[Review] Death Note: Hollywood, Please Drop the Butcher's Knife

First, I'd like to thank Netflix for providing me with an advance screening of Death Note. The film is set to premiere globally today, August 25th, at 3 PM. Initially, I had high hopes for this Hollywood version of Death Note, hoping it would finally redeem Hollywood's past adaptations of Japanese anime and manga. Unfortunately, I was ultimately disappointed.

When Netflix announced its plans to produce Death Note, many people worried that this anime, widely considered a "masterpiece," would follow in the footsteps of classics like Dragon Ball and Ghost in the Shell, ruined by Hollywood. On the other hand, some also worried that Hollywood would once again engage in "whitewashing" with Death Note, casting white actors in a non-white story. Originally, I dismissed these concerns, believing this would be a great opportunity for Hollywood to learn from its past experiences and produce a work that could satisfy original readers. Sadly, after watching this film, I truly want to say: Hollywood, please put down your butcher's knife, and stop messing with these classic anime and manga properties!

In fact, from the very beginning of the film, director Adam Wingard seems to be telling the audience: this Death Note is not like previous adaptations of Japanese anime and manga; this isn't "whitewashing," but rather a complete re-adaptation of the original Japanese setting into an American domestic story. The Seattle cityscape, American-style cheerleading performances, common American patriarchal families, veterans... everything about the film's setting seems quintessentially American. Later parts of the plot even cleverly incorporate some elements from the original, integrating them into the story. But even if the director fully communicates that this isn't a "whitewashed" film, so what? The film completely transforms the original Japanese setting into a localized American one, even altering the family background of the protagonist, Light Turner (Nat Wolff), yet it fails to utilize these settings to build unique characters and plot developments, or to convey distinct themes and messages. In the end, all these settings seem superficial and utterly wasted.

As with most of the film's settings, the characterizations of the main protagonists in the film also differ significantly from the original. Among them, the character of Mia (Margaret Qualley) seems to replace the original's Misa Amane, and her characterization is distinctly different. In fact, these changes could indeed allow the film to break free from the original's shadow and create a completely new story and world. I particularly liked the change to "L," allowing Keith Stanfield to deliver a performance that is entirely his own, completely different from the original and Kenichi Matsuyama's portrayal, and allowing the audience to appreciate his acting, especially his struggles at the end. While watching the film, I also tried my best not to compare it to the original.

However, no matter how the film's setting is changed, its core remains bound by the original: the confrontation between light and darkness, the battle of wits between Light and L. And this precisely exposes the film's shortcomings: after changing everything, it lacks corresponding buildup, character, and plot development. Several segments of the plot involve Light and L's intellectual showdowns, but everything feels incredibly rushed, highlighting the script's overly simplistic and weak nature. This also reduces Light and L to simple-minded, impulsive children, failing to create the tension that should be present. As for the film's ending, it's utter chaos...

In terms of the film's tone, the director has previously made many horror films, and this time, he incorporates horror elements into Death Note. Initially, I quite appreciated this approach; on one hand, it allowed the film to escape the shadow of previous works, and on the other, it effectively utilized the "Death Note" element, fully showcasing its power. The first few death scenes in the film are quite creative, even feeling a bit like Final Destination, which was indeed quite enjoyable to watch. However, as the plot develops, the film's tone naturally shifts, but the director still attempts to infuse a horror atmosphere, resulting in a very jarring feel. For example, in the segment involving Watari (Paul Nakauchi), the plot itself isn't particularly horrific, but the director deliberately shoots the scene to be gloomy and terrifying. As a result, not only does it fail to unsettle the audience, but it makes that part of the plot feel very awkward. Similarly, although Ryuk this time is voiced by Willem Dafoe and his appearance is designed to be more frightening, his introductory scene utterly fails to create a sense of horror, seemingly only terrifying Light.

Overall, I quite appreciate the film's new settings, but the plot, character development, and overall tone unfortunately waste them, reducing this film to a similar standard as previous Hollywood adaptations of Japanese anime and manga. Frankly, instead of making the film so condensed and sacrificing plot and character development, it would have been better to properly utilize these new settings and make it into a TV series.