Review Film: DEATH NOTE (2017)

film-trail (64)in #film • 6 years ago

Adaptation is not obliged to be completely faithful to the source material. Changes as a personal interpretation or adjustment regarding legitimate cultural differences, even need to be done. It produces uniqueness in adaptation, may also lead to a new point of view. The condition, change must be reasonable and does not betray the essence of the original version. Because it is a fan of the Death Note manga (at least the first half), I do not mind when this live-action adaptation promises a difference, such as the transfer of settings from Japan to America so that the ranks of the cast changed the race (I do not believe in any race-washing). The problem is, director Adam Wingard (Blair Witch, You 're Next, The Guest) and the team refuse to honour Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata' s phenomenal work.

The manuscripts by Charles Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides, and Jeremy Slater try to bring his story closer to the American share by emphasizing the moral ambiguity of the teen angst theme rather than the two-sided tactics that represent the good. Light Action (Turner, not Yagami, played by Nat Wolff) writes the name of the criminal in the Death Note giving Ryuk shinigami (Jason Liles behind the costume, Willem Dafoe fills the voice and mo-cap for expression) though underlying beliefs will improve the world, tend to be driven by teenage anger rather than a deep calculation. Light is like many teenagers, wanting to burst into the midst of incompetence. In short, the film wants to make its character more relatable, Wingard's unfolded Death Note comes as a product of a powerless state struck by a variety of unfairness issues, where dreams and hopes get blurred. It is natural that Light Yagami's superiority is seen less closely. Light Turner characterization whose actions are triggered human desire, including the steal of the heart of a popular girl named Mia Sutton (Margaret Qualley) can be accepted. The journey at the beginning was also promising, when Wingard refused to exchange small talk, immediately brought Light to a series of murders that in addition to moving fast, packed brutal-style Final Destination series. This is an acceptable new interpretation and entertaining teen gory horror ..... until it's not.

Just make Light a normal teenager. But instead of balancing the intelligence with the randomness of teenagers to impress humanists, Light is totally stupid, with no less stupid plan. If Light wants to act without thinking, what is the need to inculcate the fact that he is smart? Beyond the third act, signs of cleverness are found. A similar case struck L (Lakeith Stanfield), the number one (but allegedly) detective but it was difficult to control his emotions when he was defeated. Inconsistent. And Teen angst turmoil does not mean always controlled emotions and then eliminate intelligence. In addition, the characterization of both does not just change but tarnished the essence of the source material. Whatever the modifications, Light is a representation of truth enforcement on the extreme path, while L is on a straight path. That is the trigger of both friction, and for the conflict to be convincing, they must be smart.

It gets worse when the Death Note fails to summarize its intense source of intrigue. Seen from the impression of hastily rolling the story, especially the birth process of a revered figure Kira. The manuscript gets stuck in a dilemma, between releasing or following the source. Ryuk for example. Eliminating it would provoke controversy, but the writers also did not know what to do, ending up eliminating the Light-Ryuk dynamics that also wasted Dafoe's gripping voice. Light and L interactions are also cleared out, raising questions about the need for their battle set-ups if the ends are not exactly an interesting one. Without the exciting dynamics, in addition to the gore and Wingard styles that rely on the stylish visual as well as electronic music, Death Note leaves a tedious void.

The cries of laugh Nat Wolff when Light first met Ryuk difficult to like his character. It was not Wolff's fault at all, because of Wingard's decision to insert a black comedy creator of atmosphere inconsistency. While Stanfield's performance reflects the acute confusion of this film about addressing the original material. Stanfield demonstrates the eccentric gesture characteristic of L, but its overall characterization is not as unique as the outer cover. Besides Dafoe, fortunately, Margaret Qualley is interesting to be listened to. Thanks to her, the figure of Mia keeps a veil of mystery, one thing that the film failed to give. Borrowing a statement that our society is fond of wearing, this film is a blasphemy for the legacy of the Death Note.