The verdict is in and it looks as though Hollywood's ill-fated quest to adapt an anime into a successful
live-action feature is set to stumble on.
Netflix was always taking a chance by remaking a property held in such high regard by anime
fans both at home in Japan and around the world, and, sadly, their English language,
U.S.-based take on the anime classic Death Note has completely failed to take off.
Here’s why.
Trying too hard
The smash success of Stranger Things on Netflix recently led to a burst of '80s nostalgia
in film and television, and Death Note shamelessly hitches a ride on that particular bandwagon.
The film even employs the classic, almost cliched slow-mo opening scene, reminiscent
of the famous "Head Over Heels" high school scene from indie classic Donnie Darko.
Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and Air Supply's version of "The Power of Love" both show up,
of course, albeit only in what amounts to little more than a shallow attempt to cultivate
style in the absence of any real substance.
A horror director by trade, Death Note’s director Adam Wingard dabbled in '80s art-house
aesthetics for his 2014 thriller hybrid The Guest, but Death Note borrows just a little
too heavily from the dark neon hues of films like Drive and Cold In July.
The scream
the casting of former Nickelodeon star Nat Wolff as leading man Light Turner was an uninspired
one.
The actor's performance has been one of the main sticking points for fans of the original
anime, with one scene in particular often singled out for ridicule.
When death god Ryuk first reveals himself to Light, he does so with an impressive display
of his powers.
Wolff's reaction is well, let’s just say it’s attracted some understandable criticism.
"Ahh."
Not exactly in keeping with the manga’s ice-cool version of the character.
White light
But that wasn’t the film’s only problem with Death Note’s protagonist.
Light is such an interesting character to follow in the manga and anime because he isn't
just some kid who’s come across a book that can kill people he's also an immensely clever
sociopath who relishes the chance to use the Death Note, and keeps its existence completely
secret for that very reason.
Netflix’s Light is neither a genius nor a sociopath, and only ends up becoming Kira
because he's pushed down the path of darkness by other characters with agendas of their
own — not because of the darker aspects of his own character.
“Is that what we’re going to do with the note light?
Rules and warnings?”
Ryuk’s purpose
To keep Light as innocent as possible in all this, the filmmakers needed to shift the blame
for the plot’s death and destruction onto someone else and Ryuk must have been a natural
choice of scapegoat.
Light's girlfriend Mia certainly plays her part in convincing him to go crazy with the
the Note, but the death god is painted as the true instigator of the chaos which takes
place in the Netflix remake.
He's the one who convinces Light to commit his very first murder, and he continues to
manipulate him from there on in.
In the original Death Note, however, Ryuk’s role is not to pressure Light into using the
Note, but to simply tag along mostly because he’s bored and finds Light's behavior interesting.
A quick note
At 100 minutes, Wingard's film wasn't much longer than your typical horror or comedy
flick and constituted far too short a timespan to do the detailed source material any kind
of justice.
These constraints meant that certain vital plot points had to be abandoned and relationships
fast-tracked, the result being a movie that felt completely rushed.
Death Note is not light reading.
After all, there’s a reason the Japanese live-action version was split into two separate
films and even they had to skip certain elements of the manga.
In the end, it might have served the Netflix version better to have been produced as an
Original Series, played out over ten, hour-long episodes.
This problem with the remake was best summed-up in a review by the L.A. Times shortly after
Death Note’s debut.
It said: "For a film 10 years in the making, it sure feels like everyone involved is in
a hurry to get it over with."
Forcing love
Another character who barely resembles the version on which they were based is Mia, who
is turned from an innocent bystander into a genuine monster for the remake.
Wingard's Death Note paints her as totally unhinged and entirely willing to manipulate
Light into using the Death Note without a second thought for the repercussions.
Netflix’s Death Note also turned Mia and Light into some kind of tragic love story,
when in the source material their relationship was anything but.
“I love you so much.”
“You do?”
Again, this seems like an attempt to shoehorn Hollywood storytelling conventions into a
story which only succeeded by getting rid of them in the first place.
In the real Death Note, the only thing Light ever falls in love with is power.