First of all, it's not like the original. At all, really. I felt like with a rewrite, it'd have made more sense to just make it an original story with new characters and names that was set in the Death Note universe. That being said, it is not a legitimate criticism to say it's not like the original. Changing things is fine. Making the story completely different is fine. The question is if it thematically suits the original, and if what was changed works.
Well, I think it does. Mostly. It has a lot of the same themes of the original, even if the characters were mostly completely different. It questions the morality of murdering bad people without trial, and demonstrates the fanaticism that can arise with power. The film overall seems to be presented stylistically, moodily, with some nice musical interludes in a Donnie Darko sort of vein. It has a few twists and a pretty nice ending that makes it relatively satisfying, and it doesn't follow a predictable Hollywood format, which makes it at least a bit refreshing. And if you don't believe me that it's thematically similar to the original, the original author and artist of Death Note both praised the film believing it was a good adaption thematically.
There were things wrong with it. The pacing wasn't great. It starts off well and then it just shoots off like a rocket, making it hard to follow the second act. It made a pretty big directing faux pas by introducing new characters and concepts right inside a montage. A lot of the dialogue isn't written so well, making characters occasionally sound banal. The Final Destination-esque Rube Goldberg deaths were often overly done and comically gratuitous. I don't think it fits the themes very well to literally laugh when someone gratuitously explodes. You don't need to make huge stretches to be hardcore just because you're on Netflix, guys.
Overall I think this is not a film for the fanboys. They're going to hate it because it's different. I feel like I like it mostly because to be honest with you. However, honestly? I found the original to be flawed too. I think it will be an interesting but flawed film for pretty much anyone who doesn't worship the original. It is aesthetically (except for the utterly gratuitous deaths) and thematically pleasing, but has some pacing and writing issues. Hope this review will be helpful.
Well, I think it does. Mostly. It has a lot of the same themes of the original, even if the characters were mostly completely different. It questions the morality of murdering bad people without trial, and demonstrates the fanaticism that can arise with power. The film overall seems to be presented stylistically, moodily, with some nice musical interludes in a Donnie Darko sort of vein. It has a few twists and a pretty nice ending that makes it relatively satisfying, and it doesn't follow a predictable Hollywood format, which makes it at least a bit refreshing. And if you don't believe me that it's thematically similar to the original, the original author and artist of Death Note both praised the film believing it was a good adaption thematically.
There were things wrong with it. The pacing wasn't great. It starts off well and then it just shoots off like a rocket, making it hard to follow the second act. It made a pretty big directing faux pas by introducing new characters and concepts right inside a montage. A lot of the dialogue isn't written so well, making characters occasionally sound banal. The Final Destination-esque Rube Goldberg deaths were often overly done and comically gratuitous. I don't think it fits the themes very well to literally laugh when someone gratuitously explodes. You don't need to make huge stretches to be hardcore just because you're on Netflix, guys.
Overall I think this is not a film for the fanboys. They're going to hate it because it's different. I feel like I like it mostly because to be honest with you. However, honestly? I found the original to be flawed too. I think it will be an interesting but flawed film for pretty much anyone who doesn't worship the original. It is aesthetically (except for the utterly gratuitous deaths) and thematically pleasing, but has some pacing and writing issues. Hope this review will be helpful.