But, after over 3 years subscribed to the Netflix service, the live-action film Death Note, based on the manga, was recommended to me. And I decided, what the hell? I'd give it a try.
I'm not sure what I went into expecting. I knew the premise of the movie/anime/manga vaguely. Boy gets notebook that allows him to kill whomever's name he writes in it. Pretty simple.
At first blush, I was unimpressed by the movie. But after digesting it for a few days, my opinion has changed.
While the female characters are bland, and kind of stupid (read: Naomi), the male characters and the shinigami, are pretty awesome. Actually, my favorite character probably was Ryuuk. He amused me, and even though he confessed he wasn't into taking sides, the way he tried to keep Light from turning into a total douche was nice.
I also thoroughly enjoyed L. Though, the ending left me frustrated.
I know that the movie did not stay true to the manga (I wiki'ed it) and maybe not the anime (I didn't read that section but considering how long the series has run, I can't imagine that the movie followed the canon set up by both drawn forms of the series.), but it left a lot of holes. I'm never a fan of open, unresolved endings.
Did Light get rid of the Death Note? Or does Misa now have a copy, too? Did L know that it was Light? If Light still has the Death Note, is he going to keep killing the good guys along with the bad guys? Does he get to keep the shinigami? How long can he keep it a secret? How can he live with that on his conscience? Is the Death Note broken since he set up Shiori's and Naomi's deaths?
I really wanted Light to get caught. I did not want L to be "wrong." And since it didn't follow canon, anyway, what would it have hurt to have avenged the deaths of the innocent?
Giving Misa the Death Note just opens it up for a sequel, for the killing to continue.
I don't know if it's a normal thing in Japanese cinema or storylines, but the female characters were so dumb! Naomi was just asking to get herself killed by saying she was the detective's fiance and that she used an alias. How stupid! Light was smart enough, he could have figured it out without her giving it away so easily!
Length-wise, it was reasonable. I was multitasking so it went by pretty quickly. I feel like the story was a little bit too big to fit into the time they alloted, but it wasn't horrible.
The acting was...on par for what I expect from a Japanese drama. L and Light's father were the best actors, hands down.
The cinematography was good. Nothing super-incredible-zomg-awesome, but not jarring or annoying like Cloverfield or something.
As I said before, the story was ok. Better than a lot, but not that gripping for me. Light's evolution was nice to watch, but unsettling and unsatisfying. I felt like something was missing...maybe it just didn't translate into English well, but it seemed like there was a side of his personality that was either undeveloped, or regretfully not there.
Length: 4.5
Acting: 3.5
Cinematography: 4.0
Story: 4.0
Overall: 4.0
So, long rant short, I enjoyed this movie. A little. I don't think it's something I would watch again. And I'm not terribly compelled to read the manga or watch the anime, but who knows? Maybe one day I'll get bored.
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