Written by: Kevin Berge
I can't bring myself to bring up a picture of the anime's Light. It makes the contrast too startling. (Image Courtesy of: youtube.com)
Quick Take: Death Note takes an intriguing concept and painfully adapts it, not giving much credence to anything it was based on. While entertaining in its second half, it is poorly conceived with a terrible lead performance that wastes some strong potential and a great performance from Lakeith Stanfield.
***This is a review of Netflix's recently released Death Note adaptation with the viewer not expected to have seen the movie. While this review alludes to parts of both the anime and movie, you can read ahead without fear of spoilers on the film beyond its initial set-up and openi+ng 20 minutes.***
The concept of Death Note is simple. One man is given the power to change the world through a note that allows him to kill anyone in any way by simply writing their name down. The idea has not been perfectly delivered even in the highly acclaimed anime which I personally enjoyed but had issues with.
When Netflix gained the rights to an adaptation of the anime, it was always a dangerous proposition particularly with the promise of changing the source material to center around the United States instead. Suffice it to say, this was never going to be a truly faithful adaptation.
However, this reimagining of the story is completely different in all aspects from its source material. Honestly, it comes off as a parody. It does not know where to change up the material and where to keep it. Its explanations for keeping certain names the same are unbelievably stupid.
This story begins with high schooler Light Turner (Nat Wolff) having the Death Note given to him by the shinigami Ryuk (Willem Dafoe) which allows him to kill anyone. Alongside his crush Mia Sutton (Margaret Qualley), he uses it to quickly begin taking out bad people under the name Kira until he is met by consequences including being tracked by the mysterious L (Lakieth Stanfield).
While this Light is supposed to share many of the same qualities as his anime counterpart, his intelligence is poorly established and quickly forgotten. He comes off as a coward who is primarily focused on getting laid. Mia comes off as stronger, smarter, and more cunning character, honestly improving on aspects of the original character Misa's obsessive love of Kira.
When the Death Note is initially introduced, Light's first kill is a sudden bloody decapitation with the camera lingering on the severed head. The second that follows has the victim spitting up his food and blood all over the camera. The gore is a constant focus of the kills to the point of absurdity.
This American Death Note refuses to take itself seriously. At every step, it laughs at its own roots and concepts before relying on violence to sell itself rather than fully embracing the jokes at its own expense and trying to be funny. The intelligence of the concept is lost, and nothing has come to replace it.
The concept of Death Note is simple. One man is given the power to change the world through a note that allows him to kill anyone in any way by simply writing their name down. The idea has not been perfectly delivered even in the highly acclaimed anime which I personally enjoyed but had issues with.
When Netflix gained the rights to an adaptation of the anime, it was always a dangerous proposition particularly with the promise of changing the source material to center around the United States instead. Suffice it to say, this was never going to be a truly faithful adaptation.
However, this reimagining of the story is completely different in all aspects from its source material. Honestly, it comes off as a parody. It does not know where to change up the material and where to keep it. Its explanations for keeping certain names the same are unbelievably stupid.
This story begins with high schooler Light Turner (Nat Wolff) having the Death Note given to him by the shinigami Ryuk (Willem Dafoe) which allows him to kill anyone. Alongside his crush Mia Sutton (Margaret Qualley), he uses it to quickly begin taking out bad people under the name Kira until he is met by consequences including being tracked by the mysterious L (Lakieth Stanfield).
While this Light is supposed to share many of the same qualities as his anime counterpart, his intelligence is poorly established and quickly forgotten. He comes off as a coward who is primarily focused on getting laid. Mia comes off as stronger, smarter, and more cunning character, honestly improving on aspects of the original character Misa's obsessive love of Kira.
When the Death Note is initially introduced, Light's first kill is a sudden bloody decapitation with the camera lingering on the severed head. The second that follows has the victim spitting up his food and blood all over the camera. The gore is a constant focus of the kills to the point of absurdity.
This American Death Note refuses to take itself seriously. At every step, it laughs at its own roots and concepts before relying on violence to sell itself rather than fully embracing the jokes at its own expense and trying to be funny. The intelligence of the concept is lost, and nothing has come to replace it.
The ultimate balance of wills: the quirky and intelligent vs. the stupid and cowardly. (Image Courtesy of: themarysue.com)
Honestly, the primary culprit is the writing of this show. Screenwriters Charley and Vlas Parlapanides (Immortals) as well as Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four (2015)) have very few good movies to their name. They decimate this film with a script that barely flows from character to character let alone scene to scene.
Director Adam Wingard (The Guest) seems right for the film here with a dark flowing vibe, but he makes multiple visual mistakes and does nothing to improve this script. Perhaps he could have made a good Death Note movie, but he does not do nearly enough to make one here despite a solid resume behind him.
The cast here are mostly strong though Nat Wolff (Paper Towns) is abysmal as the lead actor, making his lines sound even worse than they are and coming off unsuited for his role. Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) does an admirable job with simple writing. Willem Dafoe (Platoon) may be the best casting for the original role, making for a great Ryuk.
However, the true standout in this film and the main reason its gets steadily better down the stretch is Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out). L was always the best character of the original material, and Lakeith's fresh take on the character is just as wacky and fascinating to watch.
To be fair to this film, the opening 30 minutes are dreadful, but it does get better with time if you make it through. As the focus moves further away from Light and more toward L and the action, it becomes an enjoyable absurd ride. While far from good, it is at least entertaining.
There are even some quality moments sprinkled into the climax of the film that shows hints of unique ideas, capitalizing on some adaptations of the anime's world. I was honestly enamored by the closing moments just because I was curious where they were going only to have even my low expectations undershot.
I don't see a film here without merit, but it is so terribly misrepresented. Outlets can be frustrated over the film's "whitewashing" and failure to stick to the source material which are valid complaints if overblown in this case, but all I wanted was a good movie, an idea strongly backed up by writers who cared about the idea.
If this is the best we can hope for from American cinema appropriating anime, they might as well stop now. The essence of adaptation is a respect for the original material, a reason behind appropriating the idea beyond capitalizing on the popularity of the brand. That is a barely watchable film that could care less why it exists.
Director Adam Wingard (The Guest) seems right for the film here with a dark flowing vibe, but he makes multiple visual mistakes and does nothing to improve this script. Perhaps he could have made a good Death Note movie, but he does not do nearly enough to make one here despite a solid resume behind him.
The cast here are mostly strong though Nat Wolff (Paper Towns) is abysmal as the lead actor, making his lines sound even worse than they are and coming off unsuited for his role. Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) does an admirable job with simple writing. Willem Dafoe (Platoon) may be the best casting for the original role, making for a great Ryuk.
However, the true standout in this film and the main reason its gets steadily better down the stretch is Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out). L was always the best character of the original material, and Lakeith's fresh take on the character is just as wacky and fascinating to watch.
To be fair to this film, the opening 30 minutes are dreadful, but it does get better with time if you make it through. As the focus moves further away from Light and more toward L and the action, it becomes an enjoyable absurd ride. While far from good, it is at least entertaining.
There are even some quality moments sprinkled into the climax of the film that shows hints of unique ideas, capitalizing on some adaptations of the anime's world. I was honestly enamored by the closing moments just because I was curious where they were going only to have even my low expectations undershot.
I don't see a film here without merit, but it is so terribly misrepresented. Outlets can be frustrated over the film's "whitewashing" and failure to stick to the source material which are valid complaints if overblown in this case, but all I wanted was a good movie, an idea strongly backed up by writers who cared about the idea.
If this is the best we can hope for from American cinema appropriating anime, they might as well stop now. The essence of adaptation is a respect for the original material, a reason behind appropriating the idea beyond capitalizing on the popularity of the brand. That is a barely watchable film that could care less why it exists.