Live action Death Note movie heading to the UK

The first DN film was awful: The story went in a different direction, with Light having a girlfriend and the Naomi Misora part of the plot being butchered to fit in a new twist involving his girlfriend. That, combined with the actor who played Light being poor, makes it one to miss. The film gives the anime a bad name and it would be a disaster if it hits the cinema.

The second film was much better, it having the best DN ending of the three in existence. It's a shame that isn't getting released...
 
Cool! I definitely want to pick this up! A lot of people seem to be negative about it (Aion obviously didn't like it :/) but I remember hearing a lot of positive comments about it, too. Plus, it's a way to introduce the series to my friends :]
 
To be fair they have to release the first one if you want the second one or people will be very confused :)

I enjoyed the movies (got them on DVD already though). At first I thought Light was stupid in the first one, but I loved one of the twists which turned things around for me. Still don't really think his actor was well cast but it was bearable. I'm glad they changed a few things rather than followed the (fantastic) manga directly as it kept things interesting.

Loved L and can't wait to see the third movie.

R
 
Lupus Inu said:
Kenji Kawai. <3
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Woah, that's going to be some seriously fantastic sound track then.

Looking forward to this, although I'll [strikeout]probably[/strikeout] *hints at wanting a strikeout feature* be picking up the R1 boxset.
If it's released in a cinema then I'll most probably watch it there.

Does it follow the manga pretty well, or make up its own story? (Answers without explaining the plot please :) ).

I think Battle Royale did well, being on Film4 and all that. I think the UK is ready for the odd Japanese movie.
 
They could have been a lot better than they were. Here's why I didn't think much of the movies...

- Bad choice of theme music 'Dani California' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers just seemed out of place.

- Some laughable special effects. Ryuk looked ok at times but in shots like him hanging from the ceiling just looked fake. Also seeing that guy get hit by the car looked incredibly unrealistic and goofy.

- Unconvincing acting from the leads (L and Light). The guy who played L's performance seemed extremely forced and also he looked too washed and clean, unlike the anime and manga L who looks like he sleeps in his clothes.

- It looked like it was filmed for TV rather than for cinema. The atmosphere was too warm and cosy for the most part. There was no edge.

- The FBI dressed in that weird leather ensemble again looked goofy. I don't know why she couldn't have worn the same clothes as in the anime, normal and casual.

- While they did have a lot of material to work with and it's understandable they couldn't fit it all into the timeframe they could have done a better job, especially with the first movie where a lot of time was simply wasted for no good reason.

Having said that the final 15 or 20 minutes of the second movie were good and the actor who played Light's father was great. That can't really save these movies from being a poor adaption though.
 
If memory serves correctly, its been quite a while since the last cinema release for any Asian film (unless I have a shite memory, or just wasn't paying attention). The last one I remember was Curse of the Golden Flower - which was bloody fantastic.

I do hope Death Note gets a UK cinema release, though.
 
Rui said:
To be fair they have to release the first one if you want the second one or people will be very confused :)
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I was hoping they would release both films together in a 2 DVD set. I never even imagined anyone would think of putting it on the cinema over here...

Light came across as an average guy in every respect in the first film: Only decent looking, average intelligence and and none of the lines we
heard from him in the anime. Compared to the near Godly Light of the anime, it was painful to watch him attempt to play the same role.

He improved in the second film thanks to him and L (L's actor did an amazing job) interacting throughout. The second film still did kinda suck for the most part (a rather terrible Sakura TV sequence making me look away...), but the last 30 minutes were outstanding enough to make me forget. I'd recommend the second film almost as much as I'd recommend people to avoid the first like the plague.

Anyway, moving back to the first film and my main complaint: The Naomi Misura part of the anime is where Light shows his true self clearly for the firs time, the execution being brilliant. Sadly, the film threw all that away, replacing it with a plot involving his newly created girlfriend (I can only vaguely remember...something to do with Light setting it up so Naomi shot his new bitch) and ruined whatever chance the film had of being good. Anyone who's watched the anime and then gone on to watch the film will understand how awful the changes are.
 
Aion said:
L's actor did an amazing job
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If I could pick one thing then that's what I disliked the most about the movies. I thought he was totally unconvincing and didn't manage to portray any quirkyness in his character without it seeming incredibly forced. They could have at least made him look more the part rather than puting a bit of black makeup under his eyes and making it look like they spent hours doing his hair. He looked like an advert for gap.
 
Sy said:
Aion said:
L's actor did an amazing job
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Seriously? That's what I disliked the most about the movies. I thought he was totally unconvincing and didn't manage to portray any quirkyness in his character without it seeming incredibly forced. They could have at least made him look more the part rather than puting a bit of black makeup under his eyes and making it look like they spent hours doing his hair. He looked like an advert for gap.
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Most people think of L's actor as the best thing in either film. This is the first time I've heard/seen someone say anything bad about about the guy.

L has always been my favourite DN character. I'm not sure if it's because his lack of social skills and eccentricities allow me to relate to him to a certain extent or because he's simply a great character... Probably a bit of both. Either way, him being a character who seems to be based on someone with AS (much like Tony Hill in Wire of the Blood) made him instantly interesting.

L's character wasn't too hard to work in all honesty: Act almost emotionless, be direct, seem uninterested in others, sit in a 'unique' way and look unusual. But, although his job wasn't too hard, I really believe the live-action actor did as good of a job as any live-action actor could... He simply looked the part, to me at least.
 
Aion said:
This is the first time I've heard/seen someone say anything bad about about the guy.
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Really? I've heard him being called hot and such, But, I've never come across someone complimenting his acting in Death Note. He totally fails to pick up L's subtle (and unsubtle) nuisances that gave L his character. He looked somewhat like L, without looking too real. The films are decent, But, L is one of the most awkward characters to watch in them. He must still be a fashion icon over in Japan, though. L: Change The WorLd is out now and done fairly well at the box office, I believe. I've heard its entirely fanservice, though - Which can't be all to good for keeping a strong sense to story going throughout.

On Topic: It'll be a limited release, No doubt. I wonder if one will be showing close by.
 
Aion said:
L's character wasn't too hard to work in all honesty: Act almost emotionless, be direct, seem uninterested in others, sit in a 'unique' way and look unusual. But, although his job wasn't too hard, I really believe the live-action actor did as good of a job as any live-action actor could... He simply looked the part, to me at least.
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Actually I think it's harder than you give it credit for. To sucessfully capture an eccentric character like L into a live action enviroment requires an extremely layered and subtle performance. If most people say he pulled it off well then I can honestly say that I'm shocked and can't possibly see why.

I didn't feel he looked the part because L seems like a character that doesn't sleep very often and because of this you'd imagine that he'd have some natural heavy bags under his eyes, at least look a little grungy and not have perfectly styled hair. He looked more like a cosplayer than an attempt to create a realistic interpretation of the character.
 
I always thought manga-L looked a bit like a model anyway. Aside from his face (which had its own charm, but I think Obata is incapable of drawing totally unattractive characters). His hair looked fantastic and his clothes weren't bad - I got the impression that he was a bit of an eccentric genius but took reasonable care of himself in most ways (his comment on being able to eat sweets without gaining weight, and his apparent physical fitness with the tennis and the fight with Light for example). From the number of raving L [female] fans across the world (which my mountain of doujinshi can attest to) he seems to appeal to women too so the live action realisation I thought was valid. I haven't seen the anime though - waiting for a box set (I've bought the manga and the movies, so no rush).

It seems that his nature is up to interpretation and we all have different ideas of how he should be. Pretty cool :)

I like both Light and L, and most of the cast, though in the movies I didn't like Light at all. I went from feeling he was dumb to feeling he was a complete ass. In the manga version I felt a lot more affinity for him as his side of things was presented better.

R
 
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I have a cinema nearby that will probably show it. It showed Howl's Moving Castle and Tales of Earthsea on release when no others did, not that I actually got around to going since nobody else was interested.

Though I'm just wondering if the Anime is actually released here or not. Still unsure of what Manga volume they're on. It would be a little strange for the live action movie to overtake them, especially if it's as unpopular as I'm hearing.

To be honest I probably won't watch it. Especially if it gives away things happening late in the series (however warped). Not been overly vigilant for the books at the best of times, despite the interesting story. Though I am running low on Manga now that I'm getting plenty of reading time in my work breaks. Been filling the gaps with a few chapters of the Halo novels until the next fix arrives. :p
 
I do believe the anime is going to start getting released over here from next month onwards. Mangle are releasing the first volume (and most likely the others) with 2 DVD's, meaning the 1st volume of the R2 release is actually the first 2 volumes of the R1 release.

Both films do reveal key plot points... I recommend staying away from them until you've watched the anime. Even the second films ending, which occurs at the 25/37 episode mark of the anime, reveals key information about the manga and anime (mainly the manga ending) endings.
 
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