Rena Ryuugu
Oyashiro-Sama
I saw it last night and I enjoyed it as much as the first one 
Death Note Movie on Film4
- Thread starter shira
- Start date
Aion
Time-Traveller
Death Note - 6/10 (rewatched)
A few weeks back, I saw HMV had the 2-disc limited edition, complete with a notebook, of both DN films for £7.99 each. Since the releases are truly rather limited and probably won't drop any further in price, I went for them, me being a huge fan of the manga/anime and all. I don't like the films - I've watched them on the net in the past - but I do like the idea of owning everything DN related.
A few days back, my copy of the first film was sent. And, yesterday, my copy of the second movie was sent. Yay.
My first reaction upon opening the HMV box containing my copy of the first film was not "Yay" - it was closer to "Nay". Instead of getting a film in a slipcover/standard case, together with a book, the case itself is the book in a slipcover. And the book is...uneven because of the flimsy packaging, meaning the spine isn't straight. Also, the final page of the book contents (there are 24) also has a printing error - it has the same text that a previous page has. Clearly, it was very well made by a group of skilled individuals, superior to the monkeys in my locak zoo.
...What, you want me to actually talk about the movie and not share my experiences with the packaging? Fiiiine.
Right from the start, when people started dying in comical fashion from oh-so-fake heart attacks and had soap coming out of their mouths, I knew I was in for a classic. IMDB suggested it would rival TDK in terms of IMDB ratings, and the suggestion wasn't wrong.
As an adaptation of the first part of one of the best stories ever, which includes one of the most complex individuals ever created, it fails. Light Yagami in the film is played by the lead character from the other woeful Japanese adaptation known as Battle Royale, who won many Japanese awards for running around screaming, creaming and generally lacks any actual acting ability. He'd look good if put in a dress but isn't good for a lot else.
The choice of 'actor' for Light is only one of the problems the film has with Light, though. Instead of copying the source material and having Light by a sociopath who could rival the intellect of anyone, in the movies Light is an average idiot (yes movie Light, it's wise to inform the cops of eveything with no plan) who starts on the path of murder because he discovers that some people can't be arrested. Where as manga Light was never naive about the world and was simply disgusted with the people he saw around himself, movie Light needed a Hoolywood-esque push in the wrong direction. Instead of saving a girl from a random group of thugs/possible rapists from a distance in order to test th notebook, why not have him get into a face-to-face confrontation with a wannabee gangster with a weird laugh? - That's what the movie crew asked themselves.
Even worse, movie Light has a girlfriend. Why is this an issue? Because manga Light has no equal in his mind; he views everyone as inferior to himself and has a God complex. I'd go as far as to say that he's only attracted to himself; he can only love himself. The only reason Light would have a girlfriend would be if he could use the other person and gain something from the relationship. So, when movie Light shows his caring side with his filler girlfriend, even having talks where he reveals his opinion that Kira is justice (yeah, just give it all away - no need to hide anything), the film is going against the source material. And don't get me started on the filler ending of the film, which involved the removal of one of the best parts of the story, replaced it with something overly simple (here's my name - kill me, on camera, to prove that you're evil!!!111) and the death of Light's filler girlfriend. I must say, it was epic.
...so, yeah, the film was great. I doubt even the American remake in 2010 will reach the same heights as this Japanese adaptation, which has a score of 7.8/10 on IMDB. It's a great comedy for real death Note fans to watch.
For laughs and the fact it isn't the worst film I've watched, I give it 6/10. Maybe 5/10 would be a more true score but I didn't come out of the experience thinking of it as worth of 5/10.
A few weeks back, I saw HMV had the 2-disc limited edition, complete with a notebook, of both DN films for £7.99 each. Since the releases are truly rather limited and probably won't drop any further in price, I went for them, me being a huge fan of the manga/anime and all. I don't like the films - I've watched them on the net in the past - but I do like the idea of owning everything DN related.
A few days back, my copy of the first film was sent. And, yesterday, my copy of the second movie was sent. Yay.
My first reaction upon opening the HMV box containing my copy of the first film was not "Yay" - it was closer to "Nay". Instead of getting a film in a slipcover/standard case, together with a book, the case itself is the book in a slipcover. And the book is...uneven because of the flimsy packaging, meaning the spine isn't straight. Also, the final page of the book contents (there are 24) also has a printing error - it has the same text that a previous page has. Clearly, it was very well made by a group of skilled individuals, superior to the monkeys in my locak zoo.
...What, you want me to actually talk about the movie and not share my experiences with the packaging? Fiiiine.
Right from the start, when people started dying in comical fashion from oh-so-fake heart attacks and had soap coming out of their mouths, I knew I was in for a classic. IMDB suggested it would rival TDK in terms of IMDB ratings, and the suggestion wasn't wrong.
As an adaptation of the first part of one of the best stories ever, which includes one of the most complex individuals ever created, it fails. Light Yagami in the film is played by the lead character from the other woeful Japanese adaptation known as Battle Royale, who won many Japanese awards for running around screaming, creaming and generally lacks any actual acting ability. He'd look good if put in a dress but isn't good for a lot else.
The choice of 'actor' for Light is only one of the problems the film has with Light, though. Instead of copying the source material and having Light by a sociopath who could rival the intellect of anyone, in the movies Light is an average idiot (yes movie Light, it's wise to inform the cops of eveything with no plan) who starts on the path of murder because he discovers that some people can't be arrested. Where as manga Light was never naive about the world and was simply disgusted with the people he saw around himself, movie Light needed a Hoolywood-esque push in the wrong direction. Instead of saving a girl from a random group of thugs/possible rapists from a distance in order to test th notebook, why not have him get into a face-to-face confrontation with a wannabee gangster with a weird laugh? - That's what the movie crew asked themselves.
Even worse, movie Light has a girlfriend. Why is this an issue? Because manga Light has no equal in his mind; he views everyone as inferior to himself and has a God complex. I'd go as far as to say that he's only attracted to himself; he can only love himself. The only reason Light would have a girlfriend would be if he could use the other person and gain something from the relationship. So, when movie Light shows his caring side with his filler girlfriend, even having talks where he reveals his opinion that Kira is justice (yeah, just give it all away - no need to hide anything), the film is going against the source material. And don't get me started on the filler ending of the film, which involved the removal of one of the best parts of the story, replaced it with something overly simple (here's my name - kill me, on camera, to prove that you're evil!!!111) and the death of Light's filler girlfriend. I must say, it was epic.
...so, yeah, the film was great. I doubt even the American remake in 2010 will reach the same heights as this Japanese adaptation, which has a score of 7.8/10 on IMDB. It's a great comedy for real death Note fans to watch.
For laughs and the fact it isn't the worst film I've watched, I give it 6/10. Maybe 5/10 would be a more true score but I didn't come out of the experience thinking of it as worth of 5/10.
Just Passing Through
The Wildcard
The Dork Knight
Aion
Time-Traveller
If you're wondering, I mentioned TDK because, last time I checked, it had a rating of 9.2/10 on IMDB, making it the highest rated film in existence on the biggest movie website out there.
I didn't hate the film - I thought it was actually pretty good - but I just don't get how a flawed film, with a superior prequel, can be regarded as the greatest film of all time. I class it as overrated.
I didn't hate the film - I thought it was actually pretty good - but I just don't get how a flawed film, with a superior prequel, can be regarded as the greatest film of all time. I class it as overrated.