Death Note (Netflix)

Mr E

The trailer has just popped up online...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8GhSgG3Y4k

Agent Coulson

Total Final Destination rip off by the looks of it


These are always fun just to see how inventive the deaths are.

Venom

It's based on the Manga series.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note

I expect cries of "whitewashing" being aimed Netflix's way very soon :pac:

ixoy

Nope, can't be done in one film. I'm a fan of both the manga and anime and it works because the relationship between Light and L builds up over time and the way it unfolds is what makes the series. I've very little hope for this...

Plus will this Light be as daring when it comes to eating potato chips?

Sabre0001

Only finished Death Note recently (yes, I am late to the party), so looking forward to this to ease the withdrawal symptoms. Think ixoy is onto something that DN needs a slower build - not only for anticipation around some key moments, but for relationships and character development too.

Still guaranteed to give it a watch though. Are the other live action outings worth a go?

Unearthly

Disappointed its a film not a tv show.

Varik

The Japanese films had decent pacing, not too much packed in. I didn't see the one that came out last year but over the first 3 films they managed to cover it well enough with a few changes.


Willem Dafoe is very interesting,

Mr E

New trailer. Stylistically this looks great. Some of the effects look excellent too.

Excitement building - this could actually be pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvxNaSIB_WI

J. Marston

Couldn't have made a better pick than Willem Dafoe.

Ben Gadot

I'm not feeling it thus far.

I've no problem with changing the ethnicity of the characters but Light seems both poorly cast and poorly characterised to me. Light was actually quite popular in spite of his sociopathic tendencies, and always had a touch of misplaced arrogance even before the death note took hold of him. I'm getting none of that from the trailer.

L's dialogue and look seems off also to me.

Maybe I'm just being overly anxious and critical given I've only watched the animated series quite recently.

Mr E

Still not sure about Light and the first proper look at Ryuk is a bit fake looking. Hmmm.... still going to watch though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFzvJMmH9x0

patrickSTARR

I think Ill give this show a bash when it drops. Its got me intrigued which is half the battle, if the first couple of Episodes go well then that sells me on the season.

Mr E

It's a movie, not series.

That's one of the main concerns. The anime was over 12 hours long, so they'll be removing a lot.

Frank O. Pinion

Mr E wrote: »

It's a movie, not series.

Bit silly that it's in the "Online TV" forum, then.

Ben Gadot

Mr E wrote: »

It's a movie, not series.

That's one of the main concerns. The anime was over 12 hours long, so they'll be removing a lot.

My heart just sank. Didn't realise it was a one off.

patrickSTARR

Mr E wrote: »

It's a movie, not series.

That's one of the main concerns. The anime was over 12 hours long, so they'll be removing a lot.

Man that's a bummer. A movie is less interesting than a 12 episode series. I probably will give this a miss now.

me_irl

Watched this last night. I'd describe it as "Death Note Lite". There were too many convenient corners cut with the story, and found in places it was pure style over substance

(E.G. when L is chasing Light in the police car... did we need that many camera angles?)

It would be a nice side story, but as far as I know they did that in the Japanese live action movies.

Found this hilarious (minor spoilers when Light meets Ryuk).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXGfOqUWtNk

CastorTroy

As I said in the anime forum:
Pretty much the only similarities the American movie had to the story was the presence of a Death Note, a Death God and characters called L and Light.
Though I would be curious what people would think of it if they wren't familiar with the source material or other adaptations.

Think I read an interview with teh director that he wasn't going to do a straight adaptation as they never work out.

One of its major flaws is

they never really establish Light as having a great mind, so all that planning at the end seems to come out of nowhere

Owryan

CastorTroy wrote: »

One of its major flaws is

they never really establish Light as having a great mind, so all that planning at the end seems to come out of nowhere

Wasn't he given detention at the start because he was doing other people's homework? So he must've had some smarts about him.

Had never heard of the anime version before I watched it last night. Thought it was ok and Willem Defoe was channeling his green goblin persona. I assume it's been set up as the basis for a sequel or follow on TV series.

zoobizoo

Watched last night without realising its Manga lineage..

Started off interesting and then faded... about 30 mins in.

The "L" character seemed miscast and the hopping on a chair to sit was irritating.

me_irl

zoobizoo wrote: »

Watched last night without realising its Manga lineage..

Started off interesting and then faded... about 30 mins in.

The "L" character seemed miscast and the hopping on a chair to sit was irritating.

L is a very odd character in the anime too. Has these mannerisms that don't fall in to societal norms at all (like holding his phone with only index and thumb up to his ear and sitting with his legs up).

I'd say if you wanted to watch a clever cat-and-mouse yarn then I'd highly recommend the anime. This doesn't do it justice at all!

CastorTroy

Owryan wrote: »

Wasn't he given detention at the start because he was doing other people's homework? So he must've had some smarts about him.

If that's enough for anyone who hasn't seen the anime then grand. I did say I wonder what people who weren't familar with the material thought of it

kunst nugget

I had no skin in the game watching this as I've never read the books or watched the original series but a faint knowledge of the characters as my daughter has the collection. I didn't think it was too bad but it seemed to think itself as being a bit cleverer than it actually was. I liked the actor playing L (can't remember his name but he was in Get Out as well). I can understand why it strayed so far from the source material - that was never going to work being condensed into a two hour movie - it still felt rushed at times and none of the characters felt fleshed out at all. It wasn't as bad I thought it was going to be from hearing others reactions to it but it wasn't all that great either. I'm going to get stuck into the original manga as it has made me curious about it.

Owryan

CastorTroy wrote: »

If that's enough for anyone who hasn't seen the anime then grand. I did say I wonder what people who weren't familiar with the material thought of it

It suggested he was bright but i didn't ever get the impression that he had the ability to think ahead and plan out what transpired.

I might look for the anime version since the film felt so rushed. L's character's background felt like it had so much more to offer and was only briefly explained.

CastorTroy

The anime is on Netflix as well. I would recommend it

Sabre0001

[Watched the anime]

Trying to cram too much into such a short amount of time is definitely an issue. L is weird in the anime too - possibly moreso - but you're given time to get used to his mannerisms and see his deductive capabilities in action. In the live action, some of his conclusions seem like massive stretches.

While the live action touches on many of the same plot points, again it doesn't get to spend enough time dwelling on them. The FBI tails, for example, in the anime were fantastic episodes because they were really tense and there were plenty of angles being explored and outlined as possible solutions.

Thought Mia was decent, Ryuk was done well (though more active / involved than previously). Overall, it was OK...but curious to see what people who weren't familiar with it before thought.

zoobizoo

I think that was the issue for me re L....


He was introdcued too quickly and despite it being a "fantasy" movie (As in I know that the whole thing was make believe), it was like he was shoehorned into the movie and I had to go "ohhh, so he's like some super cop".....