Death Note (2017)
Written By: RIY
Edited BY: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director(s): Adam Wingard
Producer(s): Roy Lee, Dan Lin, et. al.
Writer(s): Jeremy Slater
Date Released: July 20, 2017
Cast:
Nat Wolff as Light Turner
LaKeith Stanfield as L
Margaret Qualley as Mia Sutton
Shea Whingham as James Turner
Willem Dafoe as Ryuk (voice)
Paul Nakauchi as Watari
Rating = 2/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
Light Turner is a high school student who stumbles across a leather-bound notebook called “Death Note”. This mysterious notebook contains instructions that allow Light to kill someone just by writing their name and how the person is going to die.
Light was amazed by the powers of the said notebook and decided to use it to eliminate the killer of his mom. He then tells Mia, who eventually becomes his girlfriend, about the powers of the notebook. The two of them used the notebook to get rid of terrorists and criminals.
Gore Factor
There are seriously a lot of disturbing scenes in Death Note (2017). From the first victim, Kenny the bully, whose head was crushed into a million pieces to the FBI agents who jumped off the building. Although the deaths were just a few, each one will surely make you cover your eyes in disgust.
The movie tried to give you a bunch of jump scares but failed miserably as these were followed by jokes. Every time Ryuk, the Death God inside the book, would appear, there would be suspense music or sudden loud noises that can build up fear in your body but would not last once you hear Light’s scream or comedic line.
Ryuk’s character could be considered terrifying for some with his long fingers and dark aura. However, you cannot see him clearly so their efforts were somewhat wasted.
The Grave Review
Death Note (2017) is a neo-noir supernatural thriller film based on a Japanese manga. The movie is an American live-action. Since the movie is an adaptation, there were a lot of expectations to meet. You anticipate to feel scared while you watch the movie, but this version of Death Note will not give you any of that.
In fact, the movie lacks impact. It does not give you any feeling after you have watched it. You do not feel scared despite seeing tons of gruesome deaths or after seeing Ryuk, the death God. Even worse, the attempt to make the movie light by adding comedic lines did not help at all.
In terms of the plot, there were some questions unanswered. How is the next owner chosen? What will Light do next? Did L, the investigator, write Light’s, the new owner of the notebook, name on the paper? Why did the previous owner say that Ryuk is not a friend?
On the other hand, the characters were realistic. You can easily understand why Light and Mia, Light’s girlfriend, became obsessed with killing criminals and why Mia is not planning to stop. The reaction of L when Watari, his right-hand man, was killed is somewhat reasonable considering he lived with Watari for so long. The movie also did a great job of doing the death scenes.
This Death Note version might have failed in a lot of areas but is still worth a shot. It is still a good movie to watch if you are into suspense.
For the foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives Death Note (2017) two graves out of five graves.
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