Review of Death Note (2017) by Jonan G — 16 Sep 2017

Honestly, I had a good time throughout Death Note. I hadn't seen the anime, and the concept of a book that you can write the name of someone in, to kill that person, was fascinating. The Death God (shinigami) is marvelously acted by Willem Dafoe. Ultimately, the ending was very forced and confusing; there was a romantic sideplot that did nothing, and characters - both the protagonist, Light, and the antagonist, L the detective - that completely switch out their beliefs according to plot dictations, with no clear motivations.

But I still enjoyed the film. It inspired me to work my way through the anime, which I did not enjoy hugely - mainly because it's anime, and the cheap level of animation really gets to me. I wish it wasn't an anime.

Having watched it though, I can now understand why all the users rated it so low. There's so much missed potential. The exploration of what true justice should be, is a huge part of the anime, that's not really explored in the film. Also, the battle of wits & logic between Light and L was my favourite part of the anime - it's sorely lacking in the film.

Really, the ultimate version of Death Note remains to be made, I feel. And I think a live action adaption, but in a much longer format - a 20 episode series, for example - would be the strongest option.