Death Note Netflix
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Let’s face it, the Internet can be a lot harsher than a high school playground filled with oversized bullies. Social media has become a platform for fans to call out Hollywood on their epic fails and missteps. If these tweets are to be believed, Netflix’s Death Note movie is the latest failure worth roasting.

Even though the project came under fire at first for whitewashing, many fans were excited about the live-action adaptation of the manga series. Sadly, it seems that Death Note doesn’t live up to the expectation. Twitter users are pointing out that the movie changed key plot points and reimagined the main character into a completely different person:

Death Note follows a high school student, Light Turner, who discovers a notebook that enables him to kill anyone whose name he writes in it. The only catch is that he needs to know his victim’s name. What Light doesn’t realise is that the book was dropped on Earth by the Death God Ryuk. Ryuk, curious to see what would happen when Light starts using the book, helps him to discover all of the power contained within.

It doesn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worst, as Light who initially uses the book for what he deems good, ends up being investigated by a brilliant detective named L. Light has to keep evading L in the hope that he won’t be caught.

The film is being directed by Adam Wingard and stars Nat Wolff, Margret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, Paul Nakauchi, Shea Whigham, and Willem Dafoe.

Death Note was recently released on Netflix.

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210 Comments

  8. Richard Scott

    I enjoyed it, but wasn’t mind blowing, perhaps die hard are just buttsore from expecting it to be the anime. Only thing I’d say they should have done, was make it a series. It cramped too much into one film. but other than that was good. Least it was better than Iron Fist..

    Reply
  14. Dan Riffey

    Not having watched the original I thought it was alright. Nat Wolff has this knack of coming off as a pretty good actor and then all the sudden portraying the worst acting expressions and mannerisms you will ever see. I am however just starting to watch the original series so I’m sure my thoughts on the Netflix one will change. Can we all just please acknowledge that watching the way Light runs away from L is the most ridiculous looking running ever?

    Reply
  16. Riaan Louw

    Binge watched the anime series in less than a week, were so captivated, the concept was great and Light as a character so intriguing, loved how they used his intellectual genius to set him apart from other users of the Death Note. I started the Netflix movie and ditched it right at the point were the chick touches the notebook but couldn’t see Ryuk.
    I expected a lot more.

    Reply
  17. Justin Walton

    If I hadn’t read the series I might have liked it. The movie was nothing like the series and felt super rushed and Lacked details. Should have done an in length mini series to do it any justice. 3.5/10

    Reply
  35. Aaron Lopez

    Movie was fucking great. Totally different take on the characters and the story was different as well. They already did like 2-3 asian versions of the live action so it’s good to do something brand new and fresh with the series. Gory, fun, and great pacing.

    Reply
  36. Aaron Lopez

    Movie was fucking great. Totally different take on the characters and the story was different as well. They already did like 2-3 asian versions of the live action so it’s good to do something brand new and fresh with the series. Gory, fun, and great pacing.

    Reply
  41. William Harre

    I didn’t mind a good chunk of it. There was some cheesecake parts but all in all it was good.

    It was nice that they stayed away from the source material. As much as they could anyways.

    Reply
  42. William Harre

    I didn’t mind a good chunk of it. There was some cheesecake parts but all in all it was good.

    It was nice that they stayed away from the source material. As much as they could anyways.

    Reply
  60. Jessie Hunt

    I love that this “adaptation” didn’t need to cast Asians in the main roles but still used a shit ton of Asian symbolism! #whitewashed Defoe was the best thing about that mess

    Reply
    • Russell Scott

      its not like light was drawn all that Asian anyways. i get that his name was Japanese and all but he was very much in the manner of how anime depicts whites. L was only 1/4 Japanese with the rest being European. im not defending its i would call it more american washed than white washed. as the main thing they did was change the location of the events. that being said, no reason light had to be wight or mia for that matter. not like either of them were that good of actors.

      Reply
    • Caleb Engman

      Russell Scott I know you didn’t watch the original Death Note and I’m wondering if you watched the Netflix movie. More was changed than the location to the point where people’s names are about the only thing that remained intact. They even changed the rules about how the Death Note worked to fit their B movie plot. It went far beyond “American washing” but what do you expect when you try to turn a 37 episode series into a 90 minute movie? Haven’t seen either, skip the movie. It was bad. Watch the series, it was amazing.

      Reply
  61. Jessie Hunt

    I love that this “adaptation” didn’t need to cast Asians in the main roles but still used a shit ton of Asian symbolism! #whitewashed Defoe was the best thing about that mess

    Reply
    • Russell Scott

      its not like light was drawn all that Asian anyways. i get that his name was Japanese and all but he was very much in the manner of how anime depicts whites. L was only 1/4 Japanese with the rest being European. im not defending its i would call it more american washed than white washed. as the main thing they did was change the location of the events. that being said, no reason light had to be wight or mia for that matter. not like either of them were that good of actors.

      Reply
    • Caleb Engman

      Russell Scott I know you didn’t watch the original Death Note and I’m wondering if you watched the Netflix movie. More was changed than the location to the point where people’s names are about the only thing that remained intact. They even changed the rules about how the Death Note worked to fit their B movie plot. It went far beyond “American washing” but what do you expect when you try to turn a 37 episode series into a 90 minute movie? Haven’t seen either, skip the movie. It was bad. Watch the series, it was amazing.

      Reply
  64. David Cleveland

    That’s because the Internet is terrible.

    Granted it was far from being what could be considered “good” but considering they tried to condense something that was a couple dozen 22 minute episodes into a 90 minute film they did kinda alright. This actually could have benefited from at very least being a 6-8 episode series so things would have had time to develop instead of happening for “because fuck it” reasons. It was better than the usual story that revolves around teens that consists of them loitering and littering.

    Reply
  65. David Cleveland

    That’s because the Internet is terrible.

    Granted it was far from being what could be considered “good” but considering they tried to condense something that was a couple dozen 22 minute episodes into a 90 minute film they did kinda alright. This actually could have benefited from at very least being a 6-8 episode series so things would have had time to develop instead of happening for “because fuck it” reasons. It was better than the usual story that revolves around teens that consists of them loitering and littering.

    Reply
  82. Bryan Wolfe

    I really hated the anime. Seriously, after a while, the “I’ll do this, but he will know I do that, so he will do this, so I will do this to counter his move but he might outthink me on that so I will do this to counter his counter” bullshit just becomes pointless. And it went on and on for years.
    This movie though is pretty good. Loved Willem Dafoe.

    Reply
  83. Bryan Wolfe

    I really hated the anime. Seriously, after a while, the “I’ll do this, but he will know I do that, so he will do this, so I will do this to counter his move but he might outthink me on that so I will do this to counter his counter” bullshit just becomes pointless. And it went on and on for years.
    This movie though is pretty good. Loved Willem Dafoe.

    Reply
  91. Jason Fett

    I thought it was gonna be a series so I thought it was moving along a little quick. Then I realized it was a movie. Then i realized there was football on cable
    …sorry Netflix

    Reply
  97. Roy Perrine

    Ok so FIRST OFF!!!!!!!
    The movie was not that bad!!! Second. How the hell can anyone complaining about this movie expect a fraction of the anime to be in it in the short time the producers have of screen/ movie time.
    The movie was done with as much as they could pack into it and leaves an opening for further movies which I will watch should that come to be.

    But hey this is only MY opinion on the movie, don’t get all but hurt and become a keyboard warior to tell me how you feel about what I said.

    Key word people (opinion) and this is mine.

    Reply
  98. Clay Cadarette

    The problem is taking 20+ hours of content and exposition and trying to jam it into an hour an a half. Not enough time to get into the minds of the characters. Light truly believes he is a god. And his and L’s struggle is way way way more explained and developed. It missed the mark because of a TON of material being left on the floor.

    That being said, thought the casting was alright, the guy who played light just didn’t seem like a genius, just didn’t seem… intelligent enough… L was solid, Ryuk was perfect. I sort of always had dafoes voice in mind when I read the manga.

    Reply
  100. Alexander Zwisler

    Way too short. Second half of movie seems rushed. Also especially L seems not the right type putting ethnicity aside since i wish it was originally happening in Japan. I like the soundtrack and scenografi.

    Reply
  105. Art Ridley

    I’ve watched the anime, and enjoyed it. Now I’ve watched the film, and thoroughly enjoyed it too, even more so than the anime. In my mind the characters made more sense, and the ending was more satisfying. I admit that I prefer that L lived.

    Reply
  110. Joshua Phillip Jones

    SJW’s and Anime diehards hate the Death Note movie. Standing as its own thing the movies okay. It’s not phenomenal it’s not a Bominable it’s simply okay.

    Truth be told I do prefer the movie over the actual series. I could never get into the series since the main character was a cold self-righteous sociopath. I do enjoy that they humanized the main character more.

    Reply
  120. Kyle Ellis

    i watched the movie be for the anime and you know what the movie was good then i was eh and now that im almost done the orignal im just like wow its so different but you know what if you just watch the movie i guess its good

    Reply
  122. Marco Mast

    How many Anime live action flicks they have to fuck up. Dragonball Evolution, Avatar the last Airbender, Ghost in the shell. I fear the day when they start making Studio Gibli live action Movies.

    Reply
  124. Andy Sorrell

    I wish they had just made an original story set in America after the events in the anime. I feel that would’ve been better. They didn’t need to retell L and Light’s story in Seattle….

    Reply
  130. Pisoni Takai

    I read the manga and the only major difference is that it’s set in the states. It’s whitewashing if it’s set in Japan and the main cast is white like ghost in the shell movie.

    Reply
  132. Nate Atkinson

    The internet loves to hate, and nothing makes more news than hate.
    Guys, it wasn’t that awful. Sure, it needed a Japanese cast, but I still found it alright. It’s not as bad as Dragon Ball Evution, M. Night Shyamalan’s Last Airbender, or the disappointment that became Batman v. Superman: Dawn of painfully forced plot action.

    Reply

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