Review of Death Note (2017) by Tony T — 24 Aug 2017

Netflix's Death Note is visually daring, some shots almost made me believe I was watching a good movie but the substance of the original material is washed away by terrible and useless story alterations. I understand a film adaptation requires inevitable changes yet when the choices go against the fondation of what made the original material a clever and thrilling story, I just can't swallow the pill.

The most choking aspects lay in the portrayal of the main characters in regards to the Manga and Anime, where Light is presented as a handsome hard working,disciplined and meticulous student. In the film, we have a slightly average, less successful, reckless version of the character, whose charisma went missing just before hitting the 10 minute mark of the film. Ry?ku's first reveal scene was a silly mess and served as an awkward comic relief. The over the top performance of Nat Wolff redefined the expectations I had for the rest of the experience. Light's spectrum of emotions appeared extremely reduced and didn't offer major unexpected shifts. I was dazzled to see the incredible potencial of his complex personality being tossed away for no justifiable reasons. Like how could he reveal his secret to Mia for the sake of teenage hormones ? Or how could he even talk about killing people at school? Even worst, why did he never concealed his death note in the first place? All those questions are just the tip of the iceberg...

No more smart nor philosophical dialogues between Ryuk and Light, only an insipid relationship based on treachery and 101 evil demon corruption talk. On a good note, Willem Dafoe was definitely a good cast choice, his husky voice and aura matched what we could expect from a Shinigami. I'll only blame the poor script for giving him so little material to work with.

The relashionship between Light and Mia is introduced as being the heart of the movie. But the 'Teen movie' ambiance served here never blows away by Its unconventional nature.Mia's love for Light doesn't appear unconditional(unlike the manga)since she really gained interest in him when he revealed the powers of the death note. Whether It is assumed or not, her love sounds like a blatant excuse to reach the death note and gaining control over the human race.

The way L was managed is a total disaster, using his amusing traits from the manga to be a disavantage and worst, a caricature. During the film I was quiet surprised to witness the aggressive bursts comming from certain characters but none felt out of place like L's. Watching L running in the streets holding a gun was a complete middle finger to the fans. At this point, I'll not even mention the absurdity at the end, my eyes nearly popped out from rolling them too much.

The soundtrack is again a missed opportunity to connect the dots with what was previously established. The american soundtrack never payed hommage to the great themes from Hideki Taniuchi and Yoshihisa Hirano, and gave us instead generic industrial electro with misplaced songs that wanted to capture the teen spirit for a certain demographic.

On another side, the film felt rushed and the pacing between scenes doesn't allow any memorable moments to sink in. I can't really blame the production for willing to dig into the many great story arcs of the manga but It's a shame they reduced the plot to a confusing mismatched horror/teen movie escapade.The suspense and investigation elements are just sitting back, never shined where they should have. Some gore elements are very reminescent of Final Destination and add some second degrès.

This is, in my humble film enthusiast perspective, a disappointing relecture of the manga. The incredible climax of the manga fell flat and couldn't deliver anything strong enough in 100 minutes. All the deviations both in character devellopment and storywise felt underwhelming and forced, the fan service was there but could have been less artificial(the apple gimmick). At the bottom line, this is perhaps a blessing in disguise for all the filmakers willing to properly put on screen a manga into live action, as It is a perfect counterexemple for a great adaptation.