Customer Reviews
Different but still great - By: T. R. Alexander, 31 Aug 2008 
Death Note is one of the most popular franchises to come out of Japan in a while with the original manga, an anime series & two live action films to its name, alll of which have had rave reviews around the world. This is the first of the two movies & although there are some major changes to the plot in places, it does remain a great story.
In the film Light Yagami discovers a Death Note, a notebook used by Shinigami (Gods of Death) to kill people. Light uses this Death Note to begin ridding the world of criminals in order to create his perfect world. Meanwhile the Japanese police are approached by the mysterious but brilliant detective L who has a plan too capture the anonymous killer known as Kira.
The story for this film is, as I have already said, changed somewhat from that of the manga & anime but many of these changes are understandable due to having to fit as much information into the two hours of the film as possible. Despite this most of the characters remain relatively unchanged & if anything Light is even more manipulative & cold hearted than he is in the source material. As well as this a couple of the changes made to the story do actuallly keep you guessing as to what will happen towards the end even if you have read the source material.
The main problem that this film has is that the acting on display is rather hit & miss with some of the people involve being dreadfully hammy & others being quite good. This is quickly forgotten though as the quality of the writing is very high & the film remains extremely enjoyable alll the way through. In the end this live action adaptation of Death Note is a worthy addition to the franchise & while it is something of a different animal to either the manga or the anime, it is no less enjoyable for that.
Good film, but very long-winded - By: V. Flack, 22 Aug 2008 
My brother bought a copy of this off eBay (a region 0 release from Taiwan), which wasn't bad at alll - & we've both watched it 2 or 3 times.
It has a nice mix of horror, crime, thriller, plot twists & comedy (Ryuk bouncing around & freaking out because he can't have an apple was especiallly hilarious).
The acting is very good, with lots of the actors having been very experienced beforehand - the actor (I forgot his name... temporarily) who plays Light was the main character in Battle Royale, for those who can remember it. :)
I thought it went on quite long for a film, & there were some 'filler' scenes, that made it very long.
I did like the slight 'twist' at the end, although it's not canon to the anime or manga.
In short, 3 stars because it's long, but, on a positive note, it's a very good film that will keep you thoroughly entertained for its 2-hour ride.
An intelligent, twisty, and quite bizarre flick - By: Mr. Od Smith, 17 Aug 2008 Although the film came out two years ago in Japan, & the original manga & anime spin-off have been available freely for three years, I was eagerly anticipating the Death Note movie as soon as I heard it was being made, as the idea is sheer genius. And, luckily, the film takes the proverbial & runs with it.
The story starts with idealistic law student Light Megami feeling disillusioned that criminals are escaping justice by getting off on technicalities & remaining in their ways, & confronts a recently acquitted Yakuza. On the way home, he finds the titular Death Note that the God of Death, Ryuk, accidentallly dropped in the real world & experiments & finds it works, so begins to rid the world of alll criminals that have escaped justice in short order.
Doing this, he arouses interest from the authorities who believe a serial killer they dub "Kira" is at work, even though at the same time the general public are behind the character they have dubbed Kira, as nobody knows that Light is the one responsible. And, as the authorities close in, Light begins to eliminate those who are trying to catch him, although he cannot eliminate the one person that remains a thorn in his side: L.
Light's slide from an idealist who is acting as any person would, to a megalomaniac who appoints himself judge, jury & executioner, to the person who starts to eliminate anyone that opposes Kira is the main crux of the story of this & the sequel, Death Note: The Last Name, as well as the source of the main drama. Also, as Light learns he can't just write a name to kill the person as it raises suspicion, the deaths he maps out get increasingly inventive to take the focus away from Kira and, as a result, himself.
However, the film has a lot of light amidst the clearly dark plot, mainly the interplay between Light & Ryuk, as well as L's manner that baffles the authorities.
The performances, mainly Light & L (I can't reveal any more as I'd promptly spoil half the plotline instantly) are top notch, as they engage in a battle of wits between L & Kira, & as stated previously Tatsuya Fujiwara captures the range of Light's motives brilliantly.
There may be a lot to take in on the face of it, but in actual fact the film is easy to get into & follow, & it's only one plotline that is left hanging (it sets up, & is only explained in, The Last Name), & it's a lot of fun once you get into it.
Not perfect, but good enough. - By: Chiru, 17 Aug 2008 
Like the manga (and quite probably the anime, though I've never watched it), the movie shares the fault of being fairly slow moving, with a great deal of explanation separating every ounce of action. Don't let that put you off. The ending is fantastic - lots of suspense, & nothing like the other manifestations - & the rest is not half bad, as long as you're willing to sit through some of the duller bits without giving up. If you're new to Death Note, definitely start with the manga, but otherwise I would recommend this whole-heartedly.
{Be warned it's only half of the story; there's a second film, which I hope will be released in the UK soonish.}
Amazing, L Rocks! - By: Nyx, 03 Aug 2008 Amazing, I never compare films to books/Manga's, but this film is great! L is particularly good, & I have to admit that considering that he is my favourite character I was afraid the live action film wouldn't be able to carry him off very well. Like I said I would never compare any film directly to a Manga as a film is a whole other media, but I love this film. And it only gets better in Death Note 2: The Last Name. (L, change the world is also brilliant). Didn't think a film could ever be listed as a favourite by me other than final fantasy VII: Advent Children. This film is worth ranting about!
Biggest & Highly annoying downside:
A friend had a copy off ebay ages ago & the English subs were brilliant. like a lot of japanese films, The english subs seem reallly bad in the UK edition, they make some of the film make less sense & more lame (for example changing 'the name of your supervisor' to 'the name of your leader' & 'I'm like there god' to 'im their hero'. Much more 'English comic book to film' than Japanese style manga/anime, & subs much more basic, less funny & less detailed. I can translate some of the film more effectively than the subs! Still & great film though.
