My impression on the Death Note live action adaption on Netflix

Source: Netflix

So, yeah, I guess any of you who read this have already watched the movie and I know that I'm quite late with this but I've only heard bad reviews of it so far. So I thought that I had to give my opinion on the topic because - and please don't hit me for this - I wasn't completely disappointed by this movie. In general, it's really not a bad film BUT - and that's a huge BUT - only if you're not biased beforehand.

But what do I mean by biased?
Well basically if you're not a die-hard fan of the anime or manga or if you've only heard the bad things about it on the internet. By the way, I'm fitting in both of these groups... But I still can't say that I didn't enjoy this watch.

What I liked about it
"So what could make you like an adaptation like this?", I hear you ask. Well, I liked how the director made the deaths of some people so interesting. I mean, the things that Light did to the people in the anime fit the general tone of the show very well, where a mastermind tries not to get caught. But the deaths in the movie were really over the top and complicated which fits a hollywood production more. This variety made me like the movie quite well. And you have to keep in mind that putting a series with 37 Episodes in a single 90-120 minute movie isn't easy. I also liked that it mostly stands as a unique work since it only loosely based on the source material which makes it easier to get for people who don't know the source material. But this is where the critique begins...

What I didn't like about it
Exactly what I've written in the past sentence. That might sound like nonesense at first but this adaption was clearly aimed at fans of the original series and for them... yeah... it's simply disappointing. Of course this isn't new for live action adaptations but why did they have to make light a crybaby instead of a cold and calculating person with a plan and turn the story into some sort of teenage romance? And why did they have to use a black actor for L? Don't misunderstand me, I'm by far not racist but it just doesn't fit if you know the source. I mean, he did his job well but since I've read things that indicate that this is just some social justice warrior thing going on, I put the blame on Netflix. Lastly, for this post, I have to address one huge inconsistency. I dont want to spoil too much for those of you who might've not already seen the movie but the rules of the Death Note clearly state that you need to know the full name of the person you want to kill. So how come he can just write "Wateri" in the book and it magically works? That really bugged my while watching.

Resumé
So all in all, the criticism on the Internet is valid and if you're a fan of death note you might wish you hadn't watched this movie in the first place. But I enjoyed it nonetheless and for me, that is what counts. So any of you who haven't watched or read the original Death Note series yet, you might want to watch this movie first and if you're interested by the story, watch the anime. For all the fans of Death Note, I still wouldn't recommend to watch it unless you don't mind to get a little disappointed. Please note that this isn't a review, just some thoughts that came to me while watching.

If you're still reading, thank you and I hope at least some of this made sense. ^^