Death Note (A Netflix Original Film) (2017)

August 25, 2017 7:44 AM

A young man comes to possess a supernatural notebook, the Death Note, that grants him the power to kill any person simply by writing down their name on the pages. He then decides to use the notebook to kill criminals and change the world, but an enigmatic detective attempts to track him down and end his reign of terror.
posted by Fizz (15 comments total)

Find a drink of your choice, gather your friends, and hate-watch this adaptation. It's the only real way to enjoy this hot mess. And then after that, watch the original anime series.
posted by Fizz at 7:46 AM on August 25, 2017 [7 favorites]

I would just skip right to the anime series.
posted by Pendragon at 9:27 AM on August 25, 2017 [8 favorites]

I thought it couldn't be that bad, but it was. It's terribly directed, but it's the Americanization of it that really sucks. They changed so much there is nothing to like left. (I've only read the manga. )
posted by Catblack at 1:12 PM on August 25, 2017 [4 favorites]

But but but we can still look forward to the live-action Akira, right?
posted by happyroach at 4:37 PM on August 25, 2017

This exists purely on a B movie for surly teens level.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:28 PM on August 25, 2017

Aww. I wanted to believe that this was going to be a clever adaptation, closer to Throne of Blood then Avatatar (2010). Willem Dafoe as Ryuk? There has never been a more appropriate bit of casting.

Anyway. It's not good, and I'm unhappy about that.
posted by figurant at 10:09 PM on August 25, 2017 [1 favorite]

I I thought even the anime fell apart in the second half (after a pivotal event, you know what I mean).
posted by smoke at 4:45 AM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

I hate watched it just to see how completely they screwed this up. And honestly, it's impressive. I mean even the parts with Willem Dafoe are barely toelrable.

No one has yet mentioned that the end is clearly open to a sequel so if enough angsty teens like this, we can expect Death Note 2.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:39 AM on August 26, 2017

The LA Times critic said something to the effect of how the storyline was so condensed, it ends up playing like a 100 minute long "Previously On" montage for a cable show.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:04 AM on August 26, 2017 [4 favorites]

I watched it with very low expectations, but this was truly terrible. And miss-lapin, I read an interview with the director, and he is definitely hoping for Death Note 2.
posted by mkim at 2:45 PM on August 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

I read the manga and have the live action Japanese version and liked them both very much, so I won't be watching this version.
posted by unliteral at 8:08 PM on August 27, 2017

It's been a long time since I read the manga, but I wouldn't say the movie was total trash. It's a very loose, Americanized adaptation that doesn't really hold together. I thought DeFoe was pretty great, and I liked their Ryuk. Could *really* have done without the foot chase though.

Too bad, because I really liked Wingard's The Guest and You're Next.
posted by graventy at 1:24 PM on August 28, 2017 [1 favorite]

I saw it on the Netflix splash screen but didn't know anything about it. Then I saw that there was FanFare thread for and though maybe I should try it. Ha! I lasted about 12 minutes.
posted by Bee'sWing at 4:25 PM on August 28, 2017

I have seen many terrible movies in my life, and this is one of them.
posted by Drastic at 9:04 PM on August 30, 2017 [4 favorites]

Obviously, the problem is that Adam Wingard strayed from working with MeFi's Own, Keith Calder.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:34 PM on September 6, 2017