even I didn't realise that and will be shortly venturing into the finale. I always hate movies which aren't self contained and without part 2 this is merely part of a story.
The final moment of this however was outstandingly done 10/10.
If you like the anime I recommend this, yes it's essentially the same story but a valid adaptation that deserves your time.
Well written, fantastically acted, a near masterpiece.
The Good:
It's Death Note
Very well made, written and filmed
Extremely well cast
The Bad:
Red Hot Chilli Peppers was the weirdest choice for a credits song
Ryuk sfx are really quite weak
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
If a person has a gun to their head, point a gun at them as well that'll show em!
The US had no excuse for not making a decent Death Note movie
The American adaptation was a travesty, an embarrassment of colossal proportions which missed the entire point of the series and I was concerned about the Japanese version purely because I can't imagine telling that epic a story in 90 minutes.
Immediately I was taken by the solid casting, this was Light and L was sheer unadulterated perfection and a stark contrast to the American version who was the weakest link of the entire film.
The movie is a compact version of the first half of the anime with some slight differences/tweaks near the end which actually change the story quite a bit. Honestly I didn't mind as they were done so well as was the rest of the film.
So where does it go wrong? Well it doesn't really, but be aware this is part 1. Even I didn't realise that and will be shortly venturing into the finale. I always hate movies which aren't self contained and without part 2 this is merely part of a story.
The final moment of this however was outstandingly done 10/10.
If you like the anime I recommend this, yes it's essentially the same story but a valid adaptation that deserves your time.
Well written, fantastically acted, a near masterpiece.
The Good:
It's Death Note
Very well made, written and filmed
Extremely well cast
The Bad:
Red Hot Chilli Peppers was the weirdest choice for a credits song
Ryuk sfx are really quite weak
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
If a person has a gun to their head, point a gun at them as well that'll show em!
The US had no excuse for not making a decent Death Note movie