Having virtually nothing in common with the original manga and anime is the least of Netflix's Death Note problems.
Since the first announcement of the American adaptation of the work of Tsugumi Oba and Takeshi Obata, the web was full of torches and pitchforks, the result of preconceptions and the first trailers that already at the time reeked of a fallacious product. On August 25, Netflix finally released its Death Note worldwide, directed by Adam Wingard (famous for films like VHS and VHS 2 and Blair Witch) and after a viewing in the original language and a second partial in Spanish a few moments later (just to hear if Nat Wolff gained from the adaptation in our language) I can admit that the fears were founded but, as we said at the beginning, the comparison with the manga is the least of the problems.
Yes, because Death Note is a film that, even taken on its own, is bland and stupid, full of finds bordering on the decent and truly horrible, as long as you're not watching it with friends, because in that case I can assure you that there will be laughter for the nonsense you will see on the screen.
Because that's what Netflix's Death Note is in one word:
Fool.
Love in the notebook of death
I think you have understood by now, we will not make comparisons between Adam Wingard's film and the original work, simply because beyond the names of the characters and some attitude, the two media have nothing in common. In case you want to see something more faithful, Japanese films are available for free on VVVVID. But Death Note doesn't even work alone, without any knowledge of the original work. Light Turner (Nat Wolff) during a rainy day finds a suspicious notebook, which bears the inscription Death Note, opening it, he will find an infinity of numbered rules, among which obviously the first one stands out "The human whose name is written in this notebook will die“, Shortly thereafter, he will meet the God of Death Ryuk (Willem Dafoe) in one of the most ridiculous scenes ever shot in the history of cinema. Too bad that the director's intention was (presumably) to instill anxiety and fear, failing even in the slightest due to the embarrassing screams of Nat Wolff himself.
From there on, the film is all downhill, between Light revealing it all to Mia Sutton, the school cheerleader he's in love with, the skills of the notebook, splatter deaths at the Final Destination, the two who get excited about the power, infinite and surreal chases, and a final resolution from hands to hair. The whole thing could be appreciated if taken as a parody film, but behind the Wingard film there is 40 million dollars and a serious intent.
The most amazing thing is that, before the final half hour, the actor who gave the best acting test is Keith Stanfield, immediately criticized by the people of the internet because he would have played L despite being African American. Bravo Internet you have failed again.
Even Ryuk, who in the dim light also seems well done, when framed completely looks like a very ugly puppet under amphetamines and nowhere near comparable to certain cosplayers of the character (or even just the poor CGI of Japanese productions), one wonders why Willem Dafoe he lent himself to this horror, but he was probably framed for murder and the production has covered up everything or just has the mortgage to pay. Fortunately his laugh, although very similar to that of Raimi's Green Goblin, it is practically one of the very few things that can be saved from this Death Note.
Here we put a song out of context
If we stop and think about each character and attitudes we will spend hours finding every crater in the plot, every incongruity, every wrong and surreal moment, wasting time that would add up to that used in assisting everything. But there are things that can't be kept silent, like the dance scene where the cops who are supposed to be following Light don't recognize him because he no longer wears a top hat. Or an endless chase between L and Light with electronic background music that lasts two and a half minutes full of shoving to poor innocents completely useless. The song out of context seems to be a recurring theme throughout Wingard's production, who was probably under the influence of drugs when he came up with some ideas. This huge circus moves on the shoulders of an incapable and muttering Nat Wolff who fortunately becomes slightly more pleasant dubbed.
So no, even taken without any knowledge of the original series, Netflix's Death Note is not a good movie, it's not even nice, and it's full of logical inconsistencies and obvious plot holes. The only way to appreciate this shame is to take it as a parody, well aware that these were not the intentions of the production. But if, as said by Light Turner's father, Karma exists, the people who worked and took part in Death Note (except for the poor Dafoe that we remember probably ended up on set by chance) should no longer find work.
Obviously we joke.
Or maybe not.
