Death Note

L31mr0d

Watched this movie last night after stumbleupon popped up a review saying it was a must see.

Have to say I was pleasantly impressed. It has a running time of over 2 hours which not a lot of movies can pull off but this one does ok.

I've only watched the first movie so far, will be watching the sequel tonight, so i'll update again after that.

The movie centers around a character named Light, who is studying to be an attorney. He is disgruntled at the way the government is handling criminals and feels they are getting too lenient sentences. Then he happens upon a black book that the god of death (portrayed as a bit of a bumbling idiot) dropped in the street. Whoevers name is written in this book will die shortly afterwards. Light begins to use this book to kill off criminals. To figure out why these mysterious deaths are happening the police hire in a mysterious person named only "L". The movie then progresses from there with Light trying to always stay one step ahead of "L" and never get caught.

It isn't the best movie i've ever watched but its definitely intriguing and will keep you interested right up until the end. Theres also the constant struggle in your conscience between who is the bad guy and who is good. It reminds me of the show Dexter, as the main character is a killer, but he's only killing criminals.

All in all, if you are looking for a movie that breaks away from your typical hollywood stereotypes then definitely don't let this one pass you by.

I'd also be interested to hear what other people thought of it.

L31mr0d

Wow, just watched the sequel, together they have a running time of around 4:30 hours.

I actually really liked both of them together. The storyline gets a little confusing and loses a little focus in the second movie (could be the translation, I don't know) but it all ends in a pretty good crescendo.

I'd definitely recommend these movies, and I doubt the ending will make anyone unhappy.

Karl Hungus

I've been waiting for them to get released on DVD, but no sign as of yet. Pity, there was a time when Tartan would pick up just about every single Asian horror film in recent years, but there's not been as much lately.

Rhyme

I want to finish off the anime before i go anywhere near the films, they look pretty good though.

Not so sure about the CG on Ryuk though, looks like plastecine.

L31mr0d

Rhyme wrote: »

I want to finish off the anime before i go anywhere near the films, they look pretty good though.

Not so sure about the CG on Ryuk though, looks like plastecine.

yeah CG isn't the best, but there isn't loads of it, and the fact he looks like plastic makes him all the more eerie.

I really think I would of gleaned more from the movies had I watched the anime series, but then it probably would of ruined the ending for me.

Rhyme

L31mr0d wrote: »

I really think I would of gleaned more from the movies had I watched the anime series, but then it probably would of ruined the ending for me.

That's the clincher for me as well, i both want to be able to fully enjoy the movie on the first watch and not ruin the series for myself.

L31mr0d

Rhyme wrote: »

That's the clincher for me as well, i both want to be able to fully enjoy the movie on the first watch and not ruin the series for myself.

the movies are pretty much a synopsis of the whole anime series. So much so that the second movie feels very rushed in parts. The first movie did a great job building up Light and L as nemeses. But the second one just kind of made assumptions in regard to L's intelligence, ergo, he'd figure something out but they wouldn't explain fully how he'd figured it out, unlike the first movie. I'm sure in the anime series though they take the time to elaborate on how L's mind works.

abelard

I hope this isn't too spoilery, but the film and anime do differ significantly in temrs of the story, so by watchng the films first you haven't really ruined the anime

L31mr0d

abelard wrote: »

I hope this isn't too spoilery, but the film and anime do differ significantly in temrs of the story, so by watchng the films first you haven't really ruined the anime

Which would you say is better? The anime series or the movies?

abelard

The anime does give the "whole story" to the best of my knowledge (the original serialised comic is probably the conclusive version I guess), whereas the films obviously had to leave stuff out, so you get much more depth and nuance to the characters and all that kind of stuff, so I suppose I'd rate the anime as that bit better, though the films didn't do an awful job either (even with some {tiny spoiler}

major plot changes

).

I guess it's like when you read a book then go to the film, even if the film is great, it still doesn't quite live up to the book (or in this case series).

Whether you've seen the film or not, I think the anime is absolutely worth watching. Take that with the caveat that I'm not an anime buff though, so some of the purists may have hated it (I really don't think so though ).