(no subject)
Death Note Film Review. . .
I had the chance to see this film while in Japan and let me just say, it really left me feeling ambivalent. I still don't know what to think about it, even after weeks of reflecting. I knew, even before I sat down in the theatre to watch it, that this was not going to be like my dearly loved manga. I knew this was going to be entirely different and that I should not watch it as a manga fan. Even with this in mind, it still proved a challenge to stop myself from comparing everything.
I liked the cinematography. And first and foremost, I think they did an excellent job capturing a dark and edgey mood. The bar scene with Light had an interesting filter. Keeping in mind that the Japanese movie industry is not as well-funded as Hollywood, the film had its merit within its limited budget. The opening scene of Ryuk's bird-eye-view was pretty cool.
Speaking of which, I didn't think the CG effect of Ryuk was bad most of the time. Like my only complaint was that in the close-ups of his face, I felt it was too pixelated and it distracted my attention each time. But I was able to look over this because of the very convincing Ryuk-laughter.I mean, that was some pretty good hyuks there. . .
As far as acting goes, I was pretty impressed with the actor for L. He really did it for me. His movements and expressions were all very consistent with how I have always imagined L. And. . .He was authentically gross looking too. Like I am talking unhygenic, pastey and altogether sickly---just like I always pictured him to be. He probably won't win any hearts with the girls who always liked to think of L as an elegant dreamy (unrealistic) looking boy, but he charmed me. My favorite scene in the entire film was when he was looking at the video recordings and handed Yagami-san a shishkabob made up of cookies, marshmellows and candy. And the lolipops. I mean, the fact that he stirred his coffee with a lolipop was just sheer adorable (and perfectly L). I hardly could contain myself from giggling because of all the cuteness.
Needless to say, the people around me kept giving me weird looks the entire time.
I think L's rendition in the film was more child-like. From the 'gun' scene, when he is first introduced (by the way, I loved Matsuda for trying to leap at L---it would have been hilarious if he actually had landed a punch on him) to the end when on cue with the dramatic music he pulls out a bag of chips.
The relation between Yagami-san and L struck me to be uniquely different from the manga but in a good way. I was fascinated by the way Yagami-san seemed to treat L like a father. Especially in the sweet scene when he put his jacket over the dozing L. I mean, I kind of wished Yagami-san would have shown more concern for Light but what ever.
Ah yes. Light. Can you tell I have been avoiding talking about him? It is not really because I have any dislike for the actor but it is just, I was really left with some mixed feelings and I still don't know exactly how I feel about his characterization. I could not get over the uncannily resemblence he had of one of my friends both in his voice and general stance and appearance. Subconsciously I kept thinking of this friend the entire time. My mind was like 'OMG NO! DON'T DO THAT MA-KUN! DON'T KILL HER!' Yeah, I guess you could say I had trouble seperating fiction from reality. . .
As for Shiori---the original character fans have been completely uptight about, I didn't mind her at all! I thought she was sweet and completely inoffensive.She was just a homely, down-to-earth girl that really presented the more human side of Light before he became tangled up in his obsession with the Death Note. It was tragic how much she really cared for Light though.
I sympathized for her in a way I could never really care for Misa (who in the film, by the way, was utterly annoying). I have given it a lot of thought, and I think Shiori's presence in the film was needed. Not simply as a tool to reflect the changes Light went through, but because she was really the only one outside Light's family who loved and cared about him. I think she was the closest anchor to life Light ever really had.
So was it worth the 1,000 yen? Of course, if only because I was curious to see how things turned out. I would not recommend it to many though, especially fans of the manga who won't be able to appreciate the differences between the film and the original story. It might be best to wait until it comes out on DVD (and hopefully makes it to the US). I give this film a B.
I had the chance to see this film while in Japan and let me just say, it really left me feeling ambivalent. I still don't know what to think about it, even after weeks of reflecting. I knew, even before I sat down in the theatre to watch it, that this was not going to be like my dearly loved manga. I knew this was going to be entirely different and that I should not watch it as a manga fan. Even with this in mind, it still proved a challenge to stop myself from comparing everything.
I liked the cinematography. And first and foremost, I think they did an excellent job capturing a dark and edgey mood. The bar scene with Light had an interesting filter. Keeping in mind that the Japanese movie industry is not as well-funded as Hollywood, the film had its merit within its limited budget. The opening scene of Ryuk's bird-eye-view was pretty cool.
Speaking of which, I didn't think the CG effect of Ryuk was bad most of the time. Like my only complaint was that in the close-ups of his face, I felt it was too pixelated and it distracted my attention each time. But I was able to look over this because of the very convincing Ryuk-laughter.I mean, that was some pretty good hyuks there. . .
As far as acting goes, I was pretty impressed with the actor for L. He really did it for me. His movements and expressions were all very consistent with how I have always imagined L. And. . .He was authentically gross looking too. Like I am talking unhygenic, pastey and altogether sickly---just like I always pictured him to be. He probably won't win any hearts with the girls who always liked to think of L as an elegant dreamy (unrealistic) looking boy, but he charmed me. My favorite scene in the entire film was when he was looking at the video recordings and handed Yagami-san a shishkabob made up of cookies, marshmellows and candy. And the lolipops. I mean, the fact that he stirred his coffee with a lolipop was just sheer adorable (and perfectly L). I hardly could contain myself from giggling because of all the cuteness.
Needless to say, the people around me kept giving me weird looks the entire time.
I think L's rendition in the film was more child-like. From the 'gun' scene, when he is first introduced (by the way, I loved Matsuda for trying to leap at L---it would have been hilarious if he actually had landed a punch on him) to the end when on cue with the dramatic music he pulls out a bag of chips.
The relation between Yagami-san and L struck me to be uniquely different from the manga but in a good way. I was fascinated by the way Yagami-san seemed to treat L like a father. Especially in the sweet scene when he put his jacket over the dozing L. I mean, I kind of wished Yagami-san would have shown more concern for Light but what ever.
Ah yes. Light. Can you tell I have been avoiding talking about him? It is not really because I have any dislike for the actor but it is just, I was really left with some mixed feelings and I still don't know exactly how I feel about his characterization. I could not get over the uncannily resemblence he had of one of my friends both in his voice and general stance and appearance. Subconsciously I kept thinking of this friend the entire time. My mind was like 'OMG NO! DON'T DO THAT MA-KUN! DON'T KILL HER!' Yeah, I guess you could say I had trouble seperating fiction from reality. . .
As for Shiori---the original character fans have been completely uptight about, I didn't mind her at all! I thought she was sweet and completely inoffensive.She was just a homely, down-to-earth girl that really presented the more human side of Light before he became tangled up in his obsession with the Death Note. It was tragic how much she really cared for Light though.
I sympathized for her in a way I could never really care for Misa (who in the film, by the way, was utterly annoying). I have given it a lot of thought, and I think Shiori's presence in the film was needed. Not simply as a tool to reflect the changes Light went through, but because she was really the only one outside Light's family who loved and cared about him. I think she was the closest anchor to life Light ever really had.
So was it worth the 1,000 yen? Of course, if only because I was curious to see how things turned out. I would not recommend it to many though, especially fans of the manga who won't be able to appreciate the differences between the film and the original story. It might be best to wait until it comes out on DVD (and hopefully makes it to the US). I give this film a B.