Death Note: Light Up the New World

The original Death Note was brilliant; this film is a dull glow in comparison. While the overall theme comes across, many viewers will find the individual elements of the plot quite a bit more difficult to follow and less cohesive to the film overall. There seems to be a lot of needless filler. Neither the plot nor characters are as sharp and intelligent as the original KIRA or L. There is nowhere near the unique personalities of the two, nor much viewer compassion for any of the characters. In truth, it struck me that the main stars of this film were the Shinigami, which were far more interesting than the live characters.

There is a tendency of viewers to compare follow-up films with the original and that is perhaps unfair... but it is also inevitable. Imagine a Sherlock Holmes film in which the intelligence, attention to detail and twist-of-plot is missing; is it really Sherlock Holmes any longer? That considered, is a Death Note movie without extraordinary chess-like moves by the main characters really Death Note? In the end I was disappointed in the film and felt it could have been two hours better spent.

I watched this movie after the original authors of the Death Note released the Death Note Special One-Shot manga in February 2020. I enjoy the first two live-action movies of Death Note, they give a good alternate story to the Death Note franchise. The third movie is not that good but still watchable. After 10 years of the first movie, is it still a good choice to continue the Death Note movie? To be honest, I did not have much expectation for this movie. I only hope at least it is entertaining regardless of the story it tells.

I don't know if it's just me or everyone, but the whole movie feels really flat. I am sure it is because I've read the One-Shot manga first that made me feel this movie is mediocre. After the innovative storyline from the manga, people expect something different from the story of this movie. But again, repeated formula and lame twist. This is still a disease for Japanese live-action movies in general. The action and drama also did not well. The six death notes in the movie have no impact at all to the narrative aspect of the story. Although the story is flat, I have a bit of hope at the end of this movie. They might end it like I hope it to be. But, the ending is also disappointed. At last, if you want you can still watch this movie. But if don't want to, it still is okay, you did not lose anything important at all.

A belated sequel to the original DEATH NOTE trilogy, made some time later after those films. The original cast only feature in the smallest roles and at least one of them is a picture on a screen alone. Sad to say, this one's a far cry from the original films; generally it feels very much like a weak sauce imitator that plods over the same old ground without doing anything new with the premise. As before, the police are hunting owners of the Death Note diaries, and there are new villains and new heroes thrown into the mix. Sadly, the new L character is one of the most arrogant and irritating ever, and none of the supposedly shocking twists make an impact. Average at best.

The anime & the original movie was way better! Could've been better!

Death Note is the one of the best original work that Japanese have developed and created a truly mysterious story, with creative characters. Honestly, I really loved the story (plot) and the developed characters. The story is quite inspiring, full with excitement. Based on the famous Japanese manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power.

NOTE: The only reason, why people dislike it, is that the two characters "Light" and "L' is not too involved at all in this series.