Having never seen or know anything about the original series, I went in open minded. I was aware of the negative reviews it had received, but I am also aware that oftentimes such negative feedback is largely because fanboys tend to complain about any little detail that is different from the original source material. There's plenty of adaptations that I've enjoyed despite the backlash, including the recent Ghost in the Shell adaptation. So I was ready to be pleasantly surprised.
Unfortunately, in this case the bad reviews were more than justified. This movie is a complete mess from start to finish. Storywise, while it has some interesting ideas, it is completely rushed. It's clear that this was meant to be a multi-episode story, and not a 100 minute long film because the story moves at such a fast pace that it is near incomprehensible. We go from Light (which is a laughably dumb name btw, at least in a Western setting) being gifted the book, to him creating a god-worshipping movement and being chased down by law enforcement in no time. There was no time to let any of the events sink in, and it was hard to buy or care for any of it as a result. The relationship between Light and Mia was similarly rushed. They barely even know each other at the beginning and half way through they are already deeply and inseparably in love. I simply didn't buy it.
While the overall premise is interesting, there's nothing in this movie to suggest me that both Light and definitely Mia aren't straight up psychopaths. Being a wildly anti-vigilante person myself I don't believe in any form of revenge as suitable justice, and I am already almost always on the other side of the people we are supposed to root for in these kinds of stories. I'm sure that in the original series there were plenty of layers of gray, but starting of with decapitating a bully definitely isn't helping me get on their side. The ending, which was I guess supposed to be emotional, just left me indifferent, since I so disliked both of these characters. In fact, the dad was the only likable and reasonable character in this entire movie. L was just annoying and it really bothered me that he had the backing of the entire police force based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever.
A lot of the ending scenes left me incredibly confused, and I think it's because of a scene halfway through in which Light says something along the lines of 'it is a good thing I am the owner' in response to Mia's insane suggestions of how to use the book. That interaction heavily implies that only the owner can control the book. Obviously that wasn't actually the case, but the writing certainly didn't make that clear, leaving me confused at all the flashback type scenes that explained what truly happened. I was also very disappointed that they didn't explain a little more about Ryuk and his background. I kept thinking there was going to be some sort of reveal, but it never came. Even the 'be aware of Ryuk' message ultimately didn't amount to anything.
But all of this is just the story elements and poor script. The movie might have been somewhat saved if the other elements were at least good. But unfortunately almost everything in this movie was poor. Some of the acting was simply awful. Nat Wolff continues to leave me baffled as to how he became a professional actor, and that is definitely not a good thing if that is your lead performance. None of the surrounding actors were much better, although I did like Willem Dafoe's portrayal of Ryuk.
However, what truly struck me as the worst aspect of the movie was the directing and cinematography. The cinematographer must have gone to the Battlefield Earth school of cinematography because he was unable to keep his camera at a straight angle. Considering the consistency of those Dutch angles it must have been a conscious decision, but I have no idea who thought it would be a good idea. It looks amateurish and is wildly distracting. I love good cinematography, but if you're unable to make anything stand out positively, at least make sure that it doesn't stand out negatively either.
So a poorly paced, incomprehensible story, combined with poor acting and directing makes for a very poor film. To end on a positive note, I'll list the few things I did like. One, I really liked the musical score. It had a cool supernatural and mysterious vibe to it. I also really liked the design of Ryuk, as well as Willem Dafoe's voice to go along with it. Thirdly, I quite like the overall concept of the story, which cannot even be credited to the writers of this movie.
Still, those three points make me give Death Note a generous 3/10
Unfortunately, in this case the bad reviews were more than justified. This movie is a complete mess from start to finish. Storywise, while it has some interesting ideas, it is completely rushed. It's clear that this was meant to be a multi-episode story, and not a 100 minute long film because the story moves at such a fast pace that it is near incomprehensible. We go from Light (which is a laughably dumb name btw, at least in a Western setting) being gifted the book, to him creating a god-worshipping movement and being chased down by law enforcement in no time. There was no time to let any of the events sink in, and it was hard to buy or care for any of it as a result. The relationship between Light and Mia was similarly rushed. They barely even know each other at the beginning and half way through they are already deeply and inseparably in love. I simply didn't buy it.
While the overall premise is interesting, there's nothing in this movie to suggest me that both Light and definitely Mia aren't straight up psychopaths. Being a wildly anti-vigilante person myself I don't believe in any form of revenge as suitable justice, and I am already almost always on the other side of the people we are supposed to root for in these kinds of stories. I'm sure that in the original series there were plenty of layers of gray, but starting of with decapitating a bully definitely isn't helping me get on their side. The ending, which was I guess supposed to be emotional, just left me indifferent, since I so disliked both of these characters. In fact, the dad was the only likable and reasonable character in this entire movie. L was just annoying and it really bothered me that he had the backing of the entire police force based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever.
A lot of the ending scenes left me incredibly confused, and I think it's because of a scene halfway through in which Light says something along the lines of 'it is a good thing I am the owner' in response to Mia's insane suggestions of how to use the book. That interaction heavily implies that only the owner can control the book. Obviously that wasn't actually the case, but the writing certainly didn't make that clear, leaving me confused at all the flashback type scenes that explained what truly happened. I was also very disappointed that they didn't explain a little more about Ryuk and his background. I kept thinking there was going to be some sort of reveal, but it never came. Even the 'be aware of Ryuk' message ultimately didn't amount to anything.
But all of this is just the story elements and poor script. The movie might have been somewhat saved if the other elements were at least good. But unfortunately almost everything in this movie was poor. Some of the acting was simply awful. Nat Wolff continues to leave me baffled as to how he became a professional actor, and that is definitely not a good thing if that is your lead performance. None of the surrounding actors were much better, although I did like Willem Dafoe's portrayal of Ryuk.
However, what truly struck me as the worst aspect of the movie was the directing and cinematography. The cinematographer must have gone to the Battlefield Earth school of cinematography because he was unable to keep his camera at a straight angle. Considering the consistency of those Dutch angles it must have been a conscious decision, but I have no idea who thought it would be a good idea. It looks amateurish and is wildly distracting. I love good cinematography, but if you're unable to make anything stand out positively, at least make sure that it doesn't stand out negatively either.
So a poorly paced, incomprehensible story, combined with poor acting and directing makes for a very poor film. To end on a positive note, I'll list the few things I did like. One, I really liked the musical score. It had a cool supernatural and mysterious vibe to it. I also really liked the design of Ryuk, as well as Willem Dafoe's voice to go along with it. Thirdly, I quite like the overall concept of the story, which cannot even be credited to the writers of this movie.
Still, those three points make me give Death Note a generous 3/10