DEaTh nOTE
Shinigami In Seattle
released 25 august 2017 | sVOd
Director adam Wingard Cast Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley, Keith stanfield, Willem defoe
Like law-enforcers who go up against Death Note’s killer with a notepad, this Netflix remake is brave but futile. Transposing the franchise from Japan to Seattle, the film tries new twists and takes on the story, but loses too much of the original’s appeal. It even seems scared of Death Note’s wicked wishfulfilment: “You too can be a godlike mass murderer!”
High-schooler Light (Nat Wolff ) discovers a magic notebook that lets him kill anyone by writing their name in its pages. This version of Light is vulnerable, vengeful (his mum was killed by a criminal) and needy (he’s barely got the Death Note before he starts blabbing about it to the girl he likes at school).
The changes are interesting at first – the film’s opening half hour is good fun. But the battles of wits and fiendish strategies are scrubbed away. Light still has his arch-enemy, the great detective L (Keith Stanfield), but you never believe they’re the smartest people in the world, as the film dissipates into daddy issues and boring chases. And while Willem Dafoe is great as the cackling death god Ryuk, he isn’t on screen enough.
The result is unlikely to draw many newbies to the franchise, though broadminded Death Note fans might find it diverting as “What-if?” fanfic. Andrew Osmond
As well as manga, anime and live-action versions, Death Note has also been a stage musical, running in Japan and Korea.