Katie Randazzo
Contributing Writer
Content Warning: This film contains instances of graphic violence and suicide.
Netflix’s adaptation of the smash-hit comic series, “Death Note” (2017) (dir. Adam Wingard), is tonally a mash-up between “Final Destination” and every single “edgy” teen movie you’ve ever seen. “Death Note” follows Light Turner (Nat Wolff), a nerdy Seattle high schooler still mourning the death of his mother, whom he lost in a violent crime. His father, James Turner (Shea Whigham) is a police officer. One day, Light finds the eponymous notebook, the Death Note, falling from the sky. He soon finds out that if someone’s name is written in the book, they will die.
The book’s original owner, a death god named Ryuk (Willem Dafoe), goads him into using this power to rid the world of killers, rapists and all sorts of unsavory individuals. In the process, Light picks up a sidekick and girlfriend — Mia (Margaret Qualley), a young woman who shares his ruthless ambition and takes this murderous “justice” to the next level.
Both taking on the name “Kira” (“light” in Russian and “killer” in Japanese), Light and Mia soon develop a god complex, mowing down criminal upon criminal. Cults develop around Kira, which gets Light’s father, the FBI, Interpol and a genius young detective with a voracious sweet tooth, L (Lakeith Stanfield), involved. Can L stop Kira? Or will he be too late?
“I hope no children were watching this,” a reporter remarks at one point in the film, referring to a graphic death on live television. This statement could also ironically be applied to the entire film. This film tries to replace plot with shock, choosing to show graphic suicides and exceedingly violent deaths with aplomb. The few redeeming things about this incarnation of “Death Note” include high production value, the decent cinematography and music and Lakeith Stanfield and Willem Dafoe who breathe life into flailing dialogue.
Still, even that cannot save “Death Note.” From the overall subpar acting, pacing issues, gratuitous violence and suicide and clunky writing, as a standalone film, it is aggressively milquetoast. As an adaptation, this movie is an insult to the source material.
Akin to the critically panned and problematic “Ghost in the Shell” adaptation earlier this year, this film whitewashes the cast, with a majority of white actors playing characters predominately of Japanese descent. This adds yet another tally against the film even though famed Japanese-American actor, producer and digital effects artist Masi Oka of “Heroes” fame produced it.
There are already at least two Japanese live action “Death Note” adaptations and a well-known anime that is also on Netflix, which do a far better job of adapting the source material. “Death Note” takes what was a taut psychological thriller and reduces it to an exceptionally average teen horror film. If you have the choice to watch this film, don’t do what Light did — leave this “Death Note” alone.