Wish it was a show instead of a movie tbh.
Yup...
Wish it was a show instead of a movie tbh.
Less time for charcteer arc, more time for cat and mouse intrigue and tension would be my guess. Also they probably thought emo loner was easier shorthand to convey motivation in less time to a western audience than the original depiction. Assuming Liight was changed, that is.
Light's character arc isn't particularly long or hard to develop. Even in the manga it's reasonably quick and set up in the initial chapters doesn't change until the first confrontation with L and then the end with some significant keikakuing in the middle (there's what the majority of the story actually entails rather than deep character development for light).
He's a genius straight A highschool student whose father is a cop and has a significant disdain for the inefficiencies of the justice system and hatred for criminals. Being Narcissistic ass he is upon discovering a way to solve societies problems according to him he starts to go off the rails and develops a god complex. While high on his invincibility he gets a shock ass kicking by L. Detective games begin. he eventually loses and starts to break down as his ego pops.
He's not supposed to be some weirdo loner that society dislikes that completely misses the point of his character and the introspection it provides. Despite his genius he's supposed to represent a reasonably average guy (though someone destined to become a future elite among society) with a simplistic view of the world. the story goes out of it's way to link back that without the death note he would be too dissimilar to someone you or I would know.
having him already be a weirdo turns this story into mentally deranged serial killers rampage on criminals rather than reasonably normal persons decent into madness trapped by their own simplistic answers to complex problems.
OK but this isn't the manga and we're still making a lot of assumptins without any context of whether it makes sense in the film and if it was done well.
OK but this isn't the manga and we're still making a lot of assumptins without any context of whether it makes sense in the film and if it was done well.
Then why use the manga's name? If the film drastically changes the character's personality then the series is just relying on an established franchise to draw an audience. That doesn't exactly give me any confidence either. Death Note treads a remarkably fine line between edgy nonsense and dramatic moral quandary. I hope the producers understood that as they made this.
The guy with the hood and the mask is L right?
Edit: wtf at August release??
Man, if they try to make us sympathize with the misunderstood white dude who has to kill the black detective......................................
I'm pretty sure the story is the exact opposite of that.
Because it uses a Death Note along with a set of rules and stipulation. Honestly that premise is interesting enough on it's own, you can tell a new story in any setting you want with completely different characters and still stay true to the spirit of the manga. A film is a sum of it's parts, and Light's character will hinge on whether his characterization was good within the context of the film, than rather if it was faithful to the source.
I feel like a lot of people don't realize who Adam Wingard is.
He directed You're Next and The Guest which are both tremendous thrillers (well, the former more so than the latter) and this totally seems like an evolution of his taste and aesthetic.
Yeah, I agree with this.I feel like a lot of people don't realize who Adam Wingard is.
He directed You're Next and The Guest which are both tremendous thrillers (well, the former more so than the latter) and this totally seems like an evolution of his taste and aesthetic.
Both of those films deliver their suspenseful narratives with a bit of a self aware cheese. I love it. Things like the cheerleader smoking a cigarette and Light's blonde highlights read to me as enticingly tongue-in-cheek.
THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE SOURCE MATERIAL. Accept that now and embrace it! Why would you just want a direct rehash of the anime or Japanese film adaptations? Those exist. You can watch them right now.
If it ends up being shitty and dramatically different from the source, well, what a waste. But if it takes the idea in a new direction and is successful, now we have multiple good works of fiction that explore the same idea in their own way. Awesome!
I will totally parrot the notion that I wish this were a six episode limited series or something instead of a two hour film, though.
Love this. Well put.
I'm all for those being available but man. I thought the first two were awful. I had a hard time getting through them and my tolerance level is HIGH. I didn't bother watching the rest.Yeah, I agree with this.
But I'll say this: The Japanese live action films were fantastic. I'd love for a great release of those in the West. For a lot of people this is as good as we'll get, so if it isn't as good, it's not like you can easily and legally get the Japanese movies (with a translation) here in the US. I have a lovely Japanese DVD set on my shelf, but it doesn't have subs.
So that's going to get it compared much more readily than it would if I could hop onto iTunes and buy a subtitled copy of Kaneko's movies. 'You can watch them right now' really isn't telling the whole story.
This is more like the situation with the Star Wars special editions. Yeah, you can get despecialized editions, but people would still like to be able to buy a legitimate official Blu-Ray release in their native country, you know?
Yeah, I agree with this.
But I'll say this: The Japanese live action films were fantastic. I'd love for a great release of those in the West. For a lot of people this is as good as we'll get, so if it isn't as good, it's not like you can easily and legally get the Japanese movies (with a translation) here in the US. I have a lovely Japanese DVD set on my shelf, but it doesn't have subs.
So that's going to get it compared much more readily than it would if I could hop onto iTunes and buy a subtitled copy of Kaneko's movies. 'You can watch them right now' really isn't telling the whole story.
This is more like the situation with the Star Wars special editions. Yeah, you can get despecialized editions, but people would still like to be able to buy a legitimate official Blu-Ray release in their native country, you know?
The story goes out of it's way to link back that without the death note he wouldn't be too dissimilar to someone you or I would know.
The guy with the hood and the mask is L right?
Edit: wtf at August release??
Yeah, aside from Blair Witch which was a miss I really liked everything I watched from him. The combination of Keith Stanfield, Adam Wingard and Willem Dafoe is more than enough for a day one watch from me.I feel like a lot of people don't realize who Adam Wingard is.
He directed You're Next and The Guest which are both tremendous thrillers (well, the former more so than the latter) and this totally seems like an evolution of his taste and aesthetic.
Both of those films deliver their suspenseful narratives with a bit of a self aware cheese. I love it. Things like the cheerleader smoking a cigarette and Light's blonde highlights read to me as enticingly tongue-in-cheek.
THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE SOURCE MATERIAL. Accept that now and embrace it! Why would you just want a direct rehash of the anime or Japanese film adaptations? Those exist. You can watch them right now.
If it ends up being shitty and dramatically different from the source, well, what a waste. But if it takes the idea in a new direction and is successful, now we have multiple good works of fiction that explore the same idea in their own way. Awesome!
I will totally parrot the notion that I wish this were a six episode limited series or something instead of a two hour film, though.
To everybody that thinks this is garbo, remember that Willem Dafoe is Ryuk
I love Wingard's films, I'm in regardless.
As a HUGE Blair Witch fan, I'm excited for what he did to the series, even if it went a little too far. He clearly treated the lore with love and respect.
May I ask what you liked about Blair Witch?
I'm not sure about the manga, but in the anime he kissed Misa to appease her or shut her up a few times. I'm pretty sure he kissed the reporter as well? He didn't seem interested in it all though. Just used it as another way to manipulate people.Did...Light make out with anyone in the manga? I honestly don't remember.
I only recall him leading Misa and that other girl on as his pawns.
I'm not sure about the manga, but in the anime he kissed Misa to appease her or shut her up a few times. I'm pretty sure he kissed the reporter as well? He didn't seem interested in it all though. Just used it as another way to manipulate people.
Obviously Light is a weeb in this adaptation.I wonder why he's still calling his alternate persona 'Kira'
Obviously Light is a weeb in this adaptation.
God if they made Light a proper 4chan dweller and made him utterly irredeemable that could be great. Like proper 'oh this guy is an anti-hero, oh no wait he's just a straight up villain' shit.
Basically using the structure of the source material to pull a reversal of normal American tropes could be very good if handled with care.
This would actually really clever and fit our society right now.God if they made Light a proper 4chan dweller and made him utterly irredeemable that could be great. Like proper 'oh this guy is an anti-hero, oh no wait he's just a straight up villain' shit.
Basically using the structure of the source material to pull a reversal of normal American tropes could be very good if handled with care.
GAF never ceases to amaze me. Watches 50 seconds of footage, deems it TRASH.