Netflix' live action adaptation of Death Note (2017) has been the subject of some strong opinions by critics and outrage by fans. The film was heavily anticipated particularly by fans of the manga series by Tsugumi Ohba and the 2006 anime series but unfortunately, was not received well at all.
Death Note is directed by Adam Wingard, the shot-caller behind 2016's Blair Witch and the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong with a screenplay by Fantastic Four writer Jeremy Slater and music by Leopold and Atticus Ross. Warner Bros. acquired the rights to an American remake of Death Note back in 2009 but after the idea was pushed around from studio to studio through various writers and directors, the distribution rights were repurchased by Netflix in April 2016 and the production companies involved (LP, Lin, Vertigo) were offered a budget of $50m. Several producers were involved in the project including Japanese-born producer and actor Masi Oka (Heroes) who cameos in the film as a detective in Tokyo.
The cast features Nat Wolff from harrowing romantic drama A Fault In Our Stars as Light, Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) as Mia, Lakeith Stanfield (Selma, Get Out) as L and the fantastic Willem Dafoe as the voice of the Shinigami known as Ryuk. Death Note also features a well known that-guy actor many viewers will recognise from various movie bit parts and TV spots, Shea Whingham as Light's father Detective James Turner who teams up with L to catch Kira, unaware that he is chasing his own son.
The R-rated remake is packed full of odd, unexpected plot twists and quickly turns to a sinister psychological drama about an anti-hero who believes in his own cause and his twisted, psychotic girlfriend. The dialogue is a little ropey in places, the editing even more-so. The choice of music (i.e. 80's power ballads in the ferris wheel scene) is downright cringe-worthy. However, all that aside, it really is a good film, particularly considering that it's a remake of an anime classic.
The plot differs somewhat from the anime, following Light Turner (originally Light Yagami) and his girlfriend Mia on a supernatural killing spree in Seattle. Light accidentally finds himself in possession of book known as the Death Note. Once the user touches the book, he or she becomes the keeper of the Death Note and summons a Shinigami; a Japanese god of death. When a name is written in the book, they will die by a method of the keeper's choosing. A gifted detective, known only as "L", has been drafted in to hunt for Light, known to him as Kira (killer in Japanese).
Death Note is directed by Adam Wingard, the shot-caller behind 2016's Blair Witch and the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong with a screenplay by Fantastic Four writer Jeremy Slater and music by Leopold and Atticus Ross. Warner Bros. acquired the rights to an American remake of Death Note back in 2009 but after the idea was pushed around from studio to studio through various writers and directors, the distribution rights were repurchased by Netflix in April 2016 and the production companies involved (LP, Lin, Vertigo) were offered a budget of $50m. Several producers were involved in the project including Japanese-born producer and actor Masi Oka (Heroes) who cameos in the film as a detective in Tokyo.
The cast features Nat Wolff from harrowing romantic drama A Fault In Our Stars as Light, Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) as Mia, Lakeith Stanfield (Selma, Get Out) as L and the fantastic Willem Dafoe as the voice of the Shinigami known as Ryuk. Death Note also features a well known that-guy actor many viewers will recognise from various movie bit parts and TV spots, Shea Whingham as Light's father Detective James Turner who teams up with L to catch Kira, unaware that he is chasing his own son.
The R-rated remake is packed full of odd, unexpected plot twists and quickly turns to a sinister psychological drama about an anti-hero who believes in his own cause and his twisted, psychotic girlfriend. The dialogue is a little ropey in places, the editing even more-so. The choice of music (i.e. 80's power ballads in the ferris wheel scene) is downright cringe-worthy. However, all that aside, it really is a good film, particularly considering that it's a remake of an anime classic.
