As others have said, the source material is amazing, full of depth, cleverly intricate with complex themes and characters that feel real. So there were glimmers of hope that the film adaptation would be halfway decent on its own, despite a lot of people hating it. Really did want to like it and be one of those people to go against the general consensus, which has happened quite a few times before (though have found myself agreeing with critics more and more these days, seemingly a sacrilegious thing to say these days with so much over-the-top hate for them).
Sadly, 'Death Note' is yet another film that sees me agreeing with the general consensus and what they have said about it. Not much for me to add. It is not just that it is an abortion of an adaptation, that is the complete opposite of every element of the source material and completely forgot in translation what made it so great. Would go as far to say that it didn't seem to even understand it or what it was about. Having said that, have always believed in judging an adaptation on its own terms, there have been numerous instances of a film or TV series to be not so good as adaptations but good to classic on their own. 'Death Note' manages to be a failure on its own.
Does 'Death Note' have good things? Not many but they are there. There are some creative visuals and touches, this is not a cheap-looking film on the most part by all means and often quite striking. The (incidental) music is suitably moody.
There is also Willem Dafoe who brings menace and gravitas to Ryuk (although the character is nowhere near sadistic enough and that is the fault of the writers not Dafoe, who was giving his all to what he was given), managing to make a memorable impression despite far too little screen time. His performance comes off best of the cast and the only good one.
Found the rest of the acting however to be bland and forced, nobody gets deep into their characters and most don't even seem to understand them. The characters have lost their complexity and substance, they are all stereotypical clichés with no substance or even worse distorted beyond recognition. Complete with far too much emphasis on teen drama that was not really needed and was really not well written (cheesy, shallow and predictable). With more of a psychological drama focus there would have been far more depth and atmosphere and the characters would have been far more interesting.
Early on and sadly throughout, suspense and mystery are lacking and as said the characters are bland and often behave irrationally and out of character to an irritating degree. The dialogue is very stilted and the direction lacking control or tautness, didn't get the sense they were at ease or even they wanted to do it. The editing tended to be nauseating, but it's the story treatment that's most disappointing. It's not just the lack of suspense and surprises, it also feels dumbed down and too tame, anything that made one shocked or biting nails were treated with indifference, and events are far too rushed to the point that parts are incoherent. With nothing to the story or characters, the 'Death Note' manages to also be dull due to not being invested in it.
Overall, a few saving graces but a mess on the whole. 3/10 Bethany Cox
