I've loved the anime since I seen it many years ago. the complex characters, the fact it's an actual thriller, and the fact it was a philosophical starting point in asking "what if criminals were eliminated". If you haven't read the source material or seen the anime, start with this movie and afterwards treat yourself to either the anime or the manga. If you haven't seen or read either and only seen this movie, I would give it a 5 out of 10, and that is being more than generous. I was largely disappointed with this movie not using any of what made the former so successful. Overall though, i'd honestly avoid this movie. I was reluctant to watch the movie to begin with as I know exactly what Hollywood would do to the storyline. Hint...totally ruin it for the sake of money. Understandable if you consider what Hollywood is built on. Given that my motto is anything once, I was compelled to watch it. I was hoping it wouldn't be as bad as it was, but then again I wasn't completely surprised either. Do yourselves a favour and watch the anime or read the manga.

Based on an anime, this Americanized version fares a bit better than the other J-Horror translations from a few years ago like The Grudge & The Ring but the inclusion of a Japanese character & the killer's Asian nom de plume still rears its ugly head as if American film-goers won't get what's going on. Well cast & directed, this horror fable sets in motion when a tome falls into the hands of a disaffected youth to mete death on all those that he & his newly found & increasingly gung-ho frau feel deserve their brand of grisly justice. With some 80's tunes scattered throughout the score, I kept thinking of the stylish yet empty horror pics of that decade like the First Order & Bad Dreams but this film does have a little meat on its metaphorical bones but not by much.

Worst film of a good anime ever. The main cast has nothing to do with the persons in the anime. story just the worst parts.

Netflix's Death Note is actually a pretty great movie.Before the hate starts pouring in, hear me out on this one. Death Note, in its original form, is a story intended for teenagers. Though many of us who grew up reading the manga and watching the anime are now full-fledged adults, we may expect the stories we've experienced in the past to mature with us. Keeping in mind that this is not the case for Death Note or any other story we may have experienced in our younger years, let's start with the film's narrative.Though the initial premise of a mysterious notebook falling from the sky and a genius high school student discovering it remains largely the same, Netflix's adaptation of Death Note and the original story diverge from there. Characters like Light, L, Light's dad, Watari and Misa (or Mia) remain largely unchanged by name only, as each character's personality when compared from the film to the book are almost polar opposites of one another. Light actually breaks composure, Mia takes a stand for herself and L expresses, well, some kind of real human emotion.In this case, the film crafts a believable and interesting plot that's actually based somewhat in reality. Taking a page (see what I did there?) from the modern teen movie genre, the film feels like it presents a great introduction to an anime series that newer generations may not have heard of yet. Although sometimes falling for the tropes indication of the category like unexplained romance, strange motivations and over-the-top drama, this adaptation is fresh and new and a welcome change to what we're used to experiencing with the series.Death NoteCinematography, lighting, camera angles and music all aid to make the experience feel dark and brooding, but not to the point of making you want to cringe. There's a lot of action in this version of Death Note but that's not necessarily a bad thing, as the use of movement in the this case carries the dialogue and gives your eyes something to behold when they're not awing at the film's neon colors.Speaking of great things to look at, one aspect that almost all fans won't be disappointed to see is Ryuk, whose voice by Willem Dafoe is nothing short of genius. Every time the angel of death is on screen, one can't help to marvel at how chilling yet whimsical Dafoe's contribution is, a near carbon copy of what Ryuk would be in real life.There's a litany of other things that Death Note simply does well. Introducing a new rule to the book, having Ryuk interfere with Light's machinations, L wanting revenge, and the Kira phenomenon actually manifesting itself in the main story line add interesting dimensions to what fans didn't experience in the manga nor the anime.When it comes down to it, Netflix's Death Note is a great interpretation to an already great series. It doesn't serve as a true rendition of the original and it doesn't have to. When examined as an artistic piece on its own right, Death Note is a great film to watch purely for modern enjoyment - with a nod to the past thrown in.