Death Note Movie Review

Directed by: Adam Wingard (You're Next, The Guest, Blair Witch)

Starring: Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Willem Dafoe

Plot: Based on the popular anime of the same name. High school student, Light Turner (Wolff) comes across a notebook with the ability to kill anybody whose name he writes in it. He starts a crusade to kill criminals, and essentially act like a god. However, a famous detective known only as L (Stanfield) has set out to stop him.

Review: I have watched very few anime in their entirety, but Death Note is one of them, and one that I can say that I am a fan of. So, I was interested in seeing the Netflix live action movie version of it, and very disappointed by the result.
The movie uses the same premise but sets it in Seatle, and uses a different story. It also amplifies the blood and gore to the point where certain deaths resembled the overly complicated accidents in the Final Destination movies. There's also a half-assed love story after Light shows the Death Note to a girl he just met, and draws her into his crusade. Also, Willem Dafoe is in there as the death god, Ryuk, but he doesn't really do much.
But the transition to film rarely captures what made the source material great. The anime was an intriguing battle of wits between two cool, calm people (Light and L). The movie focuses very little on L's hunt for the killer, opting instead to just show Light killing people in gruesome ways, and his relationship with his girlfrieind.
Also the portrayal of the characters are sure to anger fans of the source material. The calm and intelligent Light is now an angsty teenager, who stupidly shows the Death Note to a girl he just met, and his immorality has been toned down significantly. L and Ryuk are portrayed decently for the most part, but it's not enough to save the movie, especially when Dafoe is so underused.
It may be more watchable as a standalone film, but even then, it's still not very good. It's still a dumb movie about an uninteresting teen with an overabundance of gore. There are several scenes I can point to that even non-fans would hate. Like Light's borderline comical overacting when he first sees Willem Dafoe. Or the fact that a rock ballad plays over part of the climax. As cliche as it sounds, you should watch the anime instead.
And no, there are no potato chips in the movie.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars