Have you ever wondered what would happen if you combined Napoleon Dynamite with Final Destination? Me neither, but I think I've found the answer. The first ten minutes of the new Death Note film tell us quite clearly who this film is aimed at. People who like teen dramas but are partial to a little gore may like Adam Wingard's adaptation. The rest of us won't. My hopes for the remaining eighty-or-so minutes were set rather low following a poor opening act, and my downgraded expectations – I'm disappointed to say – were completely justified.
The original Death Note had some great characters, but this latest film will probably sour your appreciation of them. What I had in mind when I pictured the Light role was a performance like Rami Malek's in Mr. Robot. Nat Wolff is probably good enough for Paper Towns and similar films, but the character of Light Yagami seems to demand someone of a higher calibre - an actor who's able to convey his character's complexity through expression and convincing delivery.
The blame for Light isn't Wolff's alone to bear; much of it belongs to the writers (the creative talents behind the latest Fantastic Four and the mercifully near-forgotten Immortals). In this film, Light is far too embracing of his overnight-demigod status. We don't see any of the inner moral struggles or self-questioning that really defined the character throughout the original story. The writers seem to acknowledge that there should be a dilemma, and in one blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment we hear Light tell his confidant: "I guess I should feel guilty but don't." That's it, really; from this point on Light is as ethically two-dimensional as the worst 80s' action villains.
Lakeith Stanfield's "L" is perhaps even more of a misfire than Wolff's Light. There's really no sincerity in L's lines, or in Stanfield's delivery of them. The actor seems to pay superficial homage to L with some of the character's recognisable mannerisms, but neither Stanfield nor the writers give us much of an indication of L's brilliance.
The third major performance in Wingard's Death Note belongs to Margaret Qualley who plays Mia, Light's girlfriend. Her character is arguably the most inexplicable and definitely the most unnecessary. Mia – as indicated by her name – seems to be Wingard's take on Misa Amane. The similarities don't extend much further than the forenames. The supporting characters generally do a passable job, but that's all. You may be questioning my failure to mention one of the main selling points of this film – Willem Dafoe's Ryuk. I've omitted it from my review up to now because there isn't much to say.
Fans of the original Death Note may be enticed by the first shots of a discarded apple core, but the iconic shinigami becomes quite a bore as the film progresses. Dafoe is a very good voice actor, but his talents aren't really put to the test here.
The rest of it - music, cinematography, editing and the other more technical aspects of the film - are neither good nor bad. Maybe that's quite a boast, as mediocre is as good as it gets in Wingard's Death Note. I can't honestly recommend this to anyone. It's an inferior product in every conceivable way.
The original Death Note had some great characters, but this latest film will probably sour your appreciation of them. What I had in mind when I pictured the Light role was a performance like Rami Malek's in Mr. Robot. Nat Wolff is probably good enough for Paper Towns and similar films, but the character of Light Yagami seems to demand someone of a higher calibre - an actor who's able to convey his character's complexity through expression and convincing delivery.
The blame for Light isn't Wolff's alone to bear; much of it belongs to the writers (the creative talents behind the latest Fantastic Four and the mercifully near-forgotten Immortals). In this film, Light is far too embracing of his overnight-demigod status. We don't see any of the inner moral struggles or self-questioning that really defined the character throughout the original story. The writers seem to acknowledge that there should be a dilemma, and in one blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment we hear Light tell his confidant: "I guess I should feel guilty but don't." That's it, really; from this point on Light is as ethically two-dimensional as the worst 80s' action villains.
Lakeith Stanfield's "L" is perhaps even more of a misfire than Wolff's Light. There's really no sincerity in L's lines, or in Stanfield's delivery of them. The actor seems to pay superficial homage to L with some of the character's recognisable mannerisms, but neither Stanfield nor the writers give us much of an indication of L's brilliance.
The third major performance in Wingard's Death Note belongs to Margaret Qualley who plays Mia, Light's girlfriend. Her character is arguably the most inexplicable and definitely the most unnecessary. Mia – as indicated by her name – seems to be Wingard's take on Misa Amane. The similarities don't extend much further than the forenames. The supporting characters generally do a passable job, but that's all. You may be questioning my failure to mention one of the main selling points of this film – Willem Dafoe's Ryuk. I've omitted it from my review up to now because there isn't much to say.
Fans of the original Death Note may be enticed by the first shots of a discarded apple core, but the iconic shinigami becomes quite a bore as the film progresses. Dafoe is a very good voice actor, but his talents aren't really put to the test here.
The rest of it - music, cinematography, editing and the other more technical aspects of the film - are neither good nor bad. Maybe that's quite a boast, as mediocre is as good as it gets in Wingard's Death Note. I can't honestly recommend this to anyone. It's an inferior product in every conceivable way.